I think my turbo's mute!

[AKimmel]

I was changing my oil today, and took the intake tube loose from the turbo to gain some room. I figured while I have it off, I ought to crank it up like this and see what my turbo sounds like. Well I did, and it wasn't any louder than with my stock air box hooked up. I revved it to probably 2000 rpm's, and it never made a peep over the sound of the engine. It would make a little sound when letting off, but nothing noticeable. Is this normal? My truck is all stock other than the 4" straight pipe. You can hear the turbo a little bit through the exhaust, but not the intake side. I know my truck isn't impressive at all with power, and I'm wondering if this has something to do with it. The 318 that was in it before I converted it to diesel pulled better than the truck does now in stock form. And it doesn't smoke at all loaded or unloaded, so I guess the turbo must be doing something. Thanks for any help, Alex

 

[Philip]

In a unloaded condition you won't get the turbo to sound off.



Do you have gages? If so give use some base line readings.

 

[AKimmel]

No extra guages yet, just an isspro tach.

 

[PToombs]

Take it for a drive, it should whistle like a mother trucker! :-laf

 

[Forrest Nearing]

then replace it w/ a turbo w/ an MWE compressor housing... then it'll whistle like a mother trucker's mother trucker!

 

[dpuckett]

if it doesnt pull any better than the stock 318, you either need more fuel or a tighter convertor in the auto. Mom's could outpull a big block V8 when I owned it, and on about 1/2 to 1/3 the fuel.



Daniel

 

[AKimmel]

I put a TCI convertor in when I built the truck, because the old convertor had the ears cracked in two that drive the front pump. I never drove the donor truck on the road, so I don't know what or if any difference it made. As far as fuel, I know I could turn it up and make more power, but I've heard people brag on these trucks when they were new, and in stock form like mine I couldn't see anyone bragging. I have towed some loads with it, probably around 6000 to 8000 pounds, with the 318 and now with the cummins. The cummins just doesn't have the off idle power, which I guess is normal for anything with a turbo. You can tell when the turbo spools up, it will start pulling pretty hard, then it shifts and looses its momentum. I hope when I finally get some guages in it, I'll know more of whats going on, and if I do have any sort of problem.

 

[ARhine]

A stock truck is no speedy rig towing, at least not in my experiences.

My truck could not keep up pulling my jeep compared to my 70 chevy with a 350. After some mods the dodge is slightly better than the chevy now and gets 4-5 mpg better when towing. (The 350 chevy is not stock though in the cummins defense)

Andy

 

[dpuckett]

How long has it been since you adjusted the valves? That will rob your bottom end, and give you less than ideal MPGs. I still think once you pass 1500rpm, it ought to take off and run.



ALso, check your throttle linkage and make sure you're getting full throttle travel. ALso check your TV cable going to the auto transmission. Mom's wasnt adjusted correctly after the rebuild, and it showed.



DP

 

[cerberusiam]

Everything Daniel said plus... ...



A stock setup wasn't a ball of fire off the line for sure. With a big housing and limited fuel all it did was give a hint of the potential and do a decent, not spectacular, job of towing.



Depending on the TC this might be hurting your off idle power considerably. It's probably tighter than the stock which is causing mor lag than normal. If you are seeing no smoke then it is still on stock fueling. The stock turbo made the most noise when you barked it :-laf , not when it was moving air.



Give it a couple turns on the power screw and back the star wheel all the way down. It might surprise you what a few little adjustments will do.

 

[AKimmel]

How long has it been since you adjusted the valves? That will rob your bottom end, and give you less than ideal MPGs. I still think once you pass 1500rpm, it ought to take off and run.



ALso, check your throttle linkage and make sure you're getting full throttle travel. ALso check your TV cable going to the auto transmission. Mom's wasnt adjusted correctly after the rebuild, and it showed.



DP

I do need to adjust the valves. The motor has almost 110,000 on it and I don't think they have ever been adjusted. I was planning on doing it when I changed the oil, but i didn't have enough time. I get about 16 mpg unloaded, I don't know if this is good or not, I do have bigger than factory tires which doesn't help, but my speedometer is correct, because I installed a superlift tru-speed calibrator when I built it. I am getting full throttle out of my linkage, and I have played with the TV cable when I built it. I adjusted it first according to the FSM, but it shifted to early. So I tightened the gap up a little and it shifted a lot better. If I go any tighter I wouldn't have a gap at all. Thanks for the input, I want to turn it up, but I also want to wait untill I get guages first so I'll have a base line. I've looked through old posts and kind of figured it out, but I wish one of ya'll that knows, would make a post itemizing what each adjustment to the pump does and which way to adjust it. Like the star wheel, fuel pin, power screw, etc. Its kind of confusing on which adjustment to make, since they all ad power, but why do one over the other and whats the down side to any of them. Thanks, Alex

 

[dpuckett]

If it has been 110K, they will need it, no doubt. Mine had close to 250k when I got it, and the clearances were an average of . 008" loose. Quieted it down, along with gaining a few MPGs.



16. 8mpg empty is nothing to brag about. I had a 4x4 with stock tires that averaged 22mpg.



DP

 

[HighRanger]

Your turbo will be mute with no load on it.

 

[cerberusiam]

start with reading this if you haven't then ask away for clarification. Have fun.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71525

 

[AKimmel]

start with reading this if you haven't then ask away for clarification. Have fun.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71525

I read the whole thing, and I saw where CB Parker was asking the same question I have, about specifics on pump mods, but he didn't get an answer either. I don't know if this is top secret stuff or what. I have figured out some buy reading other posts, but for those of you out there that know the ins and outs of a VE pump, please share. Here's what I had in mind as a post by its self.



Full fuel screw: Turn this way to increase power/fuel, will cause this to happen; EGT's, etc?



Star Wheel: Raise or lower for more?



Fuel Pin: Rotate to this side, for more?



Etc. , Etc.

 

[OKish]

Your turbo will be mute with no load on it.

you sure about that? Heck i can get 4-6 psi just revving it, plus it whines like heck at idle too. :-laf :-laf

 

[rumblefish]

I read the whole thing, and I saw where CB Parker was asking the same question I have, about specifics on pump mods, but he didn't get an answer either. I don't know if this is top secret stuff or what. I have figured out some buy reading other posts, but for those of you out there that know the ins and outs of a VE pump, please share. Here's what I had in mind as a post by its self.



Full fuel screw: Turn this way to increase power/fuel, will cause this to happen; EGT's, etc?



Star Wheel: Raise or lower for more?



Fuel Pin: Rotate to this side, for more?



Etc. , Etc.

This is one of the best explanations I've found



http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/more_power/Power_ve.htm

 

[AKimmel]

Thanks, That's what I was looking for.