While driving home yesterday from picking up my car from the Auto glass place(young punks with BB guns) i was getting on it, everything seemed fine, boosting at normal levels and all. About half way through my trip home while getting on the highway i decided to mash on it and to my surprise the car wouldn't go anyplace and it would only boost to about 10lbs or so. i bring the car home, run a boost leak test, check the Vac lines, checked for any holes in piping etc.... couldn't find anything. i wake up this morning and do another run down of the car, only to find that the Bracket holding My FP HP Wastegate had completely snapped in half. now i don't know if thats the culprit to my problems but im almost 99.99% sure it is. I'm having a friend weld it back up so i can at least drive, but has this happened to anyone else?

 

Looks like it was cut with a plasma cutter. I am seeing blueing in the pics. Or you need better pics.

 

a plasma cutter? you actually think that someone could have cut that while it was on my car?

 

Where was the last place you got your car worked on at?

 

i do all the engine work, i had dropped my car off at an auto glass store for 1 hour came back and everything was fine, im just thinking that it's just a crap weld job done from FP?

 

come on seriously why would the autoglass guys even think of doing that, no way, definetely something else.

 

thats exaclty what im saying, im mean come on, they prolly couldnt tell you the first thing about a Wastegate at a Auto Glass store haha

 

That was definitely cut. FP doesn't weld the wastegate there, it's just a bracket. Are you the only owner of the car?

 

For the last time, its not cut, i know what cut metal looks like, it would have either seraided edges or a blue tint to it, it has niether.

 

and for your answer, this is directly taken out of the FP website.....


"The HP actuator does not retain a 100% stock appearance. It is identifiable by the 2 studs and small weld bead on the actuator bracket as shown in the product picture. So if you are going for 100% stealth, be aware that educated eyes can identify the actuator"

 

Follow that link and on the pic of the turbo, you CAN see the the weld on the bracket.


http://store.forcedperformance.net/m...e=Lancer-Turbo

 

Now that im taking a better look at it, i dont even have any weld marks on the bracket like FP's website said it would have. Looks Like Fp will be hearing from me today!

 

It's hard to tell from the pics, but the metal probably had a very small crack or flaw in that area and the bracket broke due to fatigue of repeated back and forth stresses when the wastegate was opening and closing.

One pic shows that the fracture seems to have two surfaces starting on either side and meeting in the middle or the fracture began on one side and then finally broke quickly. Either situation points to a fatigue failure. Detailed pictures of the fracture surfaces could help, but I'm sure FP will replace the bracket for free.


Eric

 

Sabotage!

 

UPDATE:
well it turns out that there IS suppose to be a few weld beads on that bracket, mine never had it, guessing someone at Forced got a lil lazy ha. got her all welded up and it holds great, hell the car feel's like its driving stronger too.