A Turbo Question.

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D.G.F.S.

Active Member
Posts
421
Location
Cheshire
Good Evening all...


My turbo isn't achieving full boost for some reason and I'm getting more black smoke that normal. I have a boost gauge fitted and I normally get around 9.5psi but now I'm only getting 6-7psi at best. All pipes are fine as is the waste gate which moves freely with the actuator rod removed. I have shortened the actuator rod by a considerable amount just to see if it would make any difference, which it did only slightly. If I was to shorten the rod as far as the thread would allow it might just scrape 9psi but there is something obviously wrong for me to have to do that. There is very little oil in the impeller housing, the fins are fine as is the bearing. Any suggestions welcome.
 
Good Evening all...


My turbo isn't achieving full boost for some reason and I'm getting more black smoke that normal. I have a boost gauge fitted and I normally get around 9.5psi but now I'm only getting 6-7psi at best. All pipes are fine as is the waste gate which moves freely with the actuator rod removed. I have shortened the actuator rod by a considerable amount just to see if it would make any difference, which it did only slightly. If I was to shorten the rod as far as the thread would allow it might just scrape 9psi but there is something obviously wrong for me to have to do that. There is very little oil in the impeller housing, the fins are fine as is the bearing. Any suggestions welcome.

Where is the boost gauge tapped into? Is it at the turbo or the manifold?
 
Cheers for your replies folks. Pos, the boost gauge is connected to the pipe exiting the compressor housing into a T piece to the actuator and the boost diaphragm on the pump. The gauge was working perfectly fine when I last took particular notice a couple of weeks ago (I was down Wales last week, not in the rover because the starter packed in too but the week before it seemed ok)
 
Cheers for your replies folks. Pos, the boost gauge is connected to the pipe exiting the compressor housing into a T piece to the actuator and the boost diaphragm on the pump. The gauge was working perfectly fine when I last took particular notice a couple of weeks ago (I was down Wales last week, not in the rover because the starter packed in too but the week before it seemed ok)

Alright. Well I would be tempted to try a different gauge, that way you can verify whether or not your current gauge is reading correctly or not. Either way, there are various things that can cause a loss of boost, each similar in principal. Once the turbo is spooling, the air intake system is under boost, and the pressure is built up right the way from the turbo outlet to the intake manifold. If there is a leak somewhere along the air intake pipework between the turbo outlet and your inlet manifold, adequate boost (as predefined by your waste gate adjustment) will not be produced, or reached to be more accurate and the reading that you get at your boost gauge will be lower as a result. The turbo will be effectively forcing air out of any leaks or weak points along the length of the intake. It would be wise to remove all of the pipe work and inspect it for splits or tears. Re-connect everything back together with new jubilee clips and then check your boost reading. Another possibility is that your intercooler may have split or corroded through. They do tend to go through along the welds if anywhere, so take it out of the radiator frame and have a good look. You may as well clean it whilst it's out and you could perform a simple pressure test with a hose pipe to ensure that there are no leaks. It is also important that you do not take a boost reading when the vehicle is stationary, with the engine revving. Your reading needs to be taken when the Land Rover is working hard, such as accelerating away from a stand still, or climbing a hill for example. If you have a 200tdi (which I think you do looking at your profile photo), the boost should be set at 11-12 PSI which I believe was the factory standard. Ofcourse, you may decide to go a little further, but don't push it.

-Tom
 
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