No boost at the line,what's wrong?

[TurboBuickSix]

With my wastegate hooked up I can't get any boost at the line at all.I wired the wastegate closed and it was able to build 10psi without complaint.What do I have wrong?
I have a adj wastegate and I have to leave it open some so it don't overboost.The puck is about a 1/4" away from the hole when wastegate is fully closed.If I use a stock wastegate it overboosts.What should I do next? If I puch it from a takeoff ....laaaaaaag city with the tiny stock hotair turbo.It is also a fresh turbo. Thanks guys

 

[Steve Wood]

Dave, I am not sure I understand what you are describing. There should be about 1/10-1/8" tension on the rod when you hook it up to the wastegate puck to insure it the puck is held closed.

Otherwise it will not make boost as the exhaust will go straight out the wastegate hole, past the puck and into the the exhaust.

I am not familiar with the hosing on the hot air models but it would sound like you have a leak acting like a bleeder if it overboosts with a stock unit.

 

[cool 84]

Do you still have the hotair two line wastegate or the 87 style with only one line? With the 87 unit on mine hooked up the same way the 87s do I had better spool but in all the hotairs I've been in it seems like the boost is more steady. Did you mean you have 1/4" of tension or the rod is actually holding the wastegate open?

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Originally posted by cool 84
Do you still have the hotair two line wastegate or the 87 style with only one line? With the 87 unit on mine hooked up the same way the 87s do I had better spool but in all the hotairs I've been in it seems like the boost is more steady. Did you mean you have 1/4" of tension or the rod is actually holding the wastegate open?

I have the stock 2 line actuator with the threads to adjust it and the puck is sitting 1/4 away from the hole at its tightest position.I had to open it to keep it from overboosting.Like I said, if I put the stocker on without the adj rod it will get 18psi or more When I hit it from a standstill it takes about 1 and a half seconds min to start to spool and it spools fairly slow then after the car has traveled 20-30 ft it turns on pretty hard and pulls nicely.If I brake torque it to build boost it won't do anything but turn the tires slow and stay at 1-2 psi max,when I let it goes it leaves like a n/a 3.8 regal.

I did a search on this yesterday and seen where someone suggested to wire the puck closed and try it.I took it around the block and was able to build boost and annihilate the tires when I let it go.And the off the line spool was way better and it pulled harder at half throttle than it did before at full.I was keeping a close eye on the boost gauge to make sure it did'nt go over 15 psi while I did these tests.
Steve the only leak I have been able to find was a leak on the vac side of the wastegate actuator but the side that hooks to the boost solenoid don't leak at all.I'm going to double check my hose connections and swap solenoids tomorrow and see what happens.Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[cool 84]

With the wastegate open it's never going to spool fast if at all. You need to find why it's overboosting with it shut. It's been a long time since I used a hotair wastegate. Maybe the vacuum leak on the vacuum side is causing the problem? If it turns out the wastegate is to blame, I have a stock 84 for free or a new 87 that would simplify things for cheap.

Edit: I didn't see where you said it overboosts with the stocker on there too. Forget the wastgate, check the solenoid and vacuum lines.

 

[Steve Wood]

I am not familiar with the two hose arrangement, but, I suspect if you have a vacuum leak on one side, it will not work correctly.

 

[WIKEDV6]

Looks like you have other issues, controling over boosting by leaving the waste gate open will lead into the problem you are currently experiencing (big time lag). Like someone stated, look for vacuum leaks, wastegate hose setup etc.

 

[TType84]

who made you the adjustable wastegate? do they know youre supposed to cut off i beleive it is a 1/4 inch of the rod before you thread it? if you dont cut it off, then you wont be able to tighten it any......

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Originally posted by TType84
who made you the adjustable wastegate? do they know youre supposed to cut off i beleive it is a 1/4 inch of the rod before you thread it? if you dont cut it off, then you wont be able to tighten it any......

I am able to fully close the wastegate but as stated it overboosts.Can someone tell me how the boost solenoid and chip work to control the boost?If I understood what the solenoid does then it may be easier for me to find a problem.How do you test one?

 

[TurboBuickSix]

I just tested my boost solenoid and it leaks.It holds vac for a half a sec so it is not wide open leaking, but it does leak.I have another adjustable actuator I will put on later and I will try to get a solenoid.I can't see why the sol leak would matter because how would it open the wastegate if there is no pressure there to do so? I am starting to think it is the actuator.Every actuator I have leaks on the vac side too,can I just leave it off?

 

[cool 84]

The boost solenoid is basically a controlled vacuum leak. The bigger the leak, the more boost you have. Don't know how it should be with the engine off but I suspect it will still leak down. I got rid of that a long time ago and installed a bleeder valve.

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Cool,I would like to avoid this whole thing and get a bleeder valve too.Is a bleeder valve the same as a blow off valve? Where and how much $.

also, Could I just hook this actuator up"tuner style" for now,and if so, how is that done? Thanks for responding,I usually try to figure stuff out on my own but this is unchartered territory for me.I still don't understand the solenoid thing,I figured the boost would lower when it opened.

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Anyone?

 

[y-hate]

If you are still having a no boost problem on the line check for exhaust leaks, that was my problem it was leaking from the header on the passenger side, from the crossover pipe and around the turbo......before i got 5lbs with the gas too the floor and now 7lbs at part throttle might not be, but check it anyway

 

[TurboBuickSix]

I suspect it might be my chip,it is a hypertech for the 84 ecm but I am starting to think it might be a race chip.What is happening is it's overboosting and I opened the wastegate to reduce boost so far that it killed spool big time.I put 12 volts to the solenoid and it clicks and opens up,flows freely but leaks a little when it is closed.I think the chip is not energizing the solenoid.I am going to try to swap ecm's with fastwh1 and see what happens.

 

[Steve Wood]

Pull the hose off the solenoid, and plug the hose. ADjust the wastegate rod so that it has about a tenth of inch of tension on the puck sou know it is closed.

Drive the car and see what the boost now is. This takes the chip out of the equation and falls back on the wastegate actuator spring.

This works on the 86-87's anyway. Again, I am not familar with the plumbing on the hot airs.

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Originally posted by Steve Wood
Pull the hose off the solenoid, and plug the hose. ADjust the wastegate rod so that it has about a tenth of inch of tension on the puck sou know it is closed.

Drive the car and see what the boost now is. This takes the chip out of the equation and falls back on the wastegate actuator spring.

This works on the 86-87's anyway. Again, I am not familar with the plumbing on the hot airs.

Steve,I put it that way this morning already and drove it around all day and it gets 13 psi-stays steady right there like it is supposed to.I double and triple checked the hoses, restrictor y,the wires look ok.I must have had this problem with this car all along but never realized.I am going to put in a freinds stock ecm with stock chip tomorrow and see what happens.