Boost leak on Vargas stage 2

[DansEBM]

I've been having a hell of a time with a boost leak after installing stage 2 Vargas turbo, I'm only reaching 19psi after doing some test runs in 3rd gear, I'm having Adam tune it, I have tried taking off all IC tubes, and checking for possible leak areas in tubing, everything looks good, tighten everything up and have not been able to find leak. Has anyone run into boost leak issues after installing v2 turbo, and how did you resolve issue, thanks for any helpful hints.

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[Juben]

Put a few drops of dishwashing detergent in a spray bottle with some water and lightly mist the charge pipes while it's running. It should start bubbling if there's a leak somewhere and would be a dead giveaway.

If that doesn't return any results, try swapping your wastegate out with the factory turbo unit. It could very well be a problem with the wastegate.

Also, you could use something like starter fluid to VERY lightly mist around the vacuum lines going to the boost control solenoid (BCS) to see if there'd be a vacuum leak around that area.

If all of those are fruitless, it might just be the turbo itself. I've heard of some inconsistencies with turbos being improperly machined, so that very well could be the problem too.

As always, try the smaller, easier stuff first and then work towards the larger solutions.

 

[DansEBM]

Thanks for info Juben.

 

[Busser48]

Thanks for info Juben.

Didn't Adam state that he was seeing issues with consistency with these? Would psi have anything to do with that, let's say if you find out you don't actually have a leak?

 

[Juben]

Didn't Adam state that he was seeing issues with consistency with these? Would psi have anything to do with that, let's say if you find out you don't actually have a leak?

He'd have to chime in on that one.

 

[DansEBM]

Didn't Adam state that he was seeing issues with consistency with these? Would psi have anything to do with that, let's say if you find out you don't actually have a leak?

Only thing he said was that I needed to chk my pipes, and retighten them to see if that fixed them, but so far boost is still at 19.

 

[DansEBM]

Tried the soap spray and did not see anything bubbling, but on other hand this dish soap does not foam well, need to go out and get some other soap to see if I get better bubbles.

I talked to Tony, and he mentioned the waste gate actuator, told him I was using turbo smart, he mentioned he had them leak on testing, he said to try and use the one that came with the v2 turbo, but need to ask Adam if that's ok with current tune.
Hope it's not the turbo itself.

 

[larindeesjr]

I had several issues with my installation. Adam continuously suggested the turbo was the issue, but none turned out to be turbo issues. First my factory cold side pipe split where it had the WM adapter installed. Then I found the TS waste gate Adam insisted I have to have to hit boost targets tends to vibrate loose the banjo fitting for boost reference input. Then I found that the TS BOV adapter on the silicone pipes I used to fix the first issue was leaking at a screwed connection in the adapter that you can't see. The turbo works fine, all of the other stuff suggested to make it work better was where my problems came in. I was able to find the charge pipe and BOV leaks with soapy water. The boost reference fitting leak I found by inspecting it after reading online this is a known issue with the actuators. In the end I still have a small leak around the WM injection port, but am putting down 410 rwhp with the factory air intake and cat back. I love the turbo! It pulls like a freight train all the way to redline. When I upgrade the bottom end I plan to swap the cold side pipe to a metal one with a tapped port for the WM to fix the last leak. It will max out the factory TMAP with the leak now, so I'm in hurry to correct it.

 

[menaecoboost]

Yeah Adam and tony we're going back an forth on one of these threads about which waste gate to use lol. Tony was saying the turbosmarts were leaking but that's what I currently have on my stage 2 and it's running fine. I still have the one that came on the stage 2 to be safe though.

 

[Busser48]

I had several issues with my installation. Adam continuously suggested the turbo was the issue, but none turned out to be turbo issues. First my factory cold side pipe split where it had the WM adapter installed. Then I found the TS waste gate Adam insisted I have to have to hit boost targets tends to vibrate loose the banjo fitting for boost reference input. Then I found that the TS BOV adapter on the silicone pipes I used to fix the first issue was leaking at a screwed connection in the adapter that you can't see. The turbo works fine, all of the other stuff suggested to make it work better was where my problems came in. I was able to find the charge pipe and BOV leaks with soapy water. The boost reference fitting leak I found by inspecting it after reading online this is a known issue with the actuators. In the end I still have a small leak around the WM injection port, but am putting down 410 rwhp with the factory air intake and cat back. I love the turbo! It pulls like a freight train all the way to redline. When I upgrade the bottom end I plan to swap the cold side pipe to a metal one with a tapped port for the WM to fix the last leak. It will max out the factory TMAP with the leak now, so I'm in hurry to correct it.

There were a lot more than just yours that he has had problems with. Also 4 or 5 of the stage 2 current owners can tell u

 

[DansEBM]

I actually have Tony's full silicone pipe kit with the TS BOV, I was going to leave the factory intake and IC pipes due to ca emissions, so that when smog test comes along I would not have to bother changing out pipes, but I'm wondering now if I should change them to see if silicone pipes grab better.
I went ahead and took off pipes and cleaned everything to see if things would improve, right off the bat I noticed I was hitting 20 psi during initial runs, but then after a while I guess pressure must of moved whatever's leaking, and I was back down to 19psi, anyone know if there is a tape or something to put on pipes to help seal potential leaks, would Plumbing Teflon work by any chance, or would it burn off due to high temps ?

 

[DansEBM]

Got some better soap water, and I don't see any bubbling that I can see, might need to do a smoke test and see what shows up.

 

[perfweld]

Once you hit 5000 RPM does the boost go flat and stay at 19 psi ? If not , what is the boost at at 5000 RPM and what is the boost at at 6000 RPM ? Did you just bolt the turbo on and it had 19 psi ? I doubt you have a boost leak, your tuner probably just has to command more boost compared to the stock turbo.

 

[DansEBM]

Once you hit 5000 RPM does the boost go flat and stay at 19 psi ? If not , what is the boost at at 5000 RPM and what is the boost at at 6000 RPM ? Did you just bolt the turbo on and it had 19 psi ? I doubt you have a boost leak, your tuner probably just has to command more boost compared to the stock turbo.

This is what it looks like, and yes it started out at 19 peak, it has hit 20 after some retightning, but then it settles out to 19 after a few pulls.

 

[JungleG1337]

I had mine for a few thousand miles now and no leak.

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