s13 Sr20det turbo glowing red hot?

[twest7740]

Okay guy's I have been lurking in this thread for almost 2 years now but this issue finally got me to make an account as I cant find anybody with my same issue or someone who has posted a fix, and I kind of want an explanation of what is happening. So my car is an s13 with stock blacktop sr20, Basic swap stuff has been done but nothing other than that, yesterday at the track I made about 10 runs or so and I noticed my car was getting really close to the H, I pulled in and popped the hood to notice the exhaust housing of my turbo was glowing red hot, I am assuming that the turbo being so hot was what caused my cooling system to heat up and alert me of this, I let the car sit for awhile, removed my hood, checked the coolant, all was well, I go back out make I few runs and check it again, and it wasn't glowing, I probably made a good 20 runs after that and only noticed that the turbo got hot one more time, the coolant system did not, I let it cool down and did 1 more run, Figuring that we weren't going to make any more runs for the night I was sitting in a brake stand at maybe 1500rpms, and boom coolant skyrockets back to the H, I leave the car in 1st gear and it idle'd real slow back to the trailer and almost instantly the coolant temp dropped once I was moving, So now my car does have a huge exhaust leak right before the o2 sensor on the turbo outlet, so exhaust was coming into the bay (hence why I removed the hood) since it was leaking before the o2 I was getting a false reading which should have made the car run rich correct? I replaced my spark plugs today and they looked as if my car was running a tad bit lean, my main question is why is my turbo overheating! its confusing the hell out of me.

[bmxer882x]

Check the oil feed, drain, and coolant lines to the turbo. It's both water and oil cooled. I'll bet one of them is clogged.

[twest7740]

I am going to drain the coolant and unhook the turbo line and run water through it to check. But I just cannot see that being the issue, I would think that if it was clogged that car would be overheating a lot worse than it is.

[bmxer882x]

I'm thinking it's a oil line messed up. Causing the turbo to overheat which is then boiling your coolant and returning it in the system.

[twest7740]

I had that in my mind, I just wasn't sure. Thanks for the help I was just looking for more input, What would be the best way to go about cleaning it out and fixing the clog? If I were to blow air through the system I would blow it back into the motor and the issue would just happen again in due time.

[bmxer882x]

Take off the drain, that way if it does blow sludge through you can collect it.

[Sileighty_85]

If your manifold/turbo are glowing red hot then that is not a turbo coolant issue.

Its means your EGT's are really high. Meaning your AFR's are outta wack (Unless you are pushing a lot of power)


So you need to check your AFR's.


I don't think the two issues are completely related, Although High EGT's can cause Engine temps to rise but not to an over heating point as long as you have bigger rad and sufficient airflow.

Thermo might be going bad so that might explain the somewhat random overheating.


ECU only read the O2 sensor when its below 1,500 RPM's, above that its ignored.

[twest7740]

It's a stock sr on 7lbs, nothing should be out of whack all of a sudden, my afr is way out of whack because of the exhaust leak, my wideband was above 17.00 at points once I get the leak fixed (gasket should be here tomorrow) I will be able to monitor it, could the leak cause this to happen? To explain the leak, there is only 1 bolt holding my turbo elbow on right now, the rest back themselves out. Also, I noticed a lot when I was searching that the manifold would get hot for other people, mine is just the turbo.

[Kingtal0n]

sounds like high egt due to fuel or timing issue. some possible: bad tune, bad ecu, wrong timing setting, clogged cat, wrong a/f ratio due to bad fuel pump, clogged filter, air leak between maf and compressor.

7psi is not much. if you are glowing with 7psi something is seriously wrong. Did you dyno tune the car? 9-10* off an OEM turbo at 7-10psi is fine when a/f ratio is 12:1, check you are there first, should be around 190rwhp if the engine is stock, compression test 140-150psi, use 93 octane.

