Home made boost controller done.

[AJ650]

This was any easy one. 30 minutes and $3 later, I have fully adjustable boost.

Gauges went in last night, this morning did a short test run and found my stock boost was about the same as everyone elses. This afternoon fabbed the controller and did another test run.

current setup
75mph unloaded sits about 10psi
full throttle uphill tapped 15psi once or twice but generally around 13.
never saw less than 5psi until I slowed down.

Egt floated between 600 and 800 depending on the terrain, very hilly country. I won't be able to get a flat ground run until the next time I run into colorado. Egt spiked higher a few times, but I was lead-footing around playing with the boost gauge.

Next comes an intercooler.

[AC Bingel]

COULD YOU SHARE WITH US HOW YOU MADE YOUR BOOST CONTROL?

[rl22]

Hi, I did a mod to my wategate rod so I can shorten/lengthen it; was this your approach?
You mention 600-800 egt's...where did you tap your probe in? I put mine in the crossover pipe just below the drivers side exhaust manifold and temps easily go to 1100 up a steep hill empty (Isspro guage).

[Dimsdale]

I understand that there is a reward out for the person that makes a $10 FSD if you are interested...... smile.gif

[triggerman]

Heres my idea of a cheap 2 lb across the board boost increase. Pull the MAF off the man. plug the orifice in the bottom of the hole. Use a J size drill bit to put a hole in the side of the hole just above the orifice. Shallow thread this hole with a 5/16ths X 24 tap. Buy a 1/4" brass barb on a 1/16th NPT male thread. You will need some one with a lathe to turn off the NPT threads and put 5/16th's X 24 threads on the barb. By not threading the alumminum hole all the way through , the barb will tighten before it gets to the inside of the hole . Epoxy the barb in place. Atatch a 1/4 " fuel line to the barb and then put this hose into your air inlet tube VIA another barb or even RTV it into a cut hole before the turbo. Cut a 1/4" notch off the bottom side of the plastic barb on the MAF. cut the notch on the side of the barb that is opposite the brass barb. Before you drill the hole in the man., put the maf in place so the drill will parallel the MAF. this is so the possition of the barb doesn't end up where the connector sits. vacuume up all the chips in the MAF hole before you pinch the orifice plug up out of there. Wa-La All Done! This will put you just short of 9 LBs max. which still keeps the EGT's pretty much in check.

[AJ650]

Sorry for the slow reply, been away from the pc for a while. The boost controller is my first Macguyver mod on this truck. I've done cheap mods on several other vehicles and have always been happy and had a fatter wallet than going straight aftermarket.

My probe is just under the driver side manifold. Well as close as I get get the drill to bite. I for one don't feel the need to tap straight into the header as you won't see a significant temp. drop between those points. Besides, this isn't rocket science. My temps do get hotter than others I've seen posted, but they ran hotter in stock form and haven't changed any since the mod. I can tap the red on the water temp gauge on long pulls with my boat, but I think that's partly due to a botched airbox mod. And it was about 100 degrees out, so that didn't help. This is being fixed soon. And I don't think my fan clutch is working. I've never "heard" it engage as some say I should be able to.

I have a '93 and I haven't looked at other years so I don't know how much of this will apply. The '93 controller is basically just a spring mounted in a can, attached to a rod. Chev. was nice enough to provide almost every part you need to make a controller in just these parts. All you need to buy is 1 1/4" eyebolt about 4-5" long, an extension (not compression) spring about 4-6" long, a pair of flat washers, 1 1/4" nut and a wingnut.


There are 2 options I can think of using stock parts.

The 1st is the one I'm currently using the 2nd will look similar to the turbomasters but cost about 1% of the sales cost. All parts can be picked up at home depot or similar.

1st remove the stock controller from the turbo and disconnect the rod from the wastegate arm. Using a cut off tool make a cut through the weld that holds the can to the bracket and through the rod. Grind the cut/weld smooth. Congrats, you have the mounting bracket required for both versions.

