turbo problems

[cockney16v]

When i run full boost turbo seems to make funny noises like a poping sound can any one help
never had a turbo before,knowledge is very basic
cheers

[ROG]

Be carefull if its making poping noises , try not to drive with high boost till you sort it as you might pop a hole in your pistons if its something serious!
Turbos are very sensitive to sparkplugs, leads and caps as well as fuel
How much boost is it running, does it have any mods or is it std, have you got a boost gauge and afr gauge as if not you need to fit them so you canm tell if somethings going wrong

[cockney16v]

i have a boost gauge fitted it reads 10 pound of boost,it standard engine no mods.
what is a afr gauge

[Paul]

It's an Air/Fuel Ratio gauge mate.

I take it from that, you haven't got one. [img]/smile.gif[/img]

[cockney16v]

no i have not,its my first turbo.

[ROG]

AFR is a a air fuel ratio, shows if the engines rich or lean with leds, red yellow or green should go from left to right over and over again until under boost and it then should read green.
Check the gap on your plugs and that there new looking , the gap should be .7mm i think on std boost, then the distributor cap and rotor arm, if they look at all burnt on the tips theyl need changing
Its always a good idea to run injector cleaner in the fuel every now and again to make sure the injectors dont get blocked, the STP one in a grey bottle is good
The boost should go up to a higher level when you floor the accelerator im not sure but i think it should be .8 and then go down to .6 and stay there ( but it might be different!)
It probably just wants clean plugs at the right gap etc and some injector cleaner.

[cockney16v]

how do i fit a air/fuel ratio gauges

[ROG]

Its electrical, 4 wires, one 12v when ignition on, 12v to light it up and earth to the metal on the engine and one wire to the plug of the lambda sensor just behind the engine under the bonnet, they come with instructions when you get them, i paid about 15 pound from ebay

[Blossey]

Boost gauges either come in psi or bar, about 14 psi is 1 bar. So you should be looking at held boost of around 8-9 psi. You can feel the overboost when you floor the accelerator it's that second surge as the turbo really gets going before it settles down again.

As Rog said, you'll need to inspect/replace rotor arm & spark plugs on a regular basis, dizzy cap less often, also check your fuel filter as its often overlooked. Time to buy that Haynes manual !

You're pretty local to VTS who are based in Burton-on-Trent so if the cars not had a proper service/check-over then get it over to them and they'll sort you out.

When the turbo 'pops' does the car feel strange? Does it jerk or feel like its holding back at all? Anything else that doesn't seem or sound quite right?

Oh, welcome to the club and turbo ownership! There's plenty of info on here so happy hunting.

[cockney16v]

i spoke to some one at courtney and they seem to think its running to much boost,before i bought the car the guy had a new acuater put on and i dont think it was set up right

[Kieran_Burns]

You really need to get some gauges fitted then mate - until then, it's all conjecture and guess work.

Fitting really is easy (even a complete numpty like me can fit the gauges [img]/biggrin.gif[/img] )and the peace of mind you get is well worth the small expense

[cockney16v]

i have a boost gauge fitted when i floor it the boost goes well past 12psi

[ROG]

On the actuator theres 2 nuts on the threaded bit, loosen them right off, then push the wastegate arm towards the turbo until closed, tighten the battery side nut against it, then another 4 turns, then tighten the other nut up tight
THis should set the boost at std`ish` levels

[Stupink]

havn't really input here as not a lot to say, you said 10psi to start with? which seemed normal. now way over 12?

If the boost is any more than 11-12psi maximum overboost in 6th gear, and 8-9psi held values then its boosting too much and will be the cause of issues. as per rog's advice reset actuator pretension to 4mm/turns and try(assuming a standard replacement actuator was not fitted, if uprated actuator it might well be too strong even with no pretension at all, but definately dont put 4 turns on uprated unit.. standard unit will have KKK stamped on the end where the pipe attatches.).

[cockney16v]

it had a uprated one fitted before i bought it.i measured the thread showing towards the battery and it is 4mm is that good or bad