Banks Boost Questions

[pinbill]

Hello-

Just finished a sidewinder install on a j code 6.2 M1009 Blazer. Turned the IP up 1/4 turn, and checked for leaks but still getting only 5# of boost when I hammer on the throttle and maybe 1# when cruising. The pyrometer gets to 1000 pretty quickly on flat ground. It is smoking a bunch of white smoke and smells like unburnt fuel. I also pulled the oil filler and I am getting a bunch more blow by than I used to. I didn't use blue gasket sealer on the intake manifold should I have? Should I try turning the IP screw down? Any hints or tips on how to get the most out of the banks turbo would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[dstang97]

how is your timing?

 

[pinbill]

Don't know, how do I check it?

 

[hovenga67]

Sounds like you have a boost leak. I would fix that and see how it is then. If it is still smoking then you need to turn it down.
Brent

 

[dstang97]

The Dieselplace guys might be able to help you out more. there are a ton of guys turboed over there.

 

[mtjbrown]

I had a problem with mine not building any boost. Turns out there was a big 1" pipe plug in back of pressure chamber blew out about three days after install. make sure and check that for tightness and put some teflon tape on it while you have it out.

Mark

 

[dstang97]

i wonder what that plug is for????

 

[mtjbrown]

The only thing I could come up with is to clean it out after it was cast. It is cast aluminum like an intake manifold. It sure does kill the boost if it is AWOL.
Mark

 

[wkbrdngsnw]

Most I've every got is 6 and that was up hill at 1150. It is usualy around 5 at full throttle. The 1009's gears makes it hard for it to spin up the turbo since the motor is only going about 2300 at 65.

 

[pinbill]

I went to check the plug behind the plenum and it looks to be in tight by hand. I don't have an allen key that big, will check it when I find one. The hose from the CDR to the air box is a little kinked under the CDR would that have any effect?

 

[ken]

Don't expect much boost out of the sidewinder. The one on my 82 GMC will only make 8PSI under a hard load. If the tuck is empty 6PSI in the norm. Back pressure is a killer for the side winder. Shorten the exaust and you will see a difference. Or go to at least 4" pipe. The boost is kept low to save the head gaskets. 22 to 1 compression doesen't like a whole lot of boost. As far as the white smoke goes. Check the drain from the turbo back to the block plate. The one on my dads truck had some old gasket material get in the pipe and backed the oil up. It then bled into the turbine housing and smoked white.

 

[pinbill]

I took the main air pipe to the plenum off today to check the manifold gasket and noticed oil sprayed up the entire length of the tube all the way to the top. Is it normal to have some oil leaking from the bearing and headed into the fan?

 

[dstang97]

to tighten up that plug i made my own tool by using a bolt that the head fit into the plug then put a nut on the bolt and tightened it up until it bottomed out. then tighten the plug.

 

[pinbill]

thanks for the good idea, does anyone have any experience with oil in the fan?

 

[pinbill]

Update: Just turned the fuel down almost 1/8 turn. Now has a short puff of black smoke if I get on it, couldn't get to 1000 degrees while still being safe on the highway, and made almost 6# of boost at one point. I guess I need to get over the lead foot that comes with a new performance mod. Also I can see where the Banks Sidewinder is not for racing but for hills and towing and that is what I got it for. Thanks for all your help. Bill

 

[no_sprk]

you should be able to boost more. i just installed a banks set up on my 82' crewcab with a sm465.i make 10psi. something is wrong if your getting white smoke. did you plug off the breathers on the intake manifold? i used a punch to push out the steel sleaves and then found these perfect well nuts at my local hardware store (big rubber plug with nut inside one end) they fit snug before cranking them down. i also put a nylock nut on the end to make sure it wont come loose. it couldnt hurt to put a little RTV on the rubber gasket the air intake box sits on and check the rubber washers on top of it, they can wear pretty quickly. other then that all you have to worry about is the silicone boots on the air intake charge pipe. if your smoking white you have alot of unburned fuel. i think the banks instructions tell you to crank the IP up 1/4 turn from a start. as for your fan question are you talking about the compressor fan blades of the turbo?

 

[pinbill]

Hey, thanks for the reply and info. After driving the truck around for a month or so, I am sure it is running better than when I installed the turbo but still want to make sure it is running the best it can.

I did plug off the two breathers on both sides of the intake manifold, (banks gives you 2 rubber caps) and I have been over all the connections quite a few times. I have gotten the boost gauge to spike to 7 or 8 pounds at high rpms, like when I step on it and it downshifts or up a hill. Are you getting a constant 10 pounds of boost does yours just spike and then settle back down? I am also at altitude (5280') and I hear that effects the amount of boost.

As for the white smoke, went away when I turned the IP down the last time and the pyrometer reaches 1000 when I am going hard uphill so I think that it is set right. I was concerned that the smoke was caused by oil leaking past the bearings in the turbo housing and getting into the hot exhaust side because I saw the oil in the cold (intake side) of the system. Now I think the smoke was from the IP being turned to high and I am assuming a little oil in the intake side of the turbo system is normal. Is it normal to have some oil headed up the intake pipe from the turbo fan to the plenum?

Thanks for all your help,

Bill

 

[that1028guy]

Oil on the intake side of the turbo is a bad thing, if you get too much accumulated in there it can cause "Run Away" Meaning the engine will start burning the oil like fuel, and that's very,very bad. We had a N14 blow a cold side seal on the turbo at school once, it was scary as ****. a diesel with an unlimited supply of fuel will accelerate at an alarming rate until it either runs out of fuel, or comes apart. That N14 did the latter and put a nice crater in a 12in concrete floor. Check your end play on the turbo shaft, and look at the inlet for the turbo.

 

[ken]

The sidewinder is very picky about oil flow. Espacilly if yours has a blue tag on the bearing housing. Did you use the original oil feed line from banks? It has small holes in the fittings. They are used to meter the amount of oil the turbo gets. If you have a strait 1/8 tubing feeding the turbo it will bleed oil into the compressor housing. If the return pipe to the block has a restriction this will happen also. If these are right. Then you have a worn bearing and the shaft is wobbeling. Allowing the oil to get past the seal.

 

[pinbill]

Whoo, that sounds scary. The turbo is new so I don't think its a worn bearing. I used the oil feed line from the kit, but I will check it. The only thing I can think of is maybe I used too much gasket sealer on the return line plate, but that doesn't seem right. So the intake pipe going to the plenum should be bone dry with no oil at all? I will take a few pics of the pipe when I get home,

Bill