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General Information => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: jtanguay on October 20, 2006, 02:00:55 pm

Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on October 20, 2006, 02:00:55 pm
Yep I finally got a new turbo to awaken my car from its dreaded wastegate leaking K14 that does spool pretty nice, but doesnt make much boost at all...

I got it off Ebay.  It was rebuilt, but put on a shelf... Is there anything I should do to the turbo before putting it on the car? the oil passages look kinda rusty... any recommendations?  I'd think that if I were to put this thing on right now, it would probably fail if not primed...

I'm also pretty sure that I will need different turbo oil lines, but cannot be certain.  Anyone know for sure? its a '92 with K14.

It looks pretty nice, but the compressor blades look a little bit bent, and there seems to be a bit of a gap around the wheel and the housing.  I've seen other turbo's with nearly zero gap there.  Will this affect boosting much?  Oh yea... there is zero play on this thing!!! SWEET :) (but it doesnt spin freely... obviously it needs oil...)

thanks for any help!
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: andy2 on October 20, 2006, 04:53:18 pm
I don't live too far away (5-10mins) I would'nt mind checking it out for you. As far as the swap is concearned it will be almost a direct bolt on with only the turbo drain hose and intake hose having to be changed.
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on October 20, 2006, 05:10:24 pm
awesome!  where can I get the drain lines?  the turbo spins a bit, but it 'sticks' as if it hasn't been lubed in a while... probably from sitting too long.  i hope it doesn't have to be taken apart :(
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on October 21, 2006, 12:46:41 pm
if my car does not overheat in city driving, but only when im moving say... 80 or so... would that be the turbo? or bad water pump?
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: RabbitJockey on October 29, 2006, 08:02:22 am
probably a bad radiator fan switch, they seem to like going bad on my cars haha
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: burn_your_money on October 29, 2006, 11:49:38 am
Quote from: Trev0rbr
probably a bad radiator fan switch, they seem to like going bad on my cars haha


I think it would be the opposite if it was the rad fan switch.
WPs are cheap and easy to replace, I'd start with that
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: RabbitJockey on October 29, 2006, 12:23:11 pm
oh haha i thought he said it was over heating.  disregard my post fo sho
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on October 29, 2006, 02:16:54 pm
yea I'm thinking WP too... since city driving it is holding temp real well.  Just driving fast, the temp will keep on climbing very slowly, and if i slow to a stop and sit there for a few mins, the temp will gradually fall down.  I seriously need to rig up some kind of light that will tell me when the rad fan is getting power...  i'll probably just buy 2 LED's so I can see hi/lo operation.  maybe get a little more complicated, and measure volts too? hehe nah  :lol:

the thermoswitch is a brand new one... but i highly doubt its good quality since I didn't buy it...  so many el-cheapo's out there.  jumping the thermoswitch wires runs the fan perfectly as well.  damn car!
Title: Overheating
Post by: Doug on October 29, 2006, 05:09:05 pm
I noticed that when the timing belt and idler was replaced that the hot running disappeared. Is it possible that the timing ws retarded by belt stretch to the point of running a little warm under load? At highway speeds the fan should not be needed to assist the air flow through the radiator. Is your system pressurising as the temperature comes up? Maybe the reservoir cap is faulty. You might want to consider these ideas. Water pumps sometimes fail usually by the seal leaking. Rarely does an impeller separate from the shaft. Maybe the belt is slipping in the pulley groove as it is bottomed on the pulley. Generally you have to use a 10 mm width belt to get the best grip.  Is the thermostat in the correct heat range for the engine? And is it even opening fully? Check it in a pan of heated water against a thermometer.
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on October 30, 2006, 04:33:36 am
thanks for the ideas.  the engine has a new timing belt  & was timed properly.  the thermostat was brand new from the dealership so i'm quite sure its okay, and with a digital thermometer it does seem to be opening at around 87C.  the reservoir cap may be in need of changing, so i'll probably just get a new one.

i would have to agree that at highway speeds the fresh air being drawn through the rad should be sufficient to cool the motor without a rad-fan, which is what puzzles me the most.  currently i'm leaning towards the fact that my turbo doesn't make much boost at all, and the wastegate is most likely stuck open.  so my theory is that the turbo is being overheated by the exhaust gases and is subsequently raising the temperature of my oil and therefore the temperature of the coolant.  what puzzles me the most though, is that the thermostat should be opening to let the hot coolant out...  I have read that the lower coolant hose can collapse at highway speeds... anyone have experience with that??? sounds about my luck... or maybe not since it seems too easy  :lol:
Title: High temperature
Post by: Doug on November 01, 2006, 10:16:15 am
Just wanted to let you know that my machine was doing the same thing as yours. The motor was heating up at highway speeds, cooling down at lower speeds. A few checks by squeezing the upper rad hose showed that the system was not pressurising. Pulled the reservoir tank, cleaned it thoroughly including pulling the low level sensor out to clean the threads. Put a new cap on and a new sensor in, a new gear clamp on the return hose and presto it pressurises now. Under pressure the coolant can transport far more heat so the temperature swings disappear. Try it. Cap and sensor under $20 total at Competition Motors in Belleville.
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on November 01, 2006, 10:50:01 am
thanks Doug, I'll give it a shot :)

once i get that fixed.. i will try to fix my leaky injector pump!  maybe try some of that atf stop leak? hehehehe probably too thick for the pump though :(
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: burn_your_money on November 01, 2006, 02:23:00 pm
Rebuild kits can be found here if you are adventerous. I bought s spare pump for $30 shipped that I'll be practicing on first
http://www.emiata.com/DieselVW/BoschRebuildKit.htm
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on November 02, 2006, 09:09:52 am
i remember emailing that guy on ebay asking him whether or not the seals were bio diesel safe... i'd guess that they were but does anyone really know???  He didn't get back to me...

i do have a spare injection pump I can mess around with... might be neat to get the rebuild kid and practice on it :)
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: Powjetta on November 02, 2006, 01:16:52 pm
I did your idea of 2 LEDs on the high and the low speed on the fan.  I got them at radioshack, low voltage types.  They both come on any time the fan comes on, and at 70 MPH the fan turns enough to light them up.  It's not the level of detail I expected.
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on November 02, 2006, 09:59:52 pm
hmmm thats not what i'd expect... if you spliced into the thermoswitch lines then you should only get one light come up for low and one for high.
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: jtanguay on November 02, 2006, 10:01:31 pm
hmmm thats not what i'd expect... if you spliced into the thermoswitch lines then you should only get one light come up for low and one for high.

led's are great.  one way electricity travel, splice them to your ground source, and yes they take very little power to light up.  hmmm does seem like a lot of wiring to get it on the dash though...
Title: Just got a Garrett T3 :)
Post by: Powjetta on November 03, 2006, 08:31:44 am
I spliced into the fan wires at the fan to bypass the fuse side.  I have blown a fuse before and thought the fan was on.  I used a lightweight speaker wire and ran it back to the dash and drilled a couple of holes in a blank on the dash.  The switch is next to the leds.  I didn't realize it would feed out of the low speed into the high speed wire.