This is not evo related and I don't have any other sources to go by but everyone on here and I do believe we have some of the most knowledable people here so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am working on my brothers 2003 mazdaspeed protege and currently it will not make boost. Before I started working on the car it was struggling to make 1-3 psi. After doing some research on their forums some had that problem and that required a new wastegate. I changed out the wastegate and now I am not getting any boost what so ever. I have checked everything. The system doesn't have any leaks. I have even tried running the wastegate open and still nothing. I spun the inducer side of the turbo and it spins freely. I have pulled on the wastegate arm and it feels like the flapper is working properly. I have also take off intercooler piping to see if I am getting flow through the system and it is indeed a good amount. Problem is when I drive it the turbo doesn't spool. I would love to take off the j-pipe(02 housing) to check the exducer but these cars are beyond impossimble. Any suggestions before a tear the turbo out?

 

could be turbo or you have a big boost leak. disconect lines going to the wg and see if car builds boost if it is still at 0 i would pull turbo.

 

+1, also check for any exhaust leaks before the turbo. is their any odd noises?

 

I have boost leak checked everything and checked for exhaust leaks and nothing. The arm on the wastegate is definitely sealing the flapper so it isn't prematurely open. I can feel and hear the flapper still intact. Would a CHRA still spin fine if it bad?

 

No, those turbo's are small enough to the point where they'll spin with the car in neutral. The couple of MSP's that I worked on had major exhaust leaks before the turbo and they are known for the turbo's crapping out with faulty ball bearing CHRA's. The plastic diverters leak a little but nothing major usually, and once and a while the plastic end tanks on the tiny IC will leak too. I'd do a boost leak test on everything and make sure the wastegate has the proper preload.

 

I have stated several times now that I have done a boost leak test. Not only to the system but every part working through it. This is not an adjustable wastegate and it has enough preload to keep the flapper shut. This is a wastegate that has been used on many mazdaspeeds as a fix with success. It has to be the CHRA as I see nothing else at fault. My question is though which concerns to how to tell when a CHRA goes bad? I checked the wheel for any play and it didn't have any.