Hi everyone. I recently had a mechanic remove a ED33 engine from my Nissan Civilian and replace it with an fd33t turbo engine. I upgraded the turbo to a Garret but only slightly bigger, installed an intercooler, had the injectors reconditioned, put in a nice new dump pipe and 2.5 inch exhaust. Mechanic has now finished everything, too it for a drive and said it's gutless / no power. Blowing some black smoke too.
The first thing that comes to mind is the tuning of the fuel pump, as in there's a screw to adjust it for more fuel.....but surely the turbo should at least spool and give some power even with a crappy fuel tune? What else could it be besides the fuel?
Maybe a dodgy turbo?
Any input appreciated.
As these civilians are old it's not as simple as just plugging into a vehicles computer to diagnose.
Cheers
Mick
Tony LEE said
03:43 PM Jan 24, 2021
Does it have an exhaust brake
Major leak in intercooler piping or connected wrong
Other thing that might help is to replace your mechanic with a better model -- Edited by Tony LEE on Sunday 24th of January 2021 03:46:14 PM
-- Edited by Tony LEE on Sunday 24th of January 2021 03:48:07 PM
PeterD said
05:22 PM Jan 24, 2021
What does your mechanic have to say?
KJB said
05:52 PM Jan 24, 2021
Check air cleaner , maybe start and run without it to eliminate air intake choking faults...... Got to look at basics first.
tuggersbmx said
06:08 PM Jan 24, 2021
Hi. And thanks for the responses. Yes it does have exhaust brake.
Mechanic hasn't tuned the fuel pump yet but it should get power regardless right? Then fine tune.
Will try air intake process over the next few days.
Jaahn said
06:55 PM Jan 24, 2021
KJB wrote:
Check air cleaner , maybe start and run without it to eliminate air intake choking faults...... Got to look at basics first.
YES and Yes ! Check the inlet manifold and the intercooler and pipes for a blockage? rag ??
Then take the exhaust off and run it like that if not fixed. Be careful running without the intake. Put a bit of wire mesh over the hole to prevent it sucking in a bit of rag, shirt tail or hand.
If it is smoking then not enough air, so leave the fuel alone at the moment. Check the pump timing.
Jaahn
landy said
09:12 PM Jan 24, 2021
Is the wast gate closing? could the actuator be seized.?
Tony LEE said
10:42 PM Jan 24, 2021
If the exhaust brake is activated you will have low power and it will smoke
tuggersbmx said
05:54 PM Jan 25, 2021
Hi all.
So tested the exhaust brake scenario. Still no power.
The mechanic has a guy coming tomorrow or Wednesday to have a look at what's going on.
I'm along the lines of either intercooler hooked up wrong or faulty turbo.
BAZZA44 said
06:04 PM Jan 25, 2021
Vacuum line off somewhere ??
Barry
tuggersbmx said
09:39 AM Jan 31, 2021
So another mechanic checked the fuel pressure and said it was good. He's going to check if it's getting any boost today.
If no boost would think the turbo is bad.
Bas + Eve said
07:46 PM Jan 31, 2021
Perhaps the turbo actuator is buggered. It is definitely turbo related. IMO
tuggersbmx said
06:32 PM Feb 1, 2021
So we hooked up a boost gauge today and went for a drive. Turbo was only putting out 2 pound of boost.
The mechanic said there is something (I got the name) on the back of the fuel pump that regulates boost and then adds the fuel when needed. Does that sound right?
Otherwise I think either something is hooked up incorrectly or the turbo is no good.
Cheers
Mick
Jaahn said
09:57 PM Feb 1, 2021
tuggersbmx wrote:
So we hooked up a boost gauge today and went for a drive. Turbo was only putting out 2 pound of boost. The mechanic said there is something (I got the name) on the back of the fuel pump that regulates boost and then adds the fuel when needed. Does that sound right? Otherwise I think either something is hooked up incorrectly or the turbo is no good. Cheers Mick
Hi
Well 2 PSI is not much but it should go better than the previous engine with no turbo !!
