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b20wht
Wednesday 26th September 2012, 21:36
Driving home last night after picking my new s40 t4 up I wasnt very impressed with the power that it was putting out. So I plumbed in a boost guage today and it appears to be boosting at 7-8 psi which from what ive read is quite low.

My first thought was I have put the guage in wrong!! Its an electric guage so just 3 wires and a pipe. The pipe I have t'd into comes from the inlet manifold near the throttle cable end and gos to (i think) the recirculation valve near the turbo!? Ithink this is correct after doing a few searches.

I removed the exhaust from just after the cat thinking I will hear the turbo spooling/whistleing just to make sure its working, I can hear it but only just!

I cant see/hear any leaks from pipe work under the bonnet ( would I hear a leak ?)

I have read that it could be a diaphram somewhere but how do I check these?

I have also put some new volvo spark plugs in today and a fuel filter.

Please help, I really want to love this volvo without spending a fortune on it at dealers etc.

Below should be a pic of the car at idle - is the reading correct?
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/benspics1/IMG_1131.jpg

b20wht
Wednesday 26th September 2012, 21:40
Oh forgot to say its a 2000 1855cc

T5frankie
Wednesday 26th September 2012, 23:04
should be boosting between 11-13psi

partsforvolvos.com
Thursday 27th September 2012, 09:58
that reading looks normal to me at idle. you sound like you have put the guage pipe in the same place i did.

the diaphram that might have split is the recirc valve which is under the 3 bolt triangular cover on the passenger side of the turbo.
you need to take off the air inlet pipe from the filter to see it. the bottom bolt is difficult to access.

does this car have any dump valve fitted , or a remap ? does the boost go to 0.9 bar and back off or not get there at all ? backing off would possibly be a vacuum leak.
the only way to find one is isolate each hose and put pressure into it with a guage on the other end . this is because most of them are either open ended or go to a solenoid which wont necessarily be closed. it is a good idea to check them all visually for poor condition or rubbing marks and change them if you find any.

if does not even get to 0.9 and if the hoses dont look dodgy you could get the wastegate actuator checked for movement which involes pressurising it and measuring for far it moves, and at what pressure it starts to move.

also, you might try changing the electric boost solenoid on the air filter box because they become weak with age and dont seal properly.

these are the easy things .


hope this helps!

960kg
Thursday 27th September 2012, 10:46
Driving home last night after picking my new s40 t4 up I wasnt very impressed with the power that it was putting out. So I plumbed in a boost guage today and it appears to be boosting at 7-8 psi which from what ive read is quite low.

My first thought was I have put the guage in wrong!! Its an electric guage so just 3 wires and a pipe. The pipe I have t'd into comes from the inlet manifold near the throttle cable end and gos to (i think) the recirculation valve near the turbo!? Ithink this is correct after doing a few searches.

I removed the exhaust from just after the cat thinking I will hear the turbo spooling/whistleing just to make sure its working, I can hear it but only just!

I cant see/hear any leaks from pipe work under the bonnet ( would I hear a leak ?)

I have read that it could be a diaphram somewhere but how do I check these?

I have also put some new volvo spark plugs in today and a fuel filter.

Please help, I really want to love this volvo without spending a fortune on it at dealers etc.



First of all the guage unlike others is reading -psi instead of inches of mercury inhg so yes it converts to the correct 14inhg which my `98 T4 also idled at.

The first thing to check as it wears is the actuator arm on the turbo under the heat shield. For standard setting a rule of thumb is that the hole on the actuator arm should cover the large pin it goes over by about 2mm when the pin is held forward then just pull the rod straight but carefully and slip it over the pin. If you want a bit more perk give it 3mm. Only give complete turns as the hole wears at an angle so ideally it should seat on the pin in the same place.

When adjusting the rod ONLY undo the locknut with the rod still on the pin as if you turn the rod it will damage the diaphragm which is very costly.

The recirculating valve on the turbo under that triangular fitting will not faulter as they are of really good quality and can hold easily 20psi of boost even with a 14year old engine.
I have just replaced mine on the V70 T5 because of the remap etc. and the one i removed was in perfect condition and 15 yrs old.

