Matt...

1. Out of all the 3sgte owners over all the years, none of them had ever had a bad wastegate actuator that needed to be replaced.
2. when a turbo "goes bad" it either produces ZERO boost (because the exhaust fins are missing) or it produces boost like normal but spits out lots of blue smoke from oil burning.

A bad turbo or a bad wastegate is not your problem.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 6, 2012 - 9:01 AM

Can you take a general picture of your engine bay, intercooler piping, and a close up of the turbo/downpipe/manifold area?

How are you measuring boost? What brand of boost gauge are you using and where is it connected to?


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NO IT DOES NOT!
The difference between 6.5 or 7.5 or whatever is due to the accuracy of the boost gauge, and also the elevation of where you live and the weather temperature outside. Just because the wastegate is said to be set to 7psi from the factory, doesn't mean that you will get EXACTLY 7.0psi.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 5, 2012 - 9:58 PM

Put the stock wastegate back on.
Remove the boost controller and just connect the port from the turbo to the port on the wastegate together with some good quality 4mm fuel line hose. Then take the car for a ride an see if you can make anywhere from 5-8psi of boost. If you can, everything is working correctly and you need to then install your boost controller and set it up for more boost.


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Because you put some crazy aftermarket wastegate actuator on that was never meant to be used with this turbo and your flapper door is probably blowing open every time you boost.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 6, 2012 - 9:02 AM

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Im hoping its not either w/g or turbo, I took out my w/g and a friend of mine tested it using a hand held pump with a vaccum meter on it, and neither of my old w/g would hold vaccum. Additionally, I can pull the wastegate rod by hand, which was previously difficult to do.


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I will definately take pics of the engine bay ic piping etc. I am measuring boost by way of AEM tru boost. The Tru boost is not controlling anything at the moment, and is only connected to read PSI.
As far as the inaccurate reading I appreciate you clearing that part up for me! I was going by a number that was quite consistent from a certain period of time to it not being consistent at all, however it wont get that high anymore.


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The boost controller was not hooked to the turbo or wastegate until i broke the motor in I have always used the 4mm fuel line hose going from the turbo to the port on the wastegate, i have never messed with it or anything The car behaves in the exact same way as when I put the new wastegate on. boost goes to zero (no smoke, and all fins are intact on the turbo)

I DO hear a loud whirring noise when under load as if the car is spooling, I dont think it is a leak because Ive used the boost leak tester for the system and heard nothing.

I'll take some pics tonight. I really appreciate all the help!

This post has been edited by easternpiro1: Jun 6, 2012 - 2:48 PM

hey man, if you checked you wastegate and turbo and its working properly. them im almost 100% sure you got a leak somewhere. i was having trouble boosting a while back and i also tested for leaks and although i couldnt hear any i moved my hand around couplings and pipes and i felt a strong current of air coming from my BOV. and sure enough the o-ring connecting the bov to the bov flange wasnt sealing right. i bought a thicker o-ring and added silicone all around...


and... shhhhassssam! im boosting normally.....

i too was hearing a loud noise when i was spooling, but i didnt think it was a leak,...instead i was like: " man, this turbo spools loud..." lol
and now that the leak is gone, my spooling is not as loud as before with the leak

forgot to mention, i also tightened the arm on the internal wastegate a few more turns cause it was just snug..now its a bit tighter, to ensure a proper seal




i hope this helps........

This post has been edited by batcavee00: Jun 20, 2012 - 4:19 PM

you might want to check that alloy plate from time to time as it may bend, i would have that piece made from steel and painted

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oh its secured pretty thick, would be pretty hard for it to bend. Im going to remove the BOV and just put an aluminum pipe in its place and see what happens.

in all my troubles with turbochargers and boost on the 3sgte, the problem has ALWAYS been too much boost.

when my original ct20b went out, it made a very loud whine like a dieing animal, and then it made 0 boost as the turbo shaft snapped somewhere in the centre cartridge,

my car has always been able to make atleast 10psi boost with the clamps undone so i highly doubt its "just a boost leak"

also, using a 3psi spring in a 44mm tial wastegate im still getting creep up to 10-12psi

sounds dumb, but did you overlook checking out both sides of the turbo? you spun one end freely, but did that equally spin the other end??? to me it seems theoretically impossible to make 0 boost short of not having the turbo hooked up at all

Have you tried using a boost leak tester, it's easy to make one.
Cheers: Dom

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hey mate, I heard no loud whine, but I have checked my cold side and hot side before no shaft play, and both spun freely. some friend and i were kickin some ideas around and we believe my wastegate flap is staying open somehow. but there is no way to tell short of putting it on a dyno and putting it under load to see. I am going to take my downpipe off again to be SURE there is no play and in going to look at the fins on the hot side to be sure theyre not chipped or anything (which i doubt)

that new wastegate I have is VERY stiff, so i couldnt understand why i was still gettin no boost until a pal of mine said it may be so stiff that its just stuck in its position. so this is prompting me to take off my downpipe and look at the flap to see if it is open a crack, as he says this would cause me to build no boost EVEN if its just open slightly


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thanks dom, yeah i used a home made boost leak tester and put it on the intake side of the turbo, i only turned it up to like 3-5 psi but i heard no leaking air its looking like this is either turbo or flapper issue

testing for leak at 3-5 psi wont do much for you. i too was testing with low pressure, but as soon as i started checking at 15psi i started finding a bunch of leaks everywhere. im still having boost issues myself. for some reason i cant got past 11psi on my t3t4 turbo.... =/

this is true, but im afraid to test any higher gonig into the turbo as it may blow the seals. however i do plan on testing the pipes again at higher pressure did u fix ur leak?

