Boostless

[Tim_D]

Uh oh..

I was leaving a car show on Saturday, and decided to hammer the throttle a little. I seemed to feel a little “pop”, from lack of a better description. After letting off the throttle, I have no power above 1500rpm or so, and there is zero boost/spool-up. Vacuum remains apparently unaffected according to the vacuum/boost gauge. My buddy following behind me reported a blast of black smoke when I hammered it, and varying degrees of smoke afterward. Temp remained good, idle was unaffected, but I seemed to have lost a little oil pressure (maybe 5-8psi).

After limping home, I took a closer look and found nothing obvious- no burst vacuum lines, WG actuator rod still attached, no obvious leaking fluids. I took the inlet pipe off the bell, and the turbo impeller on the intake side looks ok, and shaft spins freely without a huge amount of play. I did notice a little oil on the bell, where I hadn’t noticed any previously. And I have an SES code 45 (O2 very rich).

As a newbie, I can continue to remove parts, but am hoping for a few suggestions of where to start, or other things I can report. Thanks in advance-

 

[rag231]

Detonation! What kind of boost/vac numbers were you seeing before and after the pop. I have had good vac numbers but my cheap clamp popped off my inter cooler hose. Also check the vac line at your fuel pressure regulator. I dont think that your car may know to add fuel when your wanting to go.

 

[DavzGN]

Definitely would check the connections between the turbo and the engine. Most likely one of those three failed.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Tim_D]

I found no blown vacuum/boost hoses anywhere. I'm not sure about the fuel pressure observation - it's running really rich, so I don't think inadequate fuel can be the issue.

Has the WG actuator diaphragm been known to blow out? Should I remove the hot side elbow on the turbo to inspect that side of the impeller? I have a copper gasket in there, so it should be able to be reassembled without too much issue.

 

[Tim_D]

Oh, and boost was around 14-15psi before the pop. The vacuum has not changed before/after event - looks to be about 15-18in.

 

[zapp240]

I lost boost and found my puck on the actuator rod actually went mia. Take the clip off the actuator rod and see if it operates properly, (slaps against turbo exhaust housing). also have blown vacuum lines off at the pcv valve among others when not clamped properly

 

[zapp240]

Sorry, I had the rjc aftermarket style downpipe, you may have stock elbow, not sure what the acuator puck looks like on the stocker

 

[Tim_D]

Well this is interesting..

Intake pipe slipped off the coupling at the intercooler. Thanks rag231 !