Andyba20

Is this a common leak due to a bad seal, or does it look like it’s not seated all the way? Never noticed it before, but had the transmission built 1,000 miles ago. Would the trans shop had messed with this? It’s not a massive leak but I can see where it’s spinning and throwing oil all around.

It does boost fooling, and I’ve got the adjuster screw on the elbow turned all the way in, so the wastegate isn’t opening at all (plus I tested the actuator while the turbo was removed and it snaps shut like a bear trap. I tested for leaks again at 30psi and there are none. Specifically tested around the boost elbow too. In my mind, deductive reasoning suggests a computer issue and not mechanical. Just resetting to stock got me from 12psi back to 18-20, then reapplied the smarty tune and stayed at 18-20. I’m not sure if the Smarty communicates with the MAP sensor at all, but could a faulty map sensor cause these kind of symptoms?

Got the turbo back on today. Between having to make a gasket for the oil drain tube and then stripping the threads out of one of the holes on the turbo exhaust housing, it was a sitcom. Took it for a spin, same low boost. Went home and started trying things. Put the Smarty back to stock, went out and got back to 18-20 psi. Hmm. Ok. Loaded a Smarty tune, went for a drive and still got 18-20. Back to normal, but still not where it should be with the new boost elbow (adjustment screw all the way in). It’s like the Smarty boost fooling isn’t working. I’m planning to move to the Adrenaline anyway, but I’d kinda like to figure this out before I start making big changes. I’d feel better knowing what the actual issue is. No codes still.

What would happen if a chunk degraded again over time and went down the oil tube? Could it take anything out?

So no issue with heat there?

Went to reinstall the turbo today and noticed the gasket on the oil drain tube was degrading. Ran all over town looking for one. Got wrong parts at 2 places that I called before I even went. Here’s my question. Most all the big diesel vendors list 5264569 as the part # for 89-02, but the center on that gasket is rectangle, mine’s circular. Was the oil drain outlet a different shape for the HX vs HY? I have some tan 1/32” Fel-Pro gasket sheets (Karropak), is that safe to use here? I’d prefer to find something locally or make something since shipping is taking forever and the truck is sitting in the driveway. https://www.thoroughbreddiesel.com/5264569/

Is porting the wastegate to 15/16” worth the effort? Figured I’d explore that option before I put the turbo back on. Is it mainly a performance mod or is there a reliability/longevity factor to it? Would there be a noticeable effect on drive pressure?

@Mopar1973Man is it age or mileage that ends the Timbo apps…you’re driving your truck a lot more in 7-9 years than I am. I’m now at 7 years on my Timbo, but probably 70,000 miles.

Thanks for looking so closely at all of this. I’ve been checking into your observations. I’m gonna try to post some more pics tomorrow. Been doing some research and it doesn’t seem too many people are having luck rebuilding these things themselves with the kits. I’m gonna make some calls tomorrow. But before I go the new turbo route I’m going to clean up the wastegate port and flapper as suggested by you and @IBMobile and, @Tractorman,reinstall, and then drive it. If that doesn’t work I’ll start trying to find someone to rebuild it, or just buy another turbo I guess. It was a lot easier to stay on top of things with this truck when there were smart and honest people around here that wanted to give good service. It’s maddening right now.

I’m tempted to send it off for a rebuild. I watched the one dudes video, then apparently a short time later his rebuild failed. Sounds like Moparman is on his 2nd rebuild kit. So maybe the rebuild kits aren’t that good? I’m just not a talented mechanic and there’s nobody around here that knows anything anymore. I did start cleaning up around the wastegate port and man that stuff is like iron. I’m slowly chiseling it all out with a small screwdriver.

@W-Tlearning here. I understand the bd noise filter is not a fix, and basically masks issues which leads to other issues, but if a truck has the WT mod and healthy batteries, alternator, cables, grounds then what can the noise filter harm?

I did this a while back. The military style are the way to go. I soldered my lugs on, but have since bought a hydraulic crimper that I’ve used for other things. I am in the minority on this, but there’s an old dude here in town that I trust and he swears a cold weld (high pressure crimp in this case) is superior. I think the crimper I got was like $50 at harbor freight.

The last owner had a K&N on it. That was 8 years and 100,000 miles ago. I’ve have a bhaf on it since I bought it, but I’ve never touched the turbo until yesterday because it’s never given me a problem.

I’m all for cleaning it up and trying it out. The chain of events is what is so odd. It goes like this. Consistently made 18-20 psi, ordered boost elbow and installed, ran it to check boost, got up to 22psi (maybe more, had to look at the road too), came home and turned the adjuster in, went back out and tested again and couldn’t get over 10psi. That’s where I’ve been since. Put the old boost elbow back in and still at 10psi. So it all happened right when I got the new elbow. I did have leaks which I’ve completely mitigated since the start of this thread.

That’s a good point @IBMobile thank you. I’m obviously gonna have to find a pro to look at it, but just for fun I’m tempted to fab something up and test your theory. Seems plausible.

Anybody see anything unusual?

Got the turbo off finally. Checked the wastegate flapper and it seems to be opening/closing as it should. It was not stuck open. There is no play anywhere on the turbo that I can find. I saw where @Mopar1973Manhad a bearing failure that caused low boost, could this be my issue too? I think I’m pretty much to the point where I’m gonna have to let a professional look at it if nobody has anything else I should check. also- lots of carbon build up everywhere. Is this something I can/should clean? Can I use a degreaser/cleaner or should I use a brush and air?

Should have sold it to me last week lol. Mine is soaking in penetrating oil as we speak, probably take it off tomorrow.

Do it. You’ve got the skills. Hard to beat a good ol’ Arizona truck. Assuming it was always in the southwest.

Everybody around here is a welder now. Matter of fact they even have little silhouette stickers on their back windows that say “welder” or “lineman”. They’re a proud people. Saw a truck the other day that said “no flux given”

From reading it seems normal idle for our trucks in park is 800-850. Mine idles smooth at 750, and I’m pretty sure it always has. Been paying closer attention to the truck as I try to figure out this low boost issue and some other little things. Truck starts right up, 1/2 a crank at 20F this morning. My concern is the Nations 180 amp alternator. Just making sure this isn’t effecting performance on that. Is 750 in the acceptable range? That’s 750, no ac. Auto trans in park. High idle kicks in as it should.

Any reason not to try some high heat JB weld there?

This seems like an odd place for a leak (intake horn). And it must be tiny bc I looked with a magnifying glass and couldn’t find it. It’s on the left side. The right side bubbles on the other pic are bubbles that blew over from the left. Any suggestions on the best way to fix it? Or just buy a new one? At first I thought it was air getting by the bolt, so I torqued at and checked again-still got bubbles. Then rtv’d the bolt head and tried again-still got bubbles.

That’s the beauty of this forum. New information is brought to light, and things evolve. This one seems to be a game changer for sure.

This is really interesting @Tractorman. So does this change the long held gospel of 14psi fuel pressure or more at all times? Thanks for taking the time to research and test this.