The turbo normally looks after itself and the boost should go up to the set boost and then the waste gate stops it going higher. The mechanical fuel pump has a capsule that is connected to the boost pressure and this "adds" more fuel to match the air added by the boost pressure, (a simplistic explanation) but it should all work itself out if setup correctly.
Take it to a proper diesel shop that has an older experienced diesel mechanic. My advice is stop wasting time with people who do not know what to do !
Jaahn
Aus-Kiwi said
11:06 AM Feb 2, 2021
Sounds like its timing ? Retarded . Black smoke is rich , so shouldnt be fuel supply issue ? should spool ! Unless the turbine side has too large housing / AR ., Try taking exhaust off ? See if it makes any difference ? 2Lb is not enough to make more power than N/A due to exhaust restriction . Do the wheels turn free with little play ? Is there any oil leaking out of turbo ? Inlet or turbine side ?
tuggersbmx said
01:28 PM Feb 2, 2021
The guys working on the bus are good mechanics. They work on lots of diesel vehicles and have great reviews.
They deleted the intercooler and ran one pipe straight from air intake. Still no power.
The turbo is a Garret gt2554rls. That should work on the fd33t right?
tuggersbmx said
01:32 PM Feb 2, 2021
Have not taken off exhaust. We installed a dump pipe with 2.5 inch exhaust with straight through muffler and shortened the exhaust by about 2 to 3 metres so it runs out just before the rear wheel. That wouldnt cause no power?
Aus-Kiwi said
01:50 PM Feb 2, 2021
Exhaust should be fine . Is the wastegate closing ?
tuggersbmx said
02:09 PM Feb 2, 2021
Mechanic is removing turbo today hopefully to inspect further. I haven't been able to get a close look at it yet. You can test wastegate when turbo removed?
Could be stuck.
tuggersbmx said
08:34 PM Feb 2, 2021
Ok.....so I got the turbo off this afternoon and inspected it. The wastegate when meant to be closed fully still had a gap (about 3mm) Took it to the drifting guys down the road and they said if the waste gate isn't closed properly your not going to get any boost. They told me to place a few washers in-between the wastegate activator and the bracket that holds it in place. Did so....and now the waste gate closes tight.
Mechanic is re - installing soon to see if we get boost.
At this point it seems that this is the issue.
Hopefully it is and it's sorted out.
Would a non fully closed waste gate result in no boost? Or only getting very minimal boost? From what I've researched then that is the result.
Cheers
Mick
landy said
10:43 PM Feb 2, 2021
Looks like its problem solved fingers crossed.
tuggersbmx said
08:26 AM Feb 3, 2021
Mechanic got back to me. Went for a drive last night and got 5 pound boost. Was only getting 1 to 2 before hand. I also think he didn't have the exhaust properly hooked up and the intercooler. Also the fuel was wound right up from before hand thinking that it was a fuel problem. Hopefully I get some good news today.
My question is....how much psi should I be seeing with a gt2554rls? I would think if there was 5 psi with the above mentioned items not on and fuel not matched properly then I should see quite a bit more boost?
Cheers
Mick
tuggersbmx said
09:44 AM Feb 3, 2021
Mechanic has now got back to me and said that it was getting 7 psi boost but not down low in revs range. Only getting it high up top. Now I'm stuck again.
Turbos spool mainly on LOAD not so much RPM . Another thing is the larger turbo will have higher boost efficiency. So it NEEDS boost to in its sweet spot !! You adjust the wastegate with the arm off the actuator or move the actuator further away ? So it closes . Check the turbo MAP . You need at LEAST 10lb to be efficient!
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Wednesday 3rd of February 2021 05:38:47 PM
Aus kiwi.... You are very knowledgeable in these types of areas. ....as for me though I can't read maps to save my life.
So when you say I need 10psi to be efficient...to me that sounds like unless I adjust my actuator to produce 10psi I'm not going to see power efficiency? I did space the actuator back a bit and did go from 1/2 psi to 5/6 psi. So I should space it back to reach 10psi? And see the outcome.
