Thread: Turbo/boost problems?

Is there any downside to this bodge?

I should charge that guy for using my "invention" How to completely get rid of MAF on de-EGR'd TD5 ...so i thought it's a good ideea 10 years ago when i knew too little about Td5 EMS(kind'a like the guy in the video) but now after 10 years of hard study and experience i can tell that it's not a good ideea for Eu3 engines(albeit it worked well for some competition defenders) and for Eu2 is useless....i still have it on mine cos it keeps me free of air flow fault codes as i have a straight through pipe to the turbo with no MAF at all but i dont see other benefits of it

Revisiting this as I can barely afford the fuel bills. I'm using about 25-30% more fuel than usual.
The big memory card upset the Nanocom, to the point that the screen wants to reboot. I have no idea how to do that, so i approached the issue from a mechanical point of view.
Without disconnecting the waste gate from the vacuum controller, I undid the latter from its bracket. I couldn't get enought free play to properly lift it out, but could move it against the spring. The waste gate lever wouldn't move, so I removed the heat shield and with some difficulty due to the tension from the vacuum controller, disconnected the actuation lever. The waste gate moved freely. I'm wondering if the arm is too short. Surely, if anything that would prevent the waste gate opening.
First question, what type of valve is the waste gate and can it leak in the closed position?
Second question, how is the gate to actuator adjusted?

EDIT: Performance is almost acceptable, except when climbing Toowoomba Range, if sport mode is selected.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

.....The waste gate lever wouldn't move, so I removed the heat shield and with some difficulty due to the tension from the vacuum controller, disconnected the actuation lever. The waste gate moved freely. I'm wondering if the arm is too short. Surely, if anything that would prevent the waste gate opening.
First question, what type of valve is the waste gate and can it leak in the closed position?
Second question, how is the gate to actuator adjusted?

Hi, i'll try in some order the best way i can:
1. the wastegate actuator rod doesnt move too easy cos it has a strong spring inside, you need some force to move it
2. it's no vacuum there only boost which pushes the rod out as to open the wastegate(the description in RAVE in this particular case is wrong)
3. the wastegate is like in the attached pic(completely open there), that "flap" is normally closed as the arrow shows and when the boost is rising the actuator opens it gradually... long time ago i saw one which leaked there due to deposits which didnt let the flap to close completely but in your case i'd rather suspect the cartridge to be worn if a fuelling issue was completely ruled out.

4. if you have much bigger than standard tyres and no remap for that it can be the root of your issue

So there is a possibility that the waste gate does not seal due to carbon build up on the seat or a burnt closure.
I think the root problem is low boost. I have never seen better than .9 bar, when it's running well. The boost is eratic, fluctuating from .5 to .9. It could be something other than a mechanical issue, of course.
I've owned this car for 8ish years. When I first drove it I thought it was a slug, but put that down to stepping from a 4 litre Barra petrol powered sedan, into a 2½ litre diesel 4x4.
It was embarrassing when Jerry's Tdi 200 left me in the dust.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

So there is a possibility that the waste gate does not seal due to carbon build up on the seat or a burnt closure.

In theory it's possible... also ONLY in theory it's possible that the flap has somehow lost the connection with the external lever and it's freely flopping inside(would be a big surprise to see such thing but not impossible)

I should have replied yesterday to what I did:

My recently acquired D2a had issue with low boost too.
Stupid me didn't notice it until a few days later, but on the nanocom in gauge mode, clearly easy to see.
Most of the time it was running about 0.2 to 0.3 Bar.
I had two thoughts, either WGM or stuck/sticking wastegate.
sticking waste gate is easy to find.
if you have access to compressed air, doesn't need to be shop air(ie. 100psi) but any way to create about 15 psi(1 bar) ... disconnect the small hose on the can and connect the air supply to that.
If you use shop air, be gentle, just give it a small dose. I got one of those air blower thingies ... blow out blocked ports and stuff ... small hose on the end connected to the can on the wastegate actuator. the waste gate will pop open.
if you supply too much air, the hose will pop off the can or the air gun device. when it pops off the wastegate should snap shut with force.

Mine didn't .. ie. stuck open, hence exhaust gasses not building up to provide boost.

Spray the wastegate spindle with lube spray(INOX/WD/whatever) .. then use gun with hose again a few times. give it some berries allow the hose to pop off, give it more, hose pops again .. etc. repeat a few times just to be sure.

Now I see around 0.6-0.7 on a steady cruise(on the gauges on nanocom), sometimes into headwind, with tailwind I'm getting (for example) 0.4-ish. a slight incline will see close to 0.8-0.9 or bang on 1 bar .. obviously depends on the conditions.

I still have a wee bit of an issue in that I have yet to see more than 1.2bar(I thought 1.4bar was a normal max) .. so still got some chasing to do, but I haven't yet driven the hills up to Bendigo since the lube spray on the wastegate spindle, but I think it's good for now.

But I had the same 'lame' issue driving to and from, where I had trucks flying past me where I was struggling at 60-70k/h on the Bendigo-Melb run.

I've been used to both a remapped TD5(that's killing it's torque converter! ) and Tdi that struggles(new turbo cartridge fitting soon) .. and I just put it down to an unmapped TD5.
Still not as strong as the mapped TD5, this is very obvious at low engine revs, but at about 2500rpm, now they feel less dissimilar(D2 vs D2a).
I say that, but I'm very granma-ish with the slipping TC on the D2.(plans for a V8 TC for that one soon too).

If you dont' see low 1.2 - 1.4 bar on the nanocom for high boost situations(eg. 3000+rpm lots of right pedal) .. then just because it's easy to do spray spindle on wastegate, annd if you don't have air to move it a few times, hope it comes good on it's own when driving along.

This messes with my head, it affects the possibly slightly OCD trait I have that all vehicles that I know about should run as they are meant to.

Even a stock TD5 running well isn't the quickest car by a fair margin ( easily sorted with good mapping ) but if .5-.9 bar is all you're getting, I reckon even an old 2.2 litre diesel hilux would seem sporty.

I hope someone who lives close to Ian and can drive a nanocom would please post a log so we can sort this, if not, then maybe take it to someone who knows their way around a TD5.

Eight and a half years..... My god, for me, this'd be like being strapped to a chair with a cobweb dangling over my eyelid.