North American Turbocoupe Organization



loss of power
jcr Offline
Junior Member
#1
I was driving my '87 automatic TC. I had to do a u-turn and had traffic coming so I accelerated hard. I went about half a mile and had to stop to do another u-turn to get to my driveway. When I went to do my u-turn the car had NO power. I was told that the car had sat for two or three years before I bought it recently. I thought that I still heard the turbocharger still whining (although not nearly as loud). Also, the boost gauge had been working o.k. but now it shows no boost. I took it to a transmission shop because I thought the tranny might be the problem but the guy said he believes that the turbo is the problem. The turbo is not seized. It still spins. Is it possible that the loss of power could be from the wastegate sticking open after I accelerated hard?
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#2
Quote: Is it possible that the loss of power could be from the wastegate sticking open after I accelerated hard?

Yes that could be possible. If it sat that long you might want to change the fuel filter also
Pete Dunham


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jcr Offline
Junior Member
#3
Quote:Originally posted by Pete D:
Yes that could be possible. If it sat that long you might want to change the fuel filter also

Actually, that was the second thing I suspected. I did change it but it made no difference.
The first was that the catalytic converter had loose junk in it that plugged it up when I accelerated. I removed it from the exhaust system and ran it with just the down-pipe but again there was no difference.
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Qwertys Offline
Senior Member
#4
check the vacuum hoses. check the IC hoses.
its possible the wastegate actuator is stuck, not the wastegate itself.
'85 TC BPV and Ford FMIC
'88 TC Kirban AFPR, Autometer Boost, FP and A/R Gauge, 8.8 to 4.10 rear, Walboro 255lph Fuel pump, Garrett GT3071R T3/T4 Dual Ball bearing Turbo, Custom AWIC.
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jcr Offline
Junior Member
#5
Quote:Originally posted by Qwertys:
check the vacuum hoses. check the IC hoses.
its possible the wastegate actuator is stuck, not the wastegate itself.

Good point. Does IC stand for intercooler? I did notice that one of the vacuum hoses is like mush. I was afraid it was going to rip while I was messing around around it.
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Nitro_X Offline
Senior Member
#6
Hi jcr. Welcome to the wonderful world of TC's. Good to have another Virginian on the board (I'm originally from Surry, right across the James from Williamsburg).

I would be a real good idea to check and probably replace every vacuum hose on the engine. They dry out and break down from ozone, crack and leak. For some reason it seems like it's worse when a vehicle has been sitting for a long time. The other thing I've found on several vehicles is rodent damage. For some reason the little buggers love to chew rubber. If you found a bunch of hollowed out acorns, hickory nuts, etc. in various places under the hood, check for gnawed out sections in the hoses.

It could be the wastegate actuator sticking too. Right after I did the 5 spd. swap in my 87 the same thing happened. I got up under the car, checked the linkage to be sure it hadn't come and messed with the actuator rod at Pete D's suggestion. Apparently that freed it up and it's been working fine ever since.

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87 TC, T-5 swap, billet quadrant / adj. cable, solid state IVR, fog light relay mod, PST suspension, KYB-AGX fronts, Gas-A-Just rears, K&N cone, billet alum BCV, med. red, 90's wing, polished snowflakes and centers, 195K+ Mi's., daily driver, feeding on ricers!
87 TC, T-5 swap, billet quadrant / adj. cable, solid state IVR, fog light relay mod, PST suspension, KYB-AGX fronts, Gas-A-Just rears, K&N cone, billet alum BCV, med. red, 90's wing, polished snowflakes and centers, 195K+ Mi's., daily driver, feeding on ricers!
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TurboCoupe50 Offline
Posting Freak
#7
Yea check the wastegate, if its open you won't get any boost.

If you can't figure it out, run down to Cheapeake and I'll make you a Hell of a deal on a '88 5 speed TC that boosts just fine...

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Three 1988 Turbo Coupes .....
yea one of em has a 5.0 And runs 13.1s......
uhhh make that [email protected] with a 90hp shot of nitrous.

[This message has been edited by TurboCoupe50 (edited 11-06-2004).]
1988 Turbo Coupe331 AOD

1972 Comet GT

1969 Fairlane Cobra 428CJ 4-Speed
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jcr Offline
Junior Member
#8
Quote:Originally posted by TurboCoupe50:
Yea check the wastegate, if its open you won't get any boost.

If you can't figure it out, run down to Cheapeake and I'll make you a Hell of a deal on a '88 5 speed TC that boosts just fine...


How much are you asking for her anyway? My wife would probably shoot me but I'd rather have two parts cars and a good runner 5-speed than go through all the work of swapping everything from one car to the other. I MUCH prefer the stick to the auto!!!
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