I took my bus back from the mechanic today as I felt he did not know what he was doing with turbos. I'd rather learn and do it myself now I think.
Cheers
Mick
dogbox said
08:32 AM Feb 5, 2021
I like the way you are keeping us up to date . a lot do not
Aus-Kiwi said
08:46 AM Feb 5, 2021
You MAY need to replace the actuator? Ot add an extra spring ? If it runs out of revs BEFORE it over boosts ? Some dont require a wastegate on diesels !! Be aware when climbing a hill & towing under load . This is when boost climbs big time . Other than fitting an external adjustable wastegate? Should be some preloading holding gate closed . Could try adding another strong spring to hold gate shut ? Remember it has to hold up against turbine pressure too !
KJB said
10:51 AM Feb 5, 2021
Keep at it , bit by bit - there is a problem there somewhere and you will finally "nail it" . You will gain a good understanding of you motor whilst tracking down the problem and a lot of satisfaction when it is finally performing as it should .
Hi everyone. I recently had a mechanic remove a ED33 engine from my Nissan Civilian and replace it with an fd33t turbo engine. I upgraded the turbo to a Garret but only slightly bigger, installed an intercooler, had the injectors reconditioned, put in a nice new dump pipe and 2.5 inch exhaust. Mechanic has now finished everything, too it for a drive and said it's gutless / no power. Blowing some black smoke too.
The first thing that comes to mind is the tuning of the fuel pump, as in there's a screw to adjust it for more fuel.....but surely the turbo should at least spool and give some power even with a crappy fuel tune? What else could it be besides the fuel?
Maybe a dodgy turbo?
Any input appreciated.
As these civilians are old it's not as simple as just plugging into a vehicles computer to diagnose.
Cheers
Mick
Does it have an exhaust brake
Major leak in intercooler piping or connected wrong
Other thing that might help is to replace your mechanic with a better model
-- Edited by Tony LEE on Sunday 24th of January 2021 03:46:14 PM
-- Edited by Tony LEE on Sunday 24th of January 2021 03:48:07 PM
Check air cleaner , maybe start and run without it to eliminate air intake choking faults...... Got to look at basics first.
Hi. And thanks for the responses. Yes it does have exhaust brake.
Mechanic hasn't tuned the fuel pump yet but it should get power regardless right? Then fine tune.
Will try air intake process over the next few days.
YES and Yes ! Check the inlet manifold and the intercooler and pipes for a blockage? rag ??
Then take the exhaust off and run it like that if not fixed. Be careful running without the intake. Put a bit of wire mesh over the hole to prevent it sucking in a bit of rag, shirt tail or hand.
If it is smoking then not enough air, so leave the fuel alone at the moment. Check the pump timing.
Jaahn
Barry
If no boost would think the turbo is bad.
Hi
Well 2 PSI is not much but it should go better than the previous engine with no turbo !!
The turbo normally looks after itself and the boost should go up to the set boost and then the waste gate stops it going higher. The mechanical fuel pump has a capsule that is connected to the boost pressure and this "adds" more fuel to match the air added by the boost pressure, (a simplistic explanation) but it should all work itself out if setup correctly.
Take it to a proper diesel shop that has an older experienced diesel mechanic. My advice is stop wasting time with people who do not know what to do !
Jaahn
Mechanic has now got back to me and said that it was getting 7 psi boost but not down low in revs range. Only getting it high up top.
Now I'm stuck again.
Wrong size turbo possibly for a fd33t engine?
Turbo is gt2554rls
https://www.sparesbox.com.au/part/garrett-turbocharger-gt2554rls-250hp-g836023-5001s
Sounds like I need a different turbo.
Please help.
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Wednesday 3rd of February 2021 05:38:47 PM
All this guessing is just costing you time, money and stress.
They should be able to guide you to the correct solution. People here while well meaning are a long way away, and can only give ideas.
Keep at it , bit by bit - there is a problem there somewhere and you will finally "nail it" . You will gain a good understanding of you motor whilst tracking down the problem and a lot of satisfaction when it is finally performing as it should .
Keep your progress reports coming , I enjoy them.