Boost stuck at 12 pounds?

[JKGeorge1116]

I just recently bought an 87 regal t type, this being my first turbo car im a bit new to all this. I was attempting to turn down the boost. when i bought it it was set to about 25 pounds of boost and the car is pretty has pretty much stock internals. It has alky injection. Well once i turned the boost down i got it to about 10 pounds. but when i tried adjusting it higher it hasn't really responded. i have it set on max boost at the moment and I'm getting just about 13 pounds of boost. Anyone have any idea whats going on?

 

[Grimster]

How exactly are you adjusting the boost? Adjustable wastegate or something else? I'm no expert but I'm kinda thinking this is the first question one will ask so hell while you're waiting on one to show up, how ARE you adjusting the boost?

 

[JKGeorge1116]

bump

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Maybe..

bump

keep the post in 1 forum, instead of scattering it around? That way, all replies are in 1 place, and can be viewed by all willing to respond...

 

[TurboDave]

bump

I'll repeat grimster's question, which you chose not to answer. How exactly are you adjusting your boost? what methodology, or equipment?

 

[JKGeorge1116]

Here is a picture of the setup

 

[TurboDave]

This is going to be harder than I thought.

Ok, I see you have an adjustable wastegate rod. Is this your only method to adjust boost? (remove rod from flapper, loosen jamb nut, turn end of rod to increase/decrease boost) Or is there an external adjustment you're using?

 

[JKGeorge1116]

yeah that is exactly how i adjusted it. and yes this is the only method set up for adjusting boost right now. a couple people have said it might be the puck not closing all the way? I'm not quite sure how to check that though.

 

[meanchicken]

Are you making the rod longer or shorter when trying to add boost?
Should be making it shorter.
How do you know you've max'd th adjustment? Are you just unable to pull the rod back over the arm, or you ran out of adjustment?
I use a pair of long reach small diameter hose pliers to grip my actuator rod...better than burning through a pair of mechanics gloves while trying to work around a hot turbo.

Disconnect the actuator rod and try tugging on it. It should be firm...not loose.

Also, move the WG puck arm, it should swing free and easy from wide open to fully closed.

 

[JKGeorge1116]

i ran out of adjustment. i can screw the piece on the rod further down which u can probably see in the picture, but the puck arm right now its set at as far right as possible (shortest possible). the puck arm moves freely when i take the rod off, but stops at one point which is where it is at right now. the rod like you said is firm and isn't moving or anything.

 

[SIXBANGR]

how far do you have to pull the rod to get it to hook up?

 

[johnnyttype]

how far do you have to pull the rod to get it to hook up?

what he said if there is 1/8" or less of preload on the actuator arm it is around 12-13psi max. 1psi per full turn on the wastegate rod, towards the jam nut.

is it must me or does it look like there still a lot of thread on the rod? i was comparing his picture to the turbo and actuator i have sitting in a box in my dorm room

 

[JKGeorge1116]

The rod itself doesn't move at all but the piece at the end which connects to the arm of the rod screws closer or further away.

 

[johnnyttype]

The rod itself doesn't move at all but the piece at the end which connects to the arm of the rod screws closer or further away.

Screw the rod towards the diaphragm on the actuator a few turns and then you will have to pull like heck to get it on the flapper/puck...it should not line up just sitting. They can be pretty tight, do not do when hot obviously. I had a few buddies try to "actuate" the actuator but they couldnt cause they didnt realize how hard they had to pull. hth

oh and if pulling really hard doesnt work, my guess is ya might need a new one.

 

[JKGeorge1116]

Ok I tried pulling the arm as far right as possible and connecting the rod without having any play whatsover. On the way home I actually got it up to 15 pounds. Once I got home and it cooled down abit I tried adjust it further by forcing it somewhat but it wouldn't budge.

 

[JST A 6]

As said before, you are supposed to have to pull the actuator rod out (towards the pass. side fender) about 1/8" to put it on the arm and this will give you ~12-13 lbs of boost with a standard actuator. If you lengthen the rod from this point it will actually hold the puck open all the time which you don't want. To increase your boost, remove the rod from the arm and shorten it further--again like said before, each full turn = ~1 psi of boost. HTH

 

[TurboDave]

Ok I tried pulling the arm as far right as possible and connecting the rod without having any play whatsover. On the way home I actually got it up to 15 pounds. Once I got home and it cooled down abit I tried adjust it further by forcing it somewhat but it wouldn't budge.

I don't think you're understanding what people are trying to tell you.

The flapper arm has a point where as you push it closed (toward centerline of car) it will stop. THAT'S CLOSED. The Actuator rod (the adjustable part) is the boost adjustment. You loosen the jamb nut and thread it in a direction toward the center of the car.
This allows you to screw the rod END tighter (shortening the rod) Each full revolution should yield aprox. 1# of increased boost.
With the FLAPPER closed, it should take some good amount of pulling force to pull the ADJUSTABLE ROD toward you far enough to get it over (connected to) the flapper arm.

 

[JKGeorge1116]

New Issue

First of all thanks for all your input and i think i finally got it. I yanked on the rod as hard as possible and did manage to get it a good few twists down. If I measured correctly it should be at 20 pounds. However i have a new problem. Go figure lol. I started up the car and was waiting for it to warm up. As soon as i sat down i hear rather a small pop or a click and the car shut off. Since then i haven't been able to get the car started... I am getting spark, I have good fuel pressure, and getting air. It's cranking but just not turning over. I talked to the previous owner. He said it might be loose wiring to the ecu? Where should i check? What else could it be? The only downside is that there is allot of things wired into the electrical system. He had allot of switches for different things. So it makes it a bit harder to find things. Any Ideas?

 

[meanchicken]

First of all thanks for all your input and i think i finally got it. I yanked on the rod as hard as possible and did manage to get it a good few twists down. If I measured correctly it should be at 20 pounds. However i have a new problem. Go figure lol. I started up the car and was waiting for it to warm up. As soon as i sat down i hear rather a small pop or a click and the car shut off. Since then i haven't been able to get the car started... I am getting spark, I have good fuel pressure, and getting air. It's cranking but just not turning over. I talked to the previous owner. He said it might be loose wiring to the ecu? Where should i check? What else could it be? The only downside is that there is allot of things wired into the electrical system. He had allot of switches for different things. So it makes it a bit harder to find things. Any Ideas?

The ECU wire is the orange one with the weather tight connector near your battery. Make sure it's plugged in all the way.

Check the grounds near your battery too to be sure they are tight. You were working in that area, so while you were yanking on your WG actuator, maybe you knocked something loose

 

[JST A 6]

First of all thanks for all your input and i think i finally got it. I yanked on the rod as hard as possible and did manage to get it a good few twists down. If I measured correctly it should be at 20 pounds. However i have a new problem. Go figure lol. I started up the car and was waiting for it to warm up. As soon as i sat down i hear rather a small pop or a click and the car shut off. Since then i haven't been able to get the car started... I am getting spark, I have good fuel pressure, and getting air. It's cranking but just not turning over. I talked to the previous owner. He said it might be loose wiring to the ecu? Where should i check? What else could it be? The only downside is that there is allot of things wired into the electrical system. He had allot of switches for different things. So it makes it a bit harder to find things. Any Ideas?

Sounds to me like a blown fuse; that would have made your small clicking or popping sound. Once you find out which fuse it is, get a wiring diagram so you can identify which wire coming out of the fusebox goes to it and what all that wire feeds, not to mention what aftermarket stuff is fed by it. Disconnect everything you can in that circuit, replace the fuse with another of the same amperage rating, and start reconnecting stuff until the fuse pops again and that will identify your culprit. Good luck.