No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I have a 93 EX with the D16Z6 motor and I put on a T-3 turbo. I have checked my charge pipes and my hose connectors for leaks and found nothing. I also took off the charge pipes and replaced them with a hose and still no boost. I have tied my WG shut and still no boost. Well I should say I get about 2psi when she is winding out. I also notice that I am puking oil out my air breather that is on the valve cover. I have rerouted my pcv and put in an oil catcher can. I cant find any pre-turbo leaks from the manifold either. Is there anything else I should look for?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Are you using stock cat/exhaust?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

No the cat is gutted and the exhaust from turbo back is 2 1/2" no resonator, just a fancy muffler out the rear

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

well to be honest id worry about why your car is chucking so much oil...does it smoke out the exhaust too? An what sort of filter are you running on the turbo, it can make a difference

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

It doesnt' smoke out the exhaust. I have a small round filter on the turbo, there isnt alot of room to put one. It is about 5" around and is paper pleated. It is like one you would see on a riding lawn mower. I wouldnt think the air breather on the valve cover would puke oil? I think it only happens when it is at higher rpms. I just noticed it today after testing some new ways to resolve my problem.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

try using a screen instead of a lawnmower filter

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I took the filter right off a ran it up the road and still nothing past 2psi. It didnt puke oil this time, the filter was filthy. When i have the car idleing and I rev the car up I can put my hand over the BOV and it has pressure coming out and you can hear it let off when you hammer it to get it moving and then let off. I cant figure this out.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

are you sure your boost gauge is correct?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

It must work properly it reads the same as my Apex-i when it is under vacuum

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Not necessarily true. My boost gauge is fucked for the vaccuum part but it reads boost just fine.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I can try another guage, mine is mechanical. Shouldn't I feel the car pull? I dont feel anything different than before.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

what do the blades of your turbo look like?...if they are beat up it could cause problems

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

are you sure your wastegates shut? sounds to me like its probably open.

pull one of your charge pipes off and look for oil in it, maybe your turbo is cooked.

also, does the t3 spin at idle?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

No they aren't beat up too bad. They are all there, none are bent over or chipped up, but I am not certian I havent looked since I put it on

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I am sure the wastegate is shut because I have wired it shut before. I havent seen any oil in the charge lines yet, I have been looking for that. No the turbine doesnt spin at idle

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Sounds like it's the turbo. Also, you might want to take another look at how you set up your PCV system if you're puking oil out the breather, but that's a different issue. It doesn't eplain the "no boost" problem if the engine still runs fine. My money's on the turbo since you said it doesn't spin at idle, but it's hard to troubleshoot w/o physically witnessing the problem. Good luck.
-Andy

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I concur with a bad turbo, pressure test your intake piping, if that holds 20 psi without leaking, then take the turbo off and examine it.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I have tested the charge pipes and tried a rubber hose and still no boost. I think I am going to yank the turbo off. Is there anything I should be looking for? How hard is it to rebuild the turbo? Anywhere I can find a rebuild kit? I was afraid it was the turbo.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Take the turbo off and try to spin the shaft with your fingers. It should spin with little resistance. I'm assuming you had to clock the turbo for your set-up, so next remove the exhaust and compreesor housings and spin it again to check if the housings were not properly seated and binding on the wheels. Take one housing off and spin the wheel before removing the second housing. This way if it was a cocked housing, you'll know which one. If after all that the turbo doesn't spin freely then I'm afraid it something inside the center section. Rebuild kits are available, but I don't know enough about them to point you in the right direction. Also, depending on what turbo you have, how much you want to spend, and what is wrong with your turbo it might be better to pick up a new turbo instead of rebuilding. Good luck.
-Andy

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I know the compressor wheel moves freely because with the air filter off it spins nice. I will have to check the exhaust side later the motor is hot right now. I did have to clock the turbo and everything spun after that. I may have found another problem also and it may be effecting the turbo I don't know. I took off the oil cap and guess what I found...Milky Oil...looks like I am going to have to put another head gasket on this car. I just did it about 3000 miles ago. Maybe with the head gasket gone it doesn't have enough compression and I am loosing power? I hope so! Let me know what you guys think.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

wait so u dont have any head gasket??

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

By "gone" he means that it's blown, not absent.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

thats wat i was guessing saying he said he just replaced it but... it just kinda scared me i guess

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

No the head gasket is just blown, there is one there. I dont know what happened cause I just changed it 3000 miles ago when I had the head ported and polished and the valves re seated. Looks like the head is comming off again, oh well it doesn't take to long to do it. Anyone know if this problem could be affecting my turbo?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

are you using factory bolts/studs on the head?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Yes I am using factory studs on the head

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Studs don't come from the factory. Upgrade to some ARP headstuds, because once you get this ---- working you might just blow it again in 100 miles.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Well there the studs that came with the car from the facotry, I haven't upgraded them. Where can I find ARP head studs? Does anyone think having a blown head gasket could also be affecting my lack of boost from my turbo?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

no it should still boost and then ---- up ur car more..

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Damn guess I'm gonna need a turbo also. Anyone got a T-3 out there they wanna get rid of?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Well, if the HG's blown that would probably explain puking oil out the breather. And ya can't really spool a turbo up that well if all the pressure going into the cylinders ends up going out the breather. It's a vicious cycle...no compression=no spool=no boost=no power. Fix you HG, use some ARP headstuds and you'll probably be ok.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

and dont buy a bullshit felpro gasket, but the factory honda head gasket. they are onll like 30 bucks shipped from manchester honda.

manhonda.com


Brett

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I used a Felpro gasket last time and didn't change the studs. I wish I would of known the factory HG was as cheap as the Felpro I would have bought that one. I'll change the HG and studs and give her a wing. Only problem is we are getting hammered with snow in Western New York so it may take a couple of days.

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Just to straighten you out... YOU DON'T HAVE STUDS, you have bolts. You need to get studs. Bolts have the head already attached and when you torque it the whole thing spins. Studs are screwed in first, then the head goes on, then you torque NUTS on the studs to hold the head down. Not trying to be a dick, just a little FYI. Also, tunertoyz sells studs and you get a 5% discount for being a HMT member. Good Luck.

http://tunertoys.zoovy.com/category/arp_hardware/

-Andy

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

Yeah they are bolts sorry for the misunderstanding. Thanks for the info, I'll check them out. Do you think this could play a part on why my turbo doesn't boost up past 2 psi?

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

If the turbo is working properly then the air has to be going somewhere. Have a friend seat in the car and spool the turbo while you feel/look around the engine for signs of air leaking out. If it all looks normal then your turbo is probably bad. A final check would be to take the turbo off and throw on some header. Run it NA with a stock map and see what happens. If it is a headgsket then the car will act the same with or without the turbo. If the car runs great then you know it's something with you set-up( turbo, PCV, etc.)
-Andy

Re: No Boost, cannot figure it out
 

I couldn't find anywhere were the charge pipes are leaking. The car did run better with the turbo off and smaller injectors. The car used to pull when the VTEC would kick. I had problems back then with oil and antifreeze, so It probably is the HG and the turbo that need to be replaced.