85 riv t type need help

[garyk1970]

the vaccum lines are connected the same as my pics?

 

[motordoctor40]

ill have to look tomarrow when i get back over to the shop but sure do like the power all that boost gives it hahahaha

 

[garyk1970]

its addictive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[motordoctor40]

do you think if i can get no knock with all of that boost i will be ok???? i want to try to keep it if i can..

 

[garyk1970]

15 psi is ok even for hot air cars as long as there is no knock,use; good gas,fuel pressure,etc,etc...

 

[1QUICK85]

15 psi of boost without knock is going to be hard. You would have to run some higher octane fuel. Do you guys have a "Y" connector, bottom of this page :
http://www.gnttype.org/maint/quickref.html
Usually if you have this in wrong is causes a low boost problem(not your problem, but do you have one?). Check all your line routing........make sure the wastegate solenoid is hooked up right. Are you able to move your wastegate rod in and out of the wastegate actuator? None of your "boosted" lines have leaks that could be causing you to loose pressure to the wastegate which in turn makes the wastegate open late and thus you have high boost? If you do have the stock "Y" connector you can try to take it out and see if that brings the boost down. The more boost going to the wastegate actuator the less boost the motor will actually run. You solenoid might not be working properly, bleeding off to much? Another option is to just run the line from the compressor housing to the wastegate actuator, and leave the vacuum port of the wastegate open or no line connected to it. That should give you less boost too. Get the boost down, before its too late. I would really shot for 10 - 12 pounds of boost with 93 octane. Especially if you don't have a knock gauge and your boost gauge only goes to 15psi, you really dont know what boost level you are running
I thought it was kind of funny that they would have an adjustable wastegate stock, factory wouldn't do that because of the chance of people turning up the boost.
Have you tried to use your OTC 4000? to see if your getting knock? what 02 volts are at? Idle values?
- Nick.

 

[motordoctor40]

ok here is the deal i switched the 2 waste gate vacume lines around so they are like the picture you sent and now i only get 7.5 to 8 lbs of boost and i get no knock on the scanner and wot o2 volts are .92 and idle o2 volts jump around from .33 to .42 to .53

 

[garyk1970]

does it still pull hard??at least its in a safe range ,now you can do some tuning and the chance of another blown head gasket is less likely.I dont have any scan tools yet,so i dont know what those numbers mean( i know i need to) 1quick85 will give you some solid advice on what to do next.

 

[motordoctor40]

here's one for you guys....could i build a homemade boost controller? and if i could how would i go about hooking it up?

 

[1QUICK85]

You can make your stock wastegate rod adjustable(best way to go for your setup).....
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/images/Adj_wastegate.JPG
If your only get 7.5 to 8 lbs. of boost maybe your stock wastegate spring is weak and opens to quick. Do you have the "Y" connector and is it installed right?
Your 02 volts are high. Which means you should be able to add some boost to the mix. Get your boost up to 10lbs. and your 02 volts will come down to the target range of .76 - .80. If your 02 volts go below that target range you need to add some fuel or take some boost out. Again always monitor your knock while doing this. Its a balancing act between boost, fuel and no knock with keeping your 02 volts between .78 - .80. I think if you get your boost between 10 - 12 lbs. without knock you will be set to drive it with out having to worry about headgaskets. Most hot air cars can run about 10lbs. without knock on todays gas. You won't be able to run much more with out an intercooler or alky.
You have definatly taken a step in the right direction with getting that boost down.-Nick.

 

[motordoctor40]

ok it dosent have a y it has a tee and one end has an orface and that is toward the the nipple in the turbo housing when you first step on the gas the boost goes up to about 14 then goes right down to 7 to 8 lbs if the spring is weak what can i do

 

[1QUICK85]

You shouldn't get a boost spike like that. Something is causing your boost to die off.
Can you pull the rod out of the actuator? How far?
You got the solenoid hooked up right? There are two lines going to that too, I believe.(don't used mine). One is a boosted line the other is a line that bleeds off the boost.
I would try running just the wastegate actuator and no solenoid. Just cap the end of the "y" or "t" connector that goes to the solenoid. Or just run a hose from the turbo nipple to the boosted side of the actuator.(you can leave the other side of the actuator that goes to the vacuum block open/no line connected) This will give you less boost, but it will rule out your solenoid for the boost drop your getting. Another thing you can do is try and find someone else with a wastegate actuator nearby you could borrow. GOOD LUCK!! :biggrin:
Measure your wastegate rod once. I have a stock adjustable rod that I am no longer using, I would sell cheap. But, I have shortened the rod some and it might be to short to work for you.
-Nick.

 

[turbofish38]

Okay, some things need to be clarified here.
First off the stock WG actuators were fixed from the factory, that is they were not adjustable. Rebuilt OEM turbos came with adjustable WG actuators.
Second. Every single hot air(and carb turbo) Riviera has cracked exhaust manifolds. Its just comes with the territory on this car. Just crappy engineering. Weld them suckers up so you can start doing some serious tuning. You're just spinning your wheels until you get it fixed.
Also some of your vacuum hoses look a little on the crumbly side. Replace all of them. Use the vacuum diagrams in the stickies to help you route them the right way. The set up is the same for Regal and Riviera.
Report back here and lets get this thing cooking. :biggrin:

 

[garyk1970]

thanks for the heads up turbofish,my old 85 gn had an adjustable wastegate on it when i bought it ,so thats why i figured it was oem.the crappy vaccum lines you saw in the pics are from my riv parts car that doesnt run ... :biggrin:

 

[motordoctor40]

ok its the stock turbo that came with the car and no exhust leaks all new vacume lines did that while i had the motor out the spike dose go awy if i crimp off the selinoid line it just stays at 7 then

 

[garyk1970]

as posted before,since the exhaust and vaccum lines are good,check/test vaccum wastegate?

 

[motordoctor40]

if i put strait vacume to the wastgate i get 15 plus boost

 

[1QUICK85]

15lbs. is way to much for running it "tuner style" or just one line hooked from the turbo nipple to the boosted wastegate side of the actuator. Not sure what your stock wastegate tension is, but I have a stock 87 wastegate and its about 10lbs. Your wastegate sounds like it may be stuck or not working at all. Soleniod is probably just fine, could just be the wastegate. Have you tried to pull on the rod and see how it moves?? How do you have your wastegate assembly hooked up right now?
-Nick.

 

[1QUICK85]

if i put strait vacume to the wastgate i get 15 plus boost

You shouldn't be running straight vacuum? You need the "boosted" line from the turbo nipple hooked up correctly to the wastegate. You should have a line running from the turbo nipple to the Y and the orfice should be towards the turbo nipple. The run a line off the one of the other ends of the "Y" to the "boosted" side of the wastegate actuator(on the turbo) and the other end of the "Y" runs to the wastegate solenoid.(the solenoid has two ports on it too...make sure you are hooking up to the right one, the "boost" side of it)So, there are two different ports on the actuator and the solenoid.......make sure the "boosted" lines are going to the right ones!!

 

[motordoctor40]

ok i made the waste gate rod adjustable and hooked up all the vacume lines corectly and i got it adjusted to 10.5 pounds of bost if i take off from a dead stop i dont get any knock at all but if im going like 54 and stomp it i get some for just a split second and it goes away hows that its running real good i love it