glowing turbo???

[TheSparo]

ok, so i have a top-mount t3/t4 and after driving down the interstate i noticed my turbo was glowing, so i was clueless as to why b/c i wasn't giving hell at all, and i checked the timing, which seems to be correct... anybody have any clue?

[Onizuka]

Well I *think* that most stock ECU's are programmed to run fairly lean at highway speed RPMS under light load for fuel milage purposes. Perhaps something with your fuel delivery setup is causing it to run even more lean and creating extra heat. Have you ever been on the dyno for wideband tuning?

[spider_slayer]

Well I *think* that most stock ECU's are programmed to run fairly lean at highway speed RPMS under light load for fuel milage purposes. Perhaps something with your fuel delivery setup is causing it to run even more lean and creating extra heat. Have you ever been on the dyno for wideband tuning?

even if the engine is running super lean why would it cause the turbo to heat up when it is under virtually no load?

[wildacexxx]

even if the engine is running super lean why would it cause the turbo to heat up when it is under virtually no load?

just cuz there is no load doesnt mean that there isnt any friction going on in the turbo. im sure it was spinning which in turn creates heat. check the turbo lines, maybe somethings not right there.

[spider_slayer]

seeing as how most turbos are designed to rotate at insane speeds they should be able to effectively distrubute the mild heat made at low rpm's.

if its the stock cartridge turbo maybe it isn't getting propper lubrication. check for shaft play and such. i'm kinda curious to see what the problem is.

[im two techno]

the motor is to lean think about the exhaust valves!!!!

[S13240]

Clogged cat can do that.

[TheSparo]

i don't have a cat, full 3" all the way back, i have a rom tuned ECu and the turbo has no shaft playand i would assume if the turbo wasn't getting (enough) oil then it would have been gone sooner than i would have noticed the glowing turbo... if im not mistaken turbo's do not last long at all w/o proper oil lubrication...

fuel pressure was ~41psi which is about normal...

[92vert240]

the turbo could spinn a million rpm's and it wouldnt get red hot if you were spinning it with cool air. Its your EGT. check your mixture/ fuel system. Get on a dyno and set up your mixture. Ive seen this before on non turbo aplications. headers glowing. Way too Lean.

[S13240]

the turbo could spinn a million rpm's and it wouldnt get red hot if you were spinning it with cool air. Its your EGT. check your mixture/ fuel system. Get on a dyno and set up your mixture. Ive seen this before on non turbo aplications. headers glowing. Way too Lean.

It could be rich or lean. It doesn't have to be lean to make it turn red...rich can also.

[im two techno]

who tuned the ecu? have you talked to them about this? your gonna blow somthing running red hot ..

[spider_slayer]

the only time i've ever seen headers glow was when we have the timing advanced.

[TheSparo]

ok, let me know if this makes sense, i figured since my timing is correct, and i am getting ~41psi of fuel, that the only plausible cause would possibly be my TPS sensor... now i know most of you are like why would that matter...well... i checked the voltage on it, and it was low (like .14 volts or so) and no matter how much i turned it, the voltage wouldn't change... which it should change, and is suppose to be at .47 volts if i am not mistaken... so anyway, back to my point...i think that maybe my TPS is bad, causing the ECU to read less air than is actually being pulled in, which in turn creates an overly lean condition, which in turn heats up my turbo, which in turn pisses me off because there is no way to possitively know because i don't have a spare one and new ones cost $130 or so...

so before i spend that money, does this sound like a plausible plan?

[mackdaddy240]

the only time i've ever seen headers glow was when we have the timing advanced.

I've seen headers glow while drifting/playing in a parking lot at low speeds for a while. This was also on a really cold night, the colder the temp the brighter they'll glow. But just cruising down the highway definately sounds like advanced timing, or lean mixture............... be careful.

[straightedge]

ok, let me know if this makes sense, i figured since my timing is correct, and i am getting ~41psi of fuel, that the only plausible cause would possibly be my TPS sensor... now i know most of you are like why would that matter...well... i checked the voltage on it, and it was low (like .14 volts or so) and no matter how much i turned it, the voltage wouldn't change... which it should change, and is suppose to be at .47 volts if i am not mistaken... so anyway, back to my point...i think that maybe my TPS is bad, causing the ECU to read less air than is actually being pulled in, which in turn creates an overly lean condition, which in turn heats up my turbo, which in turn pisses me off because there is no way to possitively know because i don't have a spare one and new ones cost $130 or so...

the tps does not measure airflow, merely the engine uses it as a cross reference point for the total engine load. the mass airflow sensor measures actual airflow (who would of thunk that haha) the tps should have 3 wires if im not mistaken. a supply voltage, a ground and a signal voltage. make sure you are checking the signal voltage and not the supply, supply will be constant, signal will change as you move the tps. if the signal does not change it is a faulty tps, if the signal voltage is not within spec it is a problem within your wiring harness

[TheSparo]

so then, since my voltage isn't changingm then i replace the TPS, should that fix the problem? or what? does that mean?

[xero1]

turbos are supposed to glow when they are use. i think the problem is the driver. if the turbo is building boost the turbo will heat up faster than when its not. when i drive on the high way at normal throtle my boost gauge is at 10 inches of vacume most of the time on a flat road. whats your boost gauge reading when you're driving?

[TheSparo]

about the same, but as i said, this is just driving down the interstate... it shouldn't glow like that unless i had it in boost for a long time...

[xero1]

check to make sure you coolant line going to the turbo is flowing.

[TheSparo]

its only an oil cooled center section

[got2b240]

having an oil cooled turbo only will have less of an ability to dissapate heat from the turbine. Also having too little oil pressure to the turbo can cause friction, and thus causing this problem under little-no load.

Who makes your turbo?

Could be thin turbine housing metal (poor design?) Could be a number of things, as well as running too lean/rich and skyrocketing your EGT's and AFR.

Let us know what your AFR/EGT's are if you can. And also make sure you arent restricting that turbo and starving it for oil.

[TheSparo]

i know it's been a while, but since i have had my car dyno tuned, and afr's look good, but sitll glows at highway rpms... if the MAFS was acting up or wired wrong, then i would be able to tell in the AFR's correct? and if the afr's are correct why would it still be glowing?