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7.3 diesel, turbo wastegate operation

84K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  brf422 
#1 · (Edited)
Wastegate stuck open

HELP! I am working on a friends 99 E350 cab and chassis that used to be an ambulance. It has 230,000 miles on it. The turbo appear to have been replaced because there is a remanufacture plate riveted to it. I believe it is a Garrett 38. The wastegate is operated by a spring and plunger thing inside what they are calling the pedestal which is the lower portion on the turbo.

It feels like the turbo never spools up. The truck is lacking power and theres a bit of smoke coming out of the exhaust.

My main question is: how does the waste gate work? Is it oil pressure that forces the plunger to move the waste gate shut?

I understand why the wastegate is there and how the turbo works and all of that.

I drove this thing several times with the engine cover off and I never see the wastegate shaft move at all. I even put my hand on it while accelerating and decelerating and I don't even feel it trying to move. I took the exhaust pipes off and inlet pipe off, the fan blades are there and are able to spin. I also took the spring and plunger out of the pedestal. All was there, in-tact and appeared normal. I just don't understand why it doesn't shut to let the turbo build boost.

It seems like this is a manual or mechanical type of wastegate. Not like others that I have seen where there is a boost controller or blow off valve with a vacuum hose on it.

Any thoughts or ideas would be great, thanks in advance.
 
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#2 ·
What you are talking about is the exhaust back pressure valve. There is no wastegate on a van turbo. The exhaust back pressure valve closes when the engine is cold to put a load on the engine to help speed up warming the engine.
 
#3 ·
I am working on a friends 99 E350 cab and chassis, with the 7.3 turbo diesel, that used to be an ambulance. It has about 230,000 miles and feels like it has no power.

The issue I have found I think will fix my problem, but I am not sure how to fix it or why it's doing it.

The turbo wastegate is stuck open. Wide open. All the time, engine off, engine on, idling, full load and part load. It appears to be a mechanical wastegate, operated by a spring and rod that is housed in the pedestal on the bottom of the turbo. I took it apart and all is there according to the diagram. I can push on the rod (it's hard because of the high spring tension) and watch the gate open and close, but it never works naturally (when the engine is under load. I understand the responsibility of the turbo and a wastegate, but am not familiar with the Ford theory of operation.

I hear the turbo want to spool, and the fan blades inside look good and spin freely with my hand. I just think it's dumping its boost all the time.

Do I have an oil pressure problem or a turbo that is not sucking the wastegate shut? How is this supposed to work?

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
#4 ·
Your wastegate acuator should be on the top of the turbo , I think what you are looking at is the EBPV ( exhaust back pressure valve ) which helps the engine warm up faster when it is cold out . now I may be wrong and someone else can answer this but I do not think the Vans had a wastegate on them.
 
#5 ·
2001 thunder you are correct. The wastegate is on top of the turbo towards the back. Not sure about the vans not having wastegates or not. Check the intake boots for rips or tears. And if they didn't slip off or loss a clamp.
 
#6 ·
Are you sure about that? Yes this is a E body, so you mean the F series with the same motor would have a wastegate? This thing sure looks like a wastegate to me. The flap is on the rear of the turbo, leading to the exhaust pipe. I don't see how temperature would effect it's operation. I mean, there are no sensors or electronics on the thing, and the spring tension is so high, hot or cold does not move it. ???
 
#7 ·
Yep van turbos are non wastegated. A wastegates function isn't to help build boost its to open and release excess boost. Here is what a wastegate looks like on a turbo. Its the metal flapper you see in the pic
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#8 ·
This is a pic of the turbo pedestal and you see the shaft out the side that is what connects to the exhaust back pressure valve is this what you are talking about?
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#9 ·
Yes. The second picture looks like what I got. Nice pictures. I did not know that some turbos do not have a wastegate. It's strange because i see in the first pic that the flap is actually quite small. The flap on my turbo you are calling the EBPV is large, actually it's the size of that hole portion or the turbo, almost like is supposed to shut and open to a bunch of different flow patterns (if you will). Why does that thing not move while I'm driving? If it did move, how much does it move? What actually operates it? Oil pressure?
 
#10 ·
Yep thats the ebpv. If you look at the front of the pedestal you will see the electrical solenoid with a plug. The pcm controls the open and closing by different parameters such as oil temp outside temp coolant temp etc. The actuating arm is connected to a piston that is moved by oil pressure to open and close the valve. Its sole purpose is to put a load on the engine to aid in warmup. While you are driving its supposed to be open and not move. Its only supposed to close while in park and idleing.
 
#11 ·
Thank you for the information. I am about to go look at it to find the electrical connector you are talking about and make sure it is plugged in. So would you say this could probably not cause a performance issue than? I have the exhaust off of it now, and my parts will not be in until Wednesday so i cannot run it today. But I know i did not see that thing move at all.
 
#12 ·
Actually yes it could cause a performance issue if its stuck closed or partially closed this would choke off your exhaust. Mine was sticking closed so I eliminated the whole valve.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I am new to this site and apparently I have several posts in different areas about this issue. Thank you for your response. I am talking to another guy on another thread and he sent me pictures of the two different types pf turbos, one with and one without a wastegate. Apparently, this E series does not have a wastegate and it is the EBPV I am looking at and calling it a wastegate. Do the EBPV's cause a performance problem? I drove this and watched it and at idle and in park, and that thing never moves.
 
#14 ·
I merged your two posts for you so it won't add to the confusion of two threads with the same question:thumb:
 
#16 ·
I don't know, but my guess its a pretty hi psi to keep the valve closed with the exhaust gases pushing on it
 
#18 ·
Heeeeeeelp!!!

Im kinda new to the forums but i have an 01 powerstroke with 313,000 on the miles and have been very pleased with no problems til today....i have the sct flash tuner with erics tunes...but never turn it up....just like the thought of having it.anyways today it started running kinda funny not near the power im not due for an oil change yet or anything like that i usually try to change it every 2500 3000 miles on my diesels. but its only pushing 17 to 18lbs of boost which it still runs fine but just not as good as it was...could it be my wastegate stuck open or closed? i need help...any recommendations would be very appreciated thanks guys. sorry dont have more info...im no mechanic
 
#19 ·
Hey guys i need some help

I was looking back at old post and saw these pics, I recently replaced the up pipes on my 01f350 because they were leaking, while i had everything apart i resealed the pedastel because it was leaking a little to. when i tried to re install the pedastle, the ebp valve would not reconnect, and i had to unscrew the rod about 4 to 5 turns to make it connect, so my first question is, if it is incorrectly adjusted, will it hurt anything,a nd second how do i properly adjust it? thanks
 
#20 ·
help i have a 02 f-305 7.3 had to replace the fuel rail on the pass side when i got it back together i'm having trouble with the turo blowing off the intercooler lines its laike the wastegate is stuck shut but what i'm reading here it doesn't have a wastegate just a epbv any idea on whats happening?
 
#22 ·
What are the symptoms of a waste gate actuator failing? In my 99 f250 I'm pretty sure its my issue but I'm told it should be smoking . I don't smoke but I loose crazy power. ( 45 min ride turned 4 hrs) and have a terrible noise that comes out my exhaust used to happen a bit on warm up but stopped now it dose not stop unless I hammer through it then as long as I keep rpm up it works as soon as rpm drops it starts again any body have different ideas

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#23 ·
you should open a new thread with your question because this one is like 3 years old
 
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