Another Question folks

[Earls GN]

MY 85 GN , to me is fairly quick ,my buddy rode in it the other day, and he was wondering why he could'nt hear the Turbo whistle , I told him I thought it was beacause , the stock turbo is kinda small. I do have a exhaust leak , but it is after the cat . I do feel some boost, the adjustable wastegate is not cranked all of the way down, so I am not running max boost. Help , this is my first Turbo car, and have only heard one other GN in my area , sounded like a jet fighter, that is part of the reason why I bought one, but his was a built to the hilt 87 , with a turbo that looked more 2 or 3 times bigger than mine. Thanks for any info. Sincerely Earl

 

[suicide six]

Different variables apply to the whistle,intake setup,turbo condition,outside temps,drowns by exh. noise.Usually freeing up intake side and exh will allow more audible whistle,esp at cooler temps.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

When my car was stock I could not hear my turbo spool/whine as well. The best advice I can give you is never touch the adj waste gate rod until you have an after market knock gauge installed. market If you want to raise boost get an after market boost gauge(30ibs) as well. The stock boost gauge is a piece of S**t from the day it was made and only attempts to read up to 15ibs boost. If you ever raise boost you need to monitor knock(You cannot hear or feel it). I made the mistake and blew up a new engine.Thanks-Brad

 

[cool 84]

The stock airbox is designed to get rid of the whistle. Put a K&N cone filter on the car and you will hear the whistle.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Good post cool. I first heard the turbo whine after I eliminated the stock air intake while keeping the stock turbo. Brad

 

[tenright]

First things first, never adjust the wastegate without some way of knowing what boost you are pulling...easiest way to blow up your car. Manditory for tweaking boost is an aftermarket boost gauge and a knock gauge. Knock (detonation) will blow the head gaskets. Most everyone here has some kind of scantool, and more gauges then they know where to put them....

scanmaster seems to be the most popular scan tool because it is small, easy to read while driving...and moderately inexpensive. Oil pressure and water temp's are notorious problems as well with hotair's because of the mechanical fan and small radiator, since the hotter things get the more likely you will have knock as you raise boost. So adding oil pressure and water temp gauges are a smart idea. Start with a good diagnostic setup and go from there.

Understand you are the proud owner of a money pit....Most everyone out here will never, ever, and I do mean never see so much as half the money they have invested in the cars. It is a love affair, and just like a woman it requires a huge investment of time and money......good luck and welcome aboard......

 

[Earls GN]

Thanks for all of the replies . I kinda figured I should not try to adjust the wastegate rod ,until I got the proper gauges. I feel better knowing this info now, had me alittle worried there for a couple of days . I was planning on putting the gauges sometime in the future, it does'nt get driven that much right now since I have been bringing the old girl back to it's former glory . . So with a K@N I should be able to hear the turbo, cool :biggrin: . How do you know when the turbo is going bad ????? Thanks again for the replies, Sincerely Earl

 

[turbo6x2]

The most important thing to remember is hot airs are great to own and can be just as much fun as the intercooled cars.

 

[91rangerturbo]

First things first, never adjust the wastegate without some way of knowing what boost you are pulling...easiest way to blow up your car. Manditory for tweaking boost is an aftermarket boost gauge and a knock gauge. Knock (detonation) will blow the head gaskets. Most everyone here has some kind of scantool, and more gauges then they know where to put them....

scanmaster seems to be the most popular scan tool because it is small, easy to read while driving...and moderately inexpensive. Oil pressure and water temp's are notorious problems as well with hotair's because of the mechanical fan and small radiator, since the hotter things get the more likely you will have knock as you raise boost. So adding oil pressure and water temp gauges are a smart idea. Start with a good diagnostic setup and go from there.

Understand you are the proud owner of a money pit....Most everyone out here will never, ever, and I do mean never see so much as half the money they have invested in the cars. It is a love affair, and just like a woman it requires a huge investment of time and money......good luck and welcome aboard......

Silent knock? I have heard knock in cars before and it is loud enough that sounds like a paint can rattling.. Are the head gaskets that weak in these cars that the slightest bit of knock with blow the headgaskets? I have talked to many of people and they said a knock gauge is the biggest waste of time if you know anything about turbo cars and knock. I mean not saying that it wouldn't be a bad thing for a beginner with a turbo 6.

Anyways. Your damn right about the money pit part . That is all i have done to this car is spend money on it since i bought it. I am installing 3 gauges today in my car one is boost, oil pressure, water temp.

 

[suicide six]

Head gaskets are weak link,otherwise tour lower end would be on street.Gauges are a must,knock gauge included.Listen to the guys here that have experience with these cars.

 

[turbojd]

Exactly as was said, I would put your boost, oil, water temp. guages in and a knock guage then at least add a scanmaster for a scantool to see whats going on in the motor.

 

[tenright]

Knock or (detonation) is not so big a deal in a non boosted car because they don't build boost (pressure). This car can and will do things like blow the oil dipstick across the garage, or blow the oil filter clean off...it's not uncommon. The higher the boost, the more pressure and heat, so yes added pressure from detonation needs to go somewhere. The head gasket is the easiest way out. I would imagine if you polled this messege board there is maybe 1 or 2 that do not have a knock gauge. And probably 1/3rd that will tell you they wished they had a knock gauge before the blew they're head gaskets...

But don't let that deter you from listening to your friends wise advice, we can always use another thred on replacing a head gasket....

 

[SPS]

Hey tenright-nice car man. i also have a 85 wh1

 

[tenright]

Yea I had no idea just how rare the were till after I bought it...there were only 500 or so made and very few of those with t-tops. I see you are practically a nieghbor, I am in Panama City Fl.

I have razors alky in and I see your headed that way. Very highly recomended, fairly easy to install and julio will give all the help he can personally. Great guy, great product. Just make sure your car is running perfectly and you have a chip to go with it.....existing problems will only become worse with alky and higher boost. Anything I can do to help just PM.

 

[Jerryl]

.......... And probably 1/3rd that will tell you they wished they had a knock gauge before the blew they're head gaskets...

But don't let that deter you from listening to your friends wise advice, we can always use another thred on replacing a head gasket....

Funny but true! If you don't want to become a HG changing expert, get a knock gauge. The gauge is easily the cost of the HG's and intake gasket. And that is if you don't spin a bearing and score the crank from the cooalnt in your oil!

Edit in bold.

 

[cool 84]

To add a little more to this, the headgaskets on these cars will take a lot of abuse compared to most turbo cars. They are the weak link but they aren't weak. 2 degrees of knock as shown on a scan tool is considered the absolute most "acceptable" knock. I try for 0. You can't hear 2 degrees, I can hear it when it hits ~14 degrees. I haven't blown a headgasket from just a few degrees of KR but it will eventually hammer the bottom end and headgaskets.