Turbo Troubleshooting. For the beginner. (Need feedback)
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Turbo Troubleshooting. For the beginner. (Need feedback)
I've been seeing numerous "turbo problem" threads here in FI that have been answered in various posts and that are well-known here on the board. Im sure most of us have encountered a few problems time and time again while doing our turbo kits, so I figured I'd make a small troubleshooting guide in order to help those who may be coming across the same type of things. IF someone has a problem, they should probably come here first to see if it's been answered. IF NOT.....THEN post. I figured, this might help prevent several of repeated questions being asked in order to clean up the board a little.
I'll start this thing off, and if anyone would like to add to it, feel free to do so. I didn't read over the entire "terms of use" for the FI section....so if this somehow violates it, feel free to lock. If there are any recommendations of how to change the format of this, let me know. Feed-back would be good.
PS If there is a problem that hasn't been covered. COME BACK AND POST THE SOLUTION TO IT! This will hopefully benefit everyone here at honda-tech in the long run.
Here were my problems.....
1) Turbo would not boost past 1 psi. Also, car would not rev past 5K RPM. Loud popping occured
Diagnosis: A shop rag was used as an air filter. This choked off the turbo. Solution: ALWAYS use a filter on the inlet of the turbo
2) The turbo is smoking and burning/spitting oil.
Diagnosis: There are a number of things that could cause this. I will list a few.
A) The return line is upside down. In order for the turbo to properly drain the oil, the turbo return line must FACE DOWN at all times so the oil can drain back into the pan.
NOTE: Also, make sure that your return line is NOT going upwards or kinked. The oil must flow down, without any kind of restriction.
B) The oil seals may be blown in the turbo. Check for "Shaft play" (side to side) and "shaft wobble" (up and down). Make sure that the compressor fins DONT hit the housing. If they do, rebuild the turbo immediately. Also, make sure there is no oil in the exhaust or compressor housings either. A rebuild kit can be had for $75-100 if the seals are in fact, blown. If you're doing the rebuild yourself, the best way is to send the turbo out to get balanced when you're all done. Price? ~ $35+shipping
C) You could have a bad ring. This will spit oil into the turbo and out the exhaust.
DO A COMPRESSION TEST to rule this out
D) This could also be a sign of too high of an oil pressure. In order to fix this, you will want to get a restrictor for the oil line, so less oil enters the turbo.
3)The boost isn't as high as it should be
Diagnosis: A main cause of this would be a boost leak. Pressure test all piping with a pressure tester and an air compressor.
4) My car is flooding and runs VERY rich with the AFC hack
A) Make sure your settings are NEGATIVE and NOT Positive. This is a common problem.
B) Make sure a resistor box is installed with DSM 450cc injectors. Your current injectors are "saturated". DSM's are "hold and peak" and need a resistor box installed.
5)Car boosts fine (to full boost or around) for 1 pull . After letting off the gas and then getting back on the gas (to reach boost again)...the car will no longer boost anymore and will hesitate in the higher RPMs
For me, this is a sign the there is a large leak in the charge pipes. Either one of the pipes blew off, OR my GHETTO *** JB weld blew off. Make sure all charge pipes are connected, and your JB weld is still holding up
.......So far this is a REALLY short list of stuff I could come up with just to give you guys an idea of what I mean. I am wondering if this would be a good idea, or not. What do you guys think?
or 
? 
Modified by racinskittle at 7:53 AM 2/17/2004
I'll start this thing off, and if anyone would like to add to it, feel free to do so. I didn't read over the entire "terms of use" for the FI section....so if this somehow violates it, feel free to lock. If there are any recommendations of how to change the format of this, let me know. Feed-back would be good.
PS If there is a problem that hasn't been covered. COME BACK AND POST THE SOLUTION TO IT! This will hopefully benefit everyone here at honda-tech in the long run.
Here were my problems.....
1) Turbo would not boost past 1 psi. Also, car would not rev past 5K RPM. Loud popping occured
Diagnosis: A shop rag was used as an air filter. This choked off the turbo. Solution: ALWAYS use a filter on the inlet of the turbo
2) The turbo is smoking and burning/spitting oil.
Diagnosis: There are a number of things that could cause this. I will list a few.
A) The return line is upside down. In order for the turbo to properly drain the oil, the turbo return line must FACE DOWN at all times so the oil can drain back into the pan.
NOTE: Also, make sure that your return line is NOT going upwards or kinked. The oil must flow down, without any kind of restriction.
B) The oil seals may be blown in the turbo. Check for "Shaft play" (side to side) and "shaft wobble" (up and down). Make sure that the compressor fins DONT hit the housing. If they do, rebuild the turbo immediately. Also, make sure there is no oil in the exhaust or compressor housings either. A rebuild kit can be had for $75-100 if the seals are in fact, blown. If you're doing the rebuild yourself, the best way is to send the turbo out to get balanced when you're all done. Price? ~ $35+shipping
C) You could have a bad ring. This will spit oil into the turbo and out the exhaust.
DO A COMPRESSION TEST to rule this out
D) This could also be a sign of too high of an oil pressure. In order to fix this, you will want to get a restrictor for the oil line, so less oil enters the turbo.
3)The boost isn't as high as it should be
Diagnosis: A main cause of this would be a boost leak. Pressure test all piping with a pressure tester and an air compressor.
4) My car is flooding and runs VERY rich with the AFC hack
A) Make sure your settings are NEGATIVE and NOT Positive. This is a common problem.
B) Make sure a resistor box is installed with DSM 450cc injectors. Your current injectors are "saturated". DSM's are "hold and peak" and need a resistor box installed.
5)Car boosts fine (to full boost or around) for 1 pull . After letting off the gas and then getting back on the gas (to reach boost again)...the car will no longer boost anymore and will hesitate in the higher RPMs
For me, this is a sign the there is a large leak in the charge pipes. Either one of the pipes blew off, OR my GHETTO *** JB weld blew off. Make sure all charge pipes are connected, and your JB weld is still holding up
.......So far this is a REALLY short list of stuff I could come up with just to give you guys an idea of what I mean. I am wondering if this would be a good idea, or not. What do you guys think?
or ? Modified by racinskittle at 7:53 AM 2/17/2004
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 2,802
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From: USA
Re: Turbo Troubleshooting. For the beginner. (lazerus)
Thanks!
Yeah most of this stuff is just personal problems. Not very professional at all, after reading over it a second time lol. But i've seen that stupid shop rag thing happen a few times, so i figured I should probably post some stuff up about the rest of the problems i've had
Thanks again for the response! I really appreciate it!
Yeah most of this stuff is just personal problems. Not very professional at all, after reading over it a second time lol. But i've seen that stupid shop rag thing happen a few times, so i figured I should probably post some stuff up about the rest of the problems i've had
Thanks again for the response! I really appreciate it!
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