Don't worry just test right after the turbo and right before the throttle. I fixed all my leaks but I can't go past 11psi. I think my downpipe might ght be the problem, its kinda crappy.....lol

quick update...

I took off the BOV and replaced it with straight pipe, still no boost, so BOV is fine...

I checked both sides of the turbo wheel spins fine, wastegate flap was closed and not stuck open or hung on anything.

to be SURE no leaks were in my system i took of my intercooler, filled it with water, and saw no leaks.
I took off ic piping at the throttle body, and capped it off on the other end. NO leaks in IC piping (tested pressure at 40psi)


UGH. so i guess it is a bad turbo. TOTALLY PERPLEXED as to WHY when i didnt mess with the damn thing...

I can go two routes:

1. use my other ct20b (which has been sitting for a WHILE and has the hotside separated from the compressor)

2. use my T3/4 and external wastegate (which i would RATHER sell and NOT use)

going to take off the turbo and try to use my ct20b hopefully it sitting for so long with the exhaust wheel out hasn't done anything...

update:
taking the car to a friend's dyno, going to try to determine exactly where the boost leak is coming from before removing the turbo....

Good Luck buddy!
Sucks that its taking so much work to figure it out
will be interested in seeing what eventually is the cause

thanks Dan! I found out what it was, and as I feared, it IS a bad turbo.... I just wanted to be SURE.

took the downpipe off, put it on the dyno at my friend's shop, and held the flap in manually to be sure it was not a bad flap or w/g...

WHY YOU HAZA NO BOOSTA

^ He no bũsta.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 4, 2012 - 4:25 PM

MAN. this is frustrating.... I took the manifold off... checked everything. even used my old manifold... come to find out my old ct20b is clocked and I could not put it on at the time as it was facing downward, and i have no piping for that configuration.

I will have a friend show me how to re clock the turbo back to where it was, and put it in. IDK if the turbo is good as it has been sitting for like 5 years.... but if im still having the problem i will be selling this god damned car along with every piece of upgrade i have for it. or trading it for something.

This post has been edited by easternpiro1: Sep 7, 2012 - 4:01 PM

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Dont give in to the frustration mang!

thanks for the encouragement bro, but seriously... this is absolutely ridiculous.... I'll keep pushing... but if this continues it will be in the fs/ft thread lol

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...mp;#entry987070


Fond the leak! lol

"I used cigarillos."

You don't say...

Glad you found the leak, engine at 100% now?

So where was the leak at?

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lol dont get too excited there about those cigarillos buddy... I see your avatar! lol


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sorry guys, didnt update after I FULLY inspected where the leak was coming from. when i orginally posted that i found it, i saw steady smoke coming from the area of the IC piping routed under the fuse box (right by the wheel well) I didnt have time to jack the car up and look on the underside until the next day when I had another set of hands/eyes to help me out pumping the air in.

Here is what happened:

I jacked it up and saw that the smoke seemed to originally be comign from piping.

upon further inspection I noticed that a coupler (which was in an IMPOSSIBLE PLACE btw) WAS FRAYED ON THE EDGE cool! this is where the leak is coming from i figured...

I placed the IC Piping back on and jacked the car up and asked my gf to hold the air pump onto the vaccum line coming from the BOV.

I saw that smoke was coming from the air filter and not from the coupler like i thought. I felt like an ass... the video posted on here about that smoke test didnt account for covering up the filter and i completely forgot about it!

so next I will cover up the filter area and try again..... If this dosent work I will Unclock my other CT20b and put it on. If my car is STILL not boosting I will be selling it, this is apparently WAY over my head or im missing something.

What was weird was that after all this, when i started the car, two things happened: 1. it idled at 2k 2. my RPM gauge no longer worked (this is after i moved the fuse box to get to the piping) Cam told me that that shouldnt affect my idle because my tach addapter is next to the ECU INSIDE the car.

Im honestly beginning to think this is an electrical issue... but due to my limited Experience I'm not sure how this can be so.


Lagos, thanks for all the advice! I honestly dont know what to do at this point... the most knowledgeable person nearby absolutely hates my car lol, and for all the research and tricks ive tried to fix this problem, im just about out of ideas

It needs less ideas and more of your hands under the hood!

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lol thats what Ive been doing! this weekend Im putting the spare ct in, have to un clock it.

ANOTHER update: Ive inspected my turbo, and come to find out there is nothing wrong with it. A friend checked over it and confirmed, and insists that im loosing boost through a crack in a pipe or silicone coupler....

I will take off all IC piping again, and hopefully he can weld some of it to eliminate chances of more foolishness.


I meant to show the video of my wastegate while the car was on the dyno here it is: http://youtu.be/XQ95DchrUV4

whoa, weird looking wastegate... what gen engine is that off of?