Glad you have Volvo spark plugs the T4 is really fussy so will minimise any future problems.

So long as the small bore boost hose on the turbo to Turbo Control Valve are ok you should boost to the figures in the chart, if not then the TCV will usually need replacing.

b20wht
Thursday 27th September 2012, 15:22
I have checked all the hoses best i can and cant find any problems with them. Max boost im getting is 7psi. I have wound out the actuator rod a couple of turns but didnt make any differance so went mad and turned it about 7 turns more now im only getting 5 psi and a jingle/rattle so going to wind it back in again. I did take the pipe off the boost switch thats on the air filter (just to test it) and its boosts well past what it should (like 20psi) so everything with the turbo is ok I guess. Could it be the boost control valve at fault? and do any other volvos run them as there are no t4's in the scrappy for me to rob one off and try!?

For got to say I also put an airline onto the actuator pipe and blew about 15psi down it and it moved in and out no problem about 6-8mm I guess. and it stayed out if i held the pressure on.

M-R-P
Thursday 27th September 2012, 15:36
I think you may have been winding the actuator the wrong way mate. You are looking to make the rod shorter.
I have wound out the actuator rod a couple of turns but didnt make any differance so went mad and turned it about 7 turns more now im only getting 5 psi and a jingle/rattle so going to wind it back in again.
Leads me to believe that you were lengthening the rod which will give you less boost.
If I'm correct in this assumption, go shorten it a bit and have a play ;)

Good luck.

b20wht
Thursday 27th September 2012, 17:41
lol what a pleb I am!!! your right I was makeing it longer! the reason I did that is because it was nearly set to as short as it could go before I started( maybe about 2 turns left in it if im lucky) so I just assumed I needed to make it longer lol. So if I wind it back to where I started and then another two turns that will leave me with no thread left on the bar and Im guessing that aint how it should be?? I think someone has been playing with it already by the look of it, either trying to rectify the same fault I am or they have caused it by winding the boost up to far!

Any ideas guys what the problem is? would a rolling road session find the fault?

smithy
Thursday 27th September 2012, 17:51
lol what a pleb I am!!! your right I was makeing it longer! the reason I did that is because it was nearly set to as short as it could go before I started( maybe about 2 turns left in it if im lucky) so I just assumed I needed to make it longer lol. So if I wind it back to where I started and then another two turns that will leave me with no thread left on the bar and Im guessing that aint how it should be?? I think someone has been playing with it already by the look of it, either trying to rectify the same fault I am or they have caused it by winding the boost up to far!

Any ideas guys what the problem is? would a rolling road session find the fault?
Hello mate my mate has a t4 and he put a forge mbc and his runs 1.3 to 1.4 bar all day long with no probs but they do start to run lean at that boost though but 1.2 bar should be good mate .

b20wht
Thursday 27th September 2012, 18:21
I have ordered a mbc but tbh I would like to find out the problem before I up the boost but if it works then I guess it could just be the boost switch thing near the air filter!

I have just shortend the actuator bar to its very shortest and it now boosts to 7.5 psi in 1st and 2nd. 7.5 psi in 3rd upto 4500rpm and 9psi after that. didnt make it into 4th or 5th but dont think its gonna be anymore!

smithy
Thursday 27th September 2012, 19:52
Sounds like the bcs is nackered mate because if you hit 20 psi just on actuator pressure then it's not the actuator

b20wht
Thursday 27th September 2012, 19:57
Ok so an mbc should sort it out then right?

Im unsure why it boosts more in 3rd gear (high up the rev range) than it does in 1st and 2nd though is that normal?

960kg
Friday 28th September 2012, 14:30
lol what a pleb I am!!! your right I was makeing it longer! the reason I did that is because it was nearly set to as short as it could go before I started( maybe about 2 turns left in it if im lucky) so I just assumed I needed to make it longer lol. So if I wind it back to where I started and then another two turns that will leave me with no thread left on the bar and Im guessing that aint how it should be?? I think someone has been playing with it already by the look of it, either trying to rectify the same fault I am or they have caused it by winding the boost up to far!

