Waste Gate Actuator Rod Siezed to Lever = Overboost?

[peteoddcar]

The car was exhibiting Overboost - limp home and check light on for a few seconds after a hard accel, when I drove it yesterday after the 6 month winter break.
I had never been convinced that the boost was quite right as I remembered from the cars I drove back in the days on the project.
So it was time to look - so after removing the rather tight cover bolts ( all there so I guess no one been there before me ) I expected to find the lever to be tight in the turbo housing but no, it was the rod seized to the lever. With much wiggling and fiddling and I got all moving freely again.
Put it all back together and the road test proved that the issues have gone and the boost delivers as I remember.
I am very happy this evening.
Is this the normal failure I have read about in the many threads ?

[GeoffSmith]

So normal there's a Wiki article about it.

[lotusflasherman]

Last couple of times I've used significant boost to overtake I've had the Check Engine Light up and 'Limp Home' mode kick in for a short while, which is a bit embarrassing when you appear to suddenly be dawdling ...
Been investigating mine and the wastegate was free as a bird but my rod was also rusty & seized solid in the lever. Sprung the circlip off OK but t'was a devil of a job to get it out of the lever as it's not very accessible. Had to spray with penetrating oil so I'm anticipating a bit of smoke when the exhaust gets hot. Might have been easier if I had adjuster threads to unscrew but I seem to have a fixed length rod on this one. Is that strange? All the pictures in the manual show a 'turnbuckle adjuster', as did Geoff's Wiki article.

rod.jpg

All cleaned up and ready to go back on with some 'Copper Ease'.

[Rambo]

I get that occasionally. No CEL's, limp home mode or any ALDL error codes though

Suspect a sticky wastegate actuator rod causing wastegate flap to remain closed ??

[GeoffSmith]

That circlip is a bugger isn't it. Another job that a 12 year old is useful for, but mine is 21 now.

Might have been easier if I had adjuster threads to unscrew but I seem to have a fixed length rod on this one. Is that strange? All the pictures in the manual show a 'turnbuckle adjuster', as did Geoff's Wiki article.

Mine was fixed as well Phil, but I borrowed Neil's pictures for the write up.

[GeoffSmith]

I get that occasionally. No CEL's, limp home mode or any ALDL error codes though

Suspect a sticky wastegate actuator rod causing wastegate flap to remain closed ??

I had the same a long time ago and tried the "grab it with mole grips and wiggle it" technique. When it continued albeit more intermittently, I did the job properly and found that there was stiction at various points towards the extremes of movement that was sorted by repeatedly moving everything over the full range of movement.

[Elanlover]

And some copaslip????

[Rambo]

Stiction ?? Is that a real word or short for static friction ?

Good word anyway Geoff

[GeoffSmith]

And some copaslip????

Yep. There was some discussion years ago whether it was too hot for copaslip and whether it was better to leave dry, but it's worked well for me.

Stiction ?? Is that a real word or short for static friction ?

Good word anyway Geoff

Have you never heard it before? Sounds more professional than saying it sticks!

[Saltire]

Stiction ?? Is that a real word or short for static friction ?

Good word anyway Geoff

From the Oxford English Dictionary: Stiction, n. The friction which tends to prevent stationary surfaces from being set in motion.

I also like their "Word of the Day" today: mataeotechny, n. An unprofitable or pointless science, skill, or activity.

Or, in other words, what I spent most of today doing to the Elan

[lotusflasherman]

That circlip is a bugger isn't it. Another job that a 12 year old is useful for, but mine is 21 now.

Might have been easier if I had adjuster threads to unscrew but I seem to have a fixed length rod on this one. Is that strange? All the pictures in the manual show a 'turnbuckle adjuster', as did Geoff's Wiki article.

Mine was fixed as well Phil, but I borrowed Neil's pictures for the write up.

Thanks Geoff. I was feeling short changed... - I'm sure my SORN'ed '90 SE has an adjustable rod but this is the Dec '93 SE. I tried gripping the rod as recommended but couldn't get any movement as the pin was completely seized. I even had to use a club hammer from underneath to drift it out with a long rod I keep for those kind of things - it's actually the long straight section of a gearlever out of an early 850cc Minivan. I bent the old circlip beyond re-use getting it off but have one of those plastic boxes with lots of compartments with loads of circlips of different sizes. Cleaned up the groove in the pin with a hacksaw and made sure a new circlip went on quite easily when in the vice, then fitted the actuator and got under the car with about 20 circlips. Think I got the 5th one on and then picked up the ones that had got away. I find if you've only got one, it pings off and you waste 30 minutes trying to find the little bar steward...

Trying to get the turbo heatshields back on is ... trying too

[GeoffSmith]

BTDTGTTS. I ran around for many months without a circlip because the first time I tried to put it back on I didn't have a plastic box full and I gave up looking.

[lotusflasherman]

BTDTGTTS. I ran around for many months without a circlip because the first time I tried to put it back on I didn't have a plastic box full and I gave up looking.

BTDTGTTS ???? You've got me on that one

[GeoffSmith]

BTDTGTTS. I ran around for many months without a circlip because the first time I tried to put it back on I didn't have a plastic box full and I gave up looking.

BTDTGTTS ???? You've got me on that one

Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

[John_W]

Hey, even I guessed that acronym!

[peteoddcar]

So do I copaslip my waste gate actuator rod or not ?
MOT passed today, then great drive roof down, I remember why I bought, and why I still own it.
It's great (when it works properly) which to fair to it, is most of the time.
Oil and filter change next then we're ready for the summer
Thanks for your support

[Elanlover]

Well I did (as did Geoff) and my rod has never been stuck.



Oh yea, did the actuator rod on the wastegate too. Same result.

[lotusflasherman]

So do I copaslip my waste gate actuator rod or not ?
MOT passed today, then great drive roof down, I remember why I bought, and why I still own it.
It's great (when it works properly) which to fair to it, is most of the time.
Oil and filter change next then we're ready for the summer
Thanks for your support

I've got a tube of Comma Copper Ease and their website says "Anti-seize assembly compound, with extreme temperature tolerance (-40°C to +1150°C). Forms a dense protective coating over metal parts - will not wash or burn off."
Cleaned my rod back to 'bright metal' so any protective surface coat has gone so I'm relying on Copper Ease to stop it corroding and seizing. Out in the air, I wouldn't expect it to get close to 1150°C.

[lotusflasherman]

BTDTGTTS. I ran around for many months without a circlip because the first time I tried to put it back on I didn't have a plastic box full and I gave up looking.

BTDTGTTS ???? You've got me on that one

Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

might have got it if you'd included comma's.

[John_W]

Well, that was three hours of fun!

I’d been getting overboost cutout and CEL almost every trip, so I finally got round to freeing the wastegate actuator mechanism. The part that was siezed was (as above) the pivot between the actuator rod and the quadrant that translates the side-to-side motion of the rod into rotation of the wastegate shaft. I couldn’t do a proper job owing to one of the heat shield bolts (the one at the RHS by the power steering pump) being rusted solid, but I’ve done enough to free things up and we’ll see if it stays that way.

I’d have liked to have been able to take off the circlip and remove everything to give it a good wire brushing, but with the heat shield still in place that wasn’t possible. The job would have been a lot quicker if I hadn’t tried to remove the heatshield, but I wanted to do the job properly. I failed, but I only lost one bolt in the process (guess which one? Yes, the bottom one on the attachment bracket for the actuator capsule. I replaced it with a spare.).

John