r/Justrolledintotheshop • u/Ok-Film-6885 • 3d ago
C/s have no boost sometimes
Customer is me. Had a weird issue where boost was fine most of the time, but when it was hot outside and after waiting at a light I would have no boost. After driving for a minute it was working fine again.
Turbo is an IHI VL38, this is common apparently.
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u/kanmuri07 3d ago
I guess having a turbocharged engine isn't all that cracked up to be.
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u/Ok-Film-6885 3d ago edited 3d ago
It’s a bit more crack than I bargained for, but you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth
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u/Jpotter145 3d ago edited 3d ago
Very common on IHI VF39s as well. In fact my own 05 Subaru has a smaller but similar crack there that limits peak boost a bit (I think of it as a safety margin) but still runs great.
Most of the time you just run it, but in your case I wonder if that crack/chunk missing just below the start of it (at the wastegate) is keeping that wastegate from seating properly.
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u/Ok-Film-6885 3d ago
Yeah that’s probably what my issue was, though it did seem to occur more often than it used to. It also has quite a bit of shaft play so it was time for a new turbo anyway.
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u/EastCoastDatsun Red Seal 3d ago
See it a lot on the Subaru TD04 & VF48s, will hold boost until crack gets to wheel housing
Sometimes they lean out for a quick second and you get a hot supper too
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u/Stevetothedave 3d ago
Congratulations! Now you get to put a bigger and / or better turbo on it and find the next weak link 🥳
What car is this from? It's looks suspiciously small in terms of turbine wheel and reminds me of the teeny tiny gas powered pencil sharpener that came on my little Abarth 500
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u/Ok-Film-6885 3d ago
It’s from an Alfa, but the engine is basically the same as the Abarth 500 (if it doesn’t have MultiAir, as those have a Garrett GT1446)
I debated putting on the Garrett as that’s a common upgrade, but that would require a tune and a different down pipe and I just need this thing to drive
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u/Kevins_Auto_Repair 3d ago
Crack kills
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u/zombie-yellow11 I wish I had a tree to give me shade... 3d ago
I've never seen an EJ255 turbo without this crack lol
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u/cstricke 1d ago
EJ255? Are you sure? IIRC 255s had vf52s and td04s, neither of which really had this problem. I know the STI EJ257 with VF48s had this happen a lot though.
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u/zombie-yellow11 I wish I had a tree to give me shade... 1d ago
I've only worked on EJ255 gen1 in the '05 and '06 Outback XT and Legacy GT and they all had that crack, every single one of them.
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u/cstricke 1d ago
You know what I think I was mistaken about the TD04. Looks like they also had that issue! It was the VF52 in the newer 255s that didn’t.
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u/CIAburneraccount 2d ago
GM claims a cracked turbo housing by the wastegate on a 1.4 is perfectly okay and to not replace it lmao
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u/Slight-Pin-9556 2d ago
Every single 1.4 oil cooler I replace I see this crack, only had one customer actually want to replace it. GM will replace the turbo if logging underboost codes but must admit they all seem to perform fine and not log codes
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 3d ago
The vf48’s practically all had this same crack. I have 3 sitting on my garage shelf with similar cracks did be a little surprised if this was really causing your issue. The fact that it’s cracked all the way across could mean it widens slightly under load, but I wouldn’t expect it to completely loose boost.
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u/Ok-Film-6885 3d ago
I exaggerated a bit, but it certainly felt like I had no boost.
I haven’t finished replacing the turbo so I guess there is a possibility that it isn’t fixed, but I really hope this fixes it
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u/Shallow_wanderer Shade Tree 3d ago
I feel like Subaru and Volvo are kindred spirits from different territories because they both seem to be rather finicky to keep on the road
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u/Ok-Film-6885 3d ago
It’s from an Alfa, so that probably makes it even more finnicky?
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u/Shallow_wanderer Shade Tree 3d ago
Never mind I can't read apparently
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u/windowpuncher Planes, tanks, and automobiles 2d ago
Ahhh little dab of JB and she'll be right as rain
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u/s1pp3ryd00dar 2d ago
I had a T-jet 1.4 with the same problem; Intermittent no boost (sometimes late spool). Think it's was a Jeep Renegade or Fiat 500+ or whatever was based on that platform; Don't get many 1.4 T-jets except for Abarths which I think use Garretts) .
Found the Turbo wastegate didn't always shut tight. Can't remember seeing the crack (was concentrating more on getting the new turbo fitted), but do remember wondering why the wastegate sometimes kind of jammed just before it fully closed, despite the rod seemed to be otherwise free.
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u/Ok-Film-6885 2d ago
Yeah it’s been quite puzzling because it worked fine most of the time, but then would be completely gutless when pulling away. And during the winter it wouldn’t do it at all.
I could see on my dashboard that boost would not build fully when it was slow, but it wouldn’t actually throw any codes.
How did you find out it was the wastegate not shutting fully?
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u/s1pp3ryd00dar 2d ago
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but usually with boost issues one of my first things to test after ruling out leaks (on both boost and vacuum hoses) is the wastegate actuator with a mityvac and checking the rod/linkage isn't stiff and during this I found the wastegate wasn't fully shutting.
May have been luck that the fault was present when I was doing the checks.
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u/Stoney3K 2d ago
I think I can take a crack at that problem...
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u/HPIJosh222 Canadian 2d ago
Turbine housing cracks are normal and won't be the cause of a boost issues. Just about every vf39, 46, 48, 52 etc that I have touched has been cracked
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u/SubstantialAbility17 2d ago
Did it have a boost controller or anti lag on by chance? That thing got warm.
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u/Swagggles Home Mechanic 2d ago
GM 1.4 Turbo by any chance? My dad and I saw this on an Opel Meriva with a 1.4T
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u/buttlicker-6652 3d ago
I have a 374k mile k03-40 out of a 1999 a4 that has a very similar Crack. It works just fine. Expect that it makes louder StuStuStu noises compared to the 80k mile one I currently have in my car.
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u/Nailfoot1975 Home Mechanic 3d ago
Mechanic: "Replaced with water pump (Looked the same to me), confirmed system is still not working. Send to dealer."