Any ideas guys what the problem is? would a rolling road session find the fault?

Sorry, but you don`t seem to be taking any notice of what anyone says to you not just myself. If you go back and read my post it will tell you how to set the actuator rod to standard despite what anyone else has done to it!

If then you wind the adjusting rod in 4 complete turns you should have approx. (as every car is different) 19psi of boost with about 2mm left on the rod, you can only ever get 5 or 6 six turns at a pinched if your lucky, but it doesn`t seem to run right at those turns as the rod still only moves the same distance in use wherever the rod is and effects the closing angle of the wastegate.

At 19psi or 1.3 to 1.35 bar the AFR`s are still correct with the EMS2000 fuel system.

If the TCV is working correctly it limits boost in 1st and 2nd at WOT to prevent damage. If you fit an MBC in it`s place you mustn`t go WOT until after 3000 revs otherwise you may bend a rod?

It does sound as if you have a faulty TCV which has to be the correct part number for your motor as others work on different pressures at different revs.

b20wht
Friday 28th September 2012, 19:48
Sorry 960kg but if im honest I couldnt quite work out what you mean with the settings...... "For standard setting a rule of thumb is that the hole on the actuator arm should cover the large pin it goes over by about 2mm when the pin is held forward then just pull the rod straight but carefully and slip it over the pin." I might be just being dumb but unless, I suppose you have done it before I dont get what you mean about the hole covering the pin 2mm???? roughly how many threads should be showing when set to standard? could u try and explain it another way lol. I want to set it back to standard so I know where im at with it. And does it need to be shortend when I put the mbc on?

Can you tell me what WOT stands for as well please?

b20wht
Sunday 30th September 2012, 16:20
ok update on this.... after watching on youtube how to set up an actuator bar and realising that it has to be under pressure when u connect it and knowing mine wasnt really even at full adjustment, i have removed the locking nut completely off the bar and wound the hook/hole right up as far as it would go it is now under pressure and I have to pull the actuator bar out to hook it on the car is boosting to 9-10 psi and feels like a different car!!! Which is great but Im wondering why it is like this?! Im thinking that there maybe something dropped off inside the exhaust/turbo housing where the waste gate sits shut like a spacer or something! any ideas?

smithy
Sunday 30th September 2012, 17:29
Sounds like you need a new actuator

b20wht
Sunday 30th September 2012, 20:57
So whats gonna happen if I run it like it is now as it feels fine? Its obviously doing the job and it appears to be holding a stable boost only drops about 1-2psi at high revs.

glock19
Monday 1st October 2012, 04:09
ok update on this.... after watching on youtube how to set up an actuator bar and realising that it has to be under pressure when u connect it and knowing mine wasnt really even at full adjustment, i have removed the locking nut completely off the bar and wound the hook/hole right up as far as it would go it is now under pressure and I have to pull the actuator bar out to hook it on the car is boosting to 9-10 psi and feels like a different car!!! Which is great but Im wondering why it is like this?! Im thinking that there maybe something dropped off inside the exhaust/turbo housing where the waste gate sits shut like a spacer or something! any ideas?

You don't wind the hook/hole as far as it can go. you'll need to inspect the wastegate area - like you deduced, the wastegate is not shutting up fully. I've seen some turbos having the wastegate port defomed by high heat and thus the gate's flap cannot seat properly to hold the exhaust gas enough to fully spin the turbine.

partsforvolvos.com
Monday 1st October 2012, 13:26
another thing i have seen on these is the little cup which closes the exhaust port inside the turbo comming adrift or spinning around on the shaft. you can remove exhaust elbox and have a look. it is on the end of the actuator arm, but inside the turbo housing.
sometimes you can hear a rattle from them , sometimes not but they can normally be welded back into place easily.

you might have this problem .

b20wht
Monday 1st October 2012, 16:04
Yes this is what I'm thinking, and if the actuator rod is adjusted to where it roughly should be I can hear a little rattle, and there is alot of up and down movement on the shaft that go's into the exhaust housing so i'm going to remove the elbow and have a peek inside in the next day or two. Think the actuator could also be fecked aswell though. So if anyone has one let me know please.