Ba Mkii Xr6 Turbo - Down On Power

[matt036]

Are valve springs really that bad?? 2 year life span. It just doesnt sound right.

Yeah was my thoughts exactly considering I did the right thing and paid a reputable shop the 900 to fit only to have a 2 year life span. So yeah im a bit pissed about it to say the least lol

[ratter]

Not wanting to sound silly, but it was running 12 psi with the old actuator & boost is controlled electronically. Putting on a 12 psi actuator to me would be the same. Am I wrong?

no your wrong

[rapid6turbo]

Can you please explain?

[ratter]

if it's been tuned for the stock actuator and you fit a 12 psi one then it will overboost big time

[rapid6turbo]

Yes, was tuned with stock actuator. That was the setup that made 205rwkw, not 270rwkw of 2 years ago. It's bugging me so trying to get it sorted. All help is appreciated.

Cheers

[AdamIan69]

I would have thought 12psi would open a 12psi actuator. Where do you live? WA perth? I have a OBD diagnostic tool we could throw on it, that will tell you what the boost is doing. It will also throw an engine code and go limp if over boosted. Pull your Neg terminal off for a few minutes or overnight and see how it goes in the morning, this will clear any fault codes stored and a limp mode if it activated. As people have said already, it could be anything.

Is your air filter blocked? I pulled a plastic bag out of a mates BA turbo ute air cleaner box.

Is you boost solenoid getting power continuously?

How much shaft play is in the turbo? There should a bees dick of play and no more.

Does the turbo spin freely when spun by hand?

Pull your engine oil filler cap off while idling and check how much blowby comes out the hole. My FG turbo 84000km has next to nothing. Then give it a rev while slipping the clutch a small amount while you got the hand brake on. This will get the turbo boosting.

Pull all the spark plugs and check what colour they are. White is lean on fuel black is over fuelling, is the earth tab eroding? Black could mean it has low boost, a faulty plug/coil.

Is the white insulator cracked around the body of the plug?

I would start with these simple checks before handing it over to a tuner. A good tuner will be very helpful over the phone. XFT definatly is.

Hope you find it mate.

Edited 02/09/13 11:49 AM by AdamIan69

[AdamIan69]

There is a rule of thumb to only run genuine spark plugs aswell. I have not had a bad experience as I do run genuine plugs but other people have had problems... Even with platinum and iridium plugs.

[AdamIan69]

Sorry I just read my post. I didnt mean to be rude. There is allot of good tuners out there. But I have only delt with XFT on the tune and problem solving side of things. Ratter is a very helpful bloke on this forum (when he doesn't give a "your wrong answer" lol) and is willing to hand out a lot of useful information when asked.

[rapid6turbo]

I live in country SA, doesnt throw check engine light. Had battery off over the weekend but no difference. Boost solenoid is brand new, getting constant power I'd need to check that. Shaft play is pretty minimal, spins very freely - takes about 30 seconds to wind down after engine is switched off.

This is a BA 4 speed auto, but can check for oil blowby. Spark plugs are about 4 weeks old, the old ones were a bit dark but look normal to me. Workshop I took it to said coils were okay, but I'll probably need to take it else where to get sorted.

I'm happy to spend $$$ on my car, just dont like getting ripped.

Cheers mate

I would have thought 12psi would open a 12psi actuator. Where do you live? WA perth? I have a OBD diagnostic tool we could throw on it, that will tell you what the boost is doing. It will also throw an engine code and go limp if over boosted. Pull your Neg terminal off for a few minutes or overnight and see how it goes in the morning, this will clear any fault codes stored and a limp mode if it activated. As people have said already, it could be anything.
Is your air filter blocked? I pulled a plastic bag out of a mates BA turbo ute air cleaner box.
Is you boost solenoid getting power continuously?
How much shaft play is in the turbo? There should a bees dick of play and no more.
Does the turbo spin freely when spun by hand?
Pull your engine oil filler cap off while idling and check how much blowby comes out the hole. My FG turbo 84000km has next to nothing. Then give it a rev while slipping the clutch a small amount while you got the hand brake on. This will get the turbo boosting.
Pull all the spark plugs and check what colour they are. White is lean on fuel black is over fuelling, is the earth tab eroding? Black could mean it has low boost, a faulty plug/coil.
Is the white insulator cracked around the body of the plug?
I would start with these simple checks before handing it over to a tuner. A good tuner will be very helpful over the phone. XFT definatly is.

Hope you find it mate.

[AdamIan69]

If you don't mind spending money in the car I would suggest you a buy a OBD 2 port scanner. I can supply the same model I use for around $90 including freight. Or go to your local repco dealer and grab a good one for around $140 bucks. It will read 98% of what the computer in the car reads. If you have an Xcal you can also use that to read sensor outputs in real time. I think there worth it considering a mechanics labour rate.

Edited 02/09/13 12:41 PM by AdamIan69