Frozen Waste Gate

[BillCarry]

The waste gate on my 6.5 freezes up. I can loosen it by tapping it and then working it back and forth, but it freezes up on the first heating cycle. It has about 220,000 miles on it and is 20+ years old (mine since new).

Is this a common problem? Is there a quick fix? Or do I have to pull the turbo and replace it?

[DmaxMaverick]

First, make sure it isn't the actuator that's doing the sticking (usual suspect). If it is, replace it. If not, you've already completed the "quick fix". Ultimately, if it doesn't stay free, the turbo has to come out, and likely repaired/replaced.

[Yehoshua]

I just bought a gm8 and the wastegate was getting stuck on the turbo housing if it opened up too much. The wastegate actually has a little slop in it and if it is tilted at a certain angle it would rub on the housing and get stuck. I took off the down pipe and saw inside where it was rubbing and I took a dremel and grinded a little of the rough casting off. It helped a little bit. Now it doesn't rub as much. Maybe since yours has been on a while maybe the soot has built up on the walls and the wastegste is rubbing on the walls. You might want to take the turbo down pipe off and have a look.