Bolt the bracket back onto the turbo. Connect 1 end of the spring to the wastegate arm and the other to the eyebolt. Put on the nut, then washer and slide the eyebolt through the bracket, then washer and wingnut.

And you're done except for setting. Use the wingnut to pull the eyebolt which stretches the spring. When you have boost where you want it, lock the nut down against the bracket and it should be set. Takes about 30 minutes start to finish and taking trips to the fridge for beer.

2nd version (should) ends up working like the turbomasters. Pull the can and cut apart as above and reinstall the bracket. Pull the rod out of the can as far as possible before cutting it. Thread the cut end of the rod and stick through the bracket. Put on a flat washer, compression (not extension) spring, flat washer and wingnut. Use a 2nd nut to lock the wingnut in place. This probably will look a little nicer than the other version, but the 1st doesn't look bad either.


The next mod will be fairly major. I'm doing a custom install on an IC that will be pretty good looking if I can find a good metal worker. I'm doing a 3" fresh/forced air intake at the same time. But I'm waiting until I get the new house bought and moved in, so it will be a little while before I get started. If anyone has a used front bumper for cheap, I'd like to do the work on it rather than working mine during the R&D phase.

Dimmsdale: I don't think I have an FSD on my truck so I'm not sure how they work. If someone can give a little info about what it does I might be able to fab something. All I know is that it's a "fuel solenoid driver", beyond that its a mystery. I can do electrical work, but if it has fuel running through it I probably won't touch it.

[ 07-25-2003, 03:43 AM: Message edited by: AJ650 ]

[Dimsdale]

You have just posed the $25,000 question: what is in the FSD?

While the FSD doesn't have any fuel running through it, it is a mysterious thermoset plastic filled box that has defied anyone's ability to dissect out the innards. Nobody at Stanadyne or GM is handing out any information either. All I know is that they eventually self destruct from excessive heat, and the battle is currently being fought by moving the FSD off of the fuel injection pump to cooler areas in the truck.

Maybe someone with your talents can figure it out!! I am sure that there are plenty of old ones kicking around DP member's garages that they might like to donate...... ;)

[AJ650]

Does the FSD just turn on the fuel pump, or does it perform other functions?

[ucdavis]

AJ,
FSD is the fuel solenoid driver on electronic injection pumps; '93 had mechanical injection so no FSD.
The FSD's sole excuse for existence (besides selling replacment FSDs) is to actuate the fuel solenoid on the IP. It fires (or attempts to fire) 4 times for each rpm, fueling 4 cylynders each time the crank turns. In doing so it gets real hot & needs cooling to avoid self destructing within minutes, hence the FSD Cooler mania you may have seen on this board.

[More Power]

The FSD: What is it? What's it do? Why does it fail? How can you improve reliability?

http://www.thedieselpage.com/reviews/FSDCooler.htm

Also: http://www.thedieselpage.com/reviews/beta.htm

Incidentally, BETA just sent me a few of the brand new heat transfer pads talked about in this second link...... Should be available anytime now.

MP

[AJ650]

So a new FSD would be a good bit of work since it pulses with rpm. I know of a couple people that could probably do it tho'. Seems that relocating and cooling is the easy solution. I'm guessing most people are building their own coolers rather than paying a couple hundred bucks. You should be able to put a cooler kit together for less than $20. Mounting on the drivers fender would probably provide better cooling than directly on top of the engine. You shouldn't need wiring, just cut and jump the original harness.

If someone has a blown fsd they could send me, I'll dig around for appropriate parts for mounting and cooling.

How much heat does the FSD itself generate, not counting what is absorbed through the engine?

[ 07-26-2003, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: AJ650 ]

[tcrawfo]

I recently, about 3 months ago, purchased a new FSD and mounted it remotely using the cooler that John Kennedy sales. I believe I still have the old one, so...send me a personal e-mai to tkcrawford@yahoo.com so we can make shipping arrangements. I'll check tonight for sure to see if I have it still.

Thanks and good luck!

-Troy