'85 Charger, only 5 psi....?

[WestonM22CSX]

Hey all. My car is only reaching 5 psi. I have an autometer boost gauge. It shows very good vacuum, usually 20 when I let off the gas. I wanted to figure it out myself so I removed the t.b. assembly, airbox and all the related hoses to check for a leak or other such issue. I found nothing amiss and the turbo had zero in/out endplay, only the smallest side to side play so I'm fairly sure it isn't the culprit. Some connections like the pcv to compressor nipple hose were loose so I clamped them just in case. After reassembling it all I took a drive and it would still go to 5psi wot, no spiking or creeping just steady 5psi. The car has an MP stage 2 computer, stock injectors, 12 degrees timing, good compression, champion rn11yc's gapped to .32. Exhaust is cat to 2.5" with flowmaster. Stock turbo. Boost is still computer controlled via solenoid. Please help.

[WestonM22CSX]

Here is my page with a couple pics, scroll down to Troubleshooting

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2302160/2

[shelby1.5turbo]

I think swing valve is sticking from the sounds of things.

[speedyshelby16]

Is the stage 2 design for a log car? I got stage 2 mp glhs logic module but to get that to work you should use a later intake and bigger injectors. ALso need to run a 86 or newer distriber with the one I got since my also was a 85 SC.

Anyways by looking at your picture it appears you only use one of 4 silenods (I can't spell worth a crap but anyways) the one that appears that you are only useing is the waste gate one which I think is the second from the right when looking at it. The far right is for the baro that leads to the map. But from the other picture it looks like you just have a tee in the line that goes straight to wastegate can. I post a pic of what I talking about.

[Jackrabbit]

Also make sure your source line from the wasategate soleniod is right. I had a similer issue recently and I had the line to the wastegate coming off the bleed nipple by mistake. Double, triple check your vacuum diagram.

[WestonM22CSX]

That hose coming off of the tee goes directly to the wastegate. It has a restrictor on it. Does that restrictor need to be down closer to the can or does it matter? In regards to s.v. sticking, I don't think so because that is one of things I checked and the arm moved in and out a little like folks on here said it should. I bought this car recently so the solenoids and vac. setup except for a few new hoses are not my doing. You are right about those solenoids. Only one has hoses hooked up. If that is the wastegate solenoid, the upper hose I know goes to the map sensor, and bottom goes to manifold. Also, the stock egr/vapor canister setup is not in use. The Mopar 02 sensor is about a month old. Just throwing things out there. I want to have this car boosting like it should by Sunday for our club cruise. Thanks!

[Jackrabbit]

Yeah, you'll want to hook up all those solenoids correctly. It seems like a real pain at first, but just study the diagram a bit and you'll figure it out. As far as the restrictor goes, people say it matters, but I don't have one and I boost and hold a steady 15 PSI on the MP stage 2.

[devinshaw]

If it's not the vacum hoses, try pulling the vacum hose off of your wastegate actuator and hit it one time, and see if it boosts more, that should tell you if it's the turbo that is the problem. Just be carefull because nothing will limit the boost, and it will jump way up when you hit it and probably overboost.

[speedyshelby16]

If that hose goes straight to the wastegate that explains the only 5 psi of boost. The car can't control the boost if it isn't hook to a solenoids. Move the one you do got hook over to the right and run hose from the tee to the second to the right solenoids and run hose back to where you had it keep the oriifce right where it is as long as it after the solenoid. Then it should boost correctly.

[85woodywagon]

I think there is no hope. Drop the car off at my house and I will give you $50 for it

An easy way to check is to remove the wastegate line. Floor it in second gear (carefully not to grenade your shortblock with detonation). If the turbo does not shoot up to 20psi then you have either a wastegate, valve timing, ignition timing, exhaust or fueling issue.

If it does then you have bad wastegate solenoid stuck open.

Or you bypassed your wastgate solenoid and are being controlled by wastegate spring pressure.

[CSXT_VA]

By pass the stock soleniod and buy a cheap manual boost control. Get a good vac source after the TB, t your line there, run it to the BC and then to the WGA. Sometimes the solenoids don't work as in my CSX-T. No matter what, only 6 PSI.

[WestonM22CSX]

Ok. I looked at the vacuum diagram for my car and hooked up the baro and wastegate solenoid according to it, well I think it's right anyway. I drove the car and it still only reached 5 psi. Actually, in 1st or 2nd gear it will quickly hit around 8 then settles to 5. I can't link directly to the vac. diagram, but it's on the dodge garage for 85-87 T1. The car did however seem to pull harder. So, thinking maybe it was the boost gauge connection I took it's hose off the bottom of the black pressure source and teed into the press. source to fuel pressure gauge hose. Drove again and same deal.

Here are some pics of what I did:

[Jackrabbit]

Your wastegate 'noid isn't right still. The manifold source should go in the top of the T that you currently have open. The bottom part is the bleed... where you have your source going in. The rest is pretty hard for me to see, but I did see that... because I did the same thing last week.

Give that a shot.

[WestonM22CSX]

Interesting you say the bottom is the bleed because going by this diagram: http://www.thedodgegarage.com/turbo/turbo86.jpg it's the top that is the bleed. Well it seems that way anyhow. So I hooked it up according to how you told me and it hit 18lbs immediately not even all the way down on the gas. Obviously, I let off quick. I think I'm going to just try the boost controller I have and if it works good enough then I'll stay with that. I'll report back with how it goes.



The only thing I changed in that picture is where the vac. source goes. It was moved from the bottom nipple of the w.g. solenoid to the top nipple. The bottom nipple of the w.g. solenoid is left open.

[Abkshelby]

Uh, the car had 12psi when it left here. What have you done?