Hey everyone, it's been awhile! Happy Holidays!

Solved? and it isn't fun...
Pulled the intake side off the turbo, and my impeller can move about a half inch. looks like I have a seized up turbo. At least I get to go turbo shopping? lol

I need to make use of your brains please. You can see my parts list in my signature. I ran into the problem where my bolts/studs between the exhaust and turbo came out after a few years. Got it replaced with 10x1.25 class 10.8 bolts. Very worthwhile change for later maintenance. The car was down for about 6 months. I wasn't in a rush since I daily another car. New battery was needed after a full discharge(and it was 4.5 years old. This is when this weird problem came up.

I have zero boost. The car spins up to a 0.0 boost reading on my EBC read out and a mechanical Defi gauge reads 0. Both gauges read a proper vacuum at low RPM. I've put the EBC into factory control mode and it's the same result. I've checked all clamps and electrical connections on turbo related components. My best guess is that the wastegate is stuck open. I'm about to hook up my compressor to the pressure line to see if it is activating. I pulled the pin out of the wastegate and it moves freely, so if it is wastegate related it's on the WGA.(thankfully...)

My brother in law gave me an idea... Let's assume the battery was dead for 2-3 month's. Completely discharged and useless. any chance the ECU lost the custom tune, tripped a failsafe, and is no saying "hell no, you get no boost until you figure out what's wrong" ?

**update** the wastegate, and wastegate actuator both move easily when applying pressure with an air compressure as low as ~5 psi. I pulled the hoses off the boost solenoid and just using my breath I'm able to blow through it. This is both running and off. Hooking the solenoid up to the battery leads gives me the click that I'm looking for. So it is moving. I want to find a way to bypass the solenoid and use wastegate spring pressure, but regardless to that, the input line on the solenoid has no air going through it. The more and more I test things, the more and more I feel like there is just a preboost exhaust leak I simply can't find. Given that I just reattached the exhaust manifold to the turbo, it's entirely possible that somehow there is a gap between the two? Even though I can't get them any tighter than they are. I also took down the settings, reset, and reconfigured my EBC.

Does anyone have any thoughts on things to check? I'm at a head scratching loss.

 

Im thinking something thats keeping exhaust from being directed into the turbine, so wastegate or possible exhaust leak somewhere before the turbo. Seems more like a wastegate issue though.

-Eric

 

I pulled the pin out of the wastegate and it moves freely and easily. Thankfully... Now to figure out these clamps so I can attempt to get pressure through the WGA. I've never seen the inside of one. I know how they work on principle, but I'm not sure how they mechanically operate. Is there something inside that could get stuck to get it from actuating?

Is there anything electronically in this car that would cause a weird boost only "limp" mode? Some sort of strange anti-theft measure to make sure they don't get away as fast? lol

 

If its really easy to move the shaft on the wastegate that may be a problem. It shouldn't be that easy to pull in and out because of the spring inside it. As far as I know theres nothing electronically that would cause the car to make no boost.

-Eric

 

I worded that poorly. I meant the waste gate itself. the waste gate actuator doesn't move so freely. However, I pulled the line off the solenoid and and using an air compressor the arm moves just fine under as low as 5 psi. Waste and arm move independently and as a pair.

If I wasn't confused before, I definitely am at a total loss now.

 

Oh, I understand you now. If you haven't already, check the entire path from turbo to intake mani. If its not the wastegate then you must be loosing pressure from somewhere in your piping.

-Eric

 

I figured out the problem. The impeller in my turbo is seized....

Time to find a good rebuild kit. haha

 

I think this is the right one. Can anyone confirm, please?

 

you said you just reattached the exhaust manifold to the turbo?

are you sure you didnt get something stuck in the exhaust section of the turbo and it made the turbo stuck?

 

It never actually came apart. All I really did was put bolts in where they came out. The largest gap it ever had was a millimeter at most. But I suppose when I pull the turbo out I'll find out for sure.

 

Don't think thats for a 10. This thread should point you in the right direction: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...build-kit.html

-Eric