[twest7740]

The car has never seen a dyno and isn't running a tune, I just set the timing 2 weeks ago, I can't the CAS isn't loose it didn't move so timing has got to be the same, I'm not running a tune for the face that I'm running stock boost, stock everything except for exhaust and a front mount, also the turbo is spooling like normal, holding 7lbs with no leaks, that happened pretty much over night. I know the leak in the exhaust has to have something to do with it since that's the only thing that has happened since last event when it was running fine, also has a 255 fuel pump in it. Car has ran 93 fuel since I put the motor in, The motor is running awesome besides this issue. Not smoking either, only time it smoke that day is when I spun out and it died it spit some black smoke out but it stopped after a few revs


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[Sileighty_85]

the exhaust leak has nothing to do with it.

It is a fact something is wrong if your stock SR setup has a glowing turbo, but not the exhaust leak.

[Croustibat]

Originally Posted by twest7740

The car has never seen a dyno and isn't running a tune, I just set the timing 2 weeks ago, I can't the CAS isn't loose it didn't move so timing has got to be the same, I'm not running a tune for the face that I'm running stock boost, stock everything except for exhaust and a front mount, also the turbo is spooling like normal, holding 7lbs with no leaks, that happened pretty much over night. I know the leak in the exhaust has to have something to do with it since that's the only thing that has happened since last event when it was running fine, also has a 255 fuel pump in it. Car has ran 93 fuel since I put the motor in, The motor is running awesome besides this issue. Not smoking either, only time it smoke that day is when I spun out and it died it spit some black smoke out but it stopped after a few revs


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Glowing turbo usually means cas is retarded and/or you got a nasty fuel delivery problem (fuel pump, fuel pump wiring, fuel filter are the usual culprits, in that order) .

If you didn't notice it to spool faster yet not getting power, then it is not a timing problem. You already changed the fuel pump for an unknown one, so get a voltmeter and check voltage at the pump for a start.

[twest7740]

Okay thanks guys I'll check the timing when I get of work and check voltage. And inform this evening, it is just an Isis pump so I wouldn't be surprised if it was bad already, fuel filter is also a brand new z32.


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[Croustibat]

a walbro 255 is usually at the limit of what the stock, very thin and old wiring can provide, so a counterfeit isis one would surely go over the threshold, leading to voltage drop (and not enough fuel pressure / flow).

Very easy to check.If the voltage is ok (which i don't believe, my guess is you will have around 9-10V instead of 14-14.5V), the it probably is the pump.You need a fuel pressure gauge for that, Tee it after the fuel filter, block it under a wiper and go driving. You are supposed to get "boost" + 3bar (45psi) on it (so less than 45psi when under vacuum); if the pump is no good, the pressure will drop at speed on boost and / or at 4000+ rpm

[twest7740]

Timing is perfect, fuel pressure is 50 + when in boost. Really stumped here.


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[Sileighty_85]

Check for VAC leaks on the turbos intake pipe after the MAFS

[twest7740]

Nope, all is good there one of the first things I checked.


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[twest7740]

Got the exhaust leak fixed today, took it around the block to see the afr it's it's flat lining in boost instantly, super lean. It's about 14.6 when idling. I'm stumped. Side note, thermostat also went out same day (car won't warm up hotter than 140) also when I start the car none of my interior stuff work except for the battery light, give it a rev and everything turns on. Lol WHY ALL AT ONCE


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[SoundEfx]

In an earlier post you said that you don't have a tune. I would suggest you get one asap.

14.6 when idling is actually a good thing, so no worries there.

In terms of the lights, check the output of the alternator at idle, it should be 14 - 14.5V ( I think ). I think that there is another thread in here concerning the SR alternators not charging at idle ( or something like that ).

[twest7740]

But I shouldn't need to run a tune when the motor is stock, running stock boost? I feel as if I get a standalone and tune it I will just be putting a band aid over the issue, I'm going to hard wire the fuel pump and check my fpr and maf.


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[SoundEfx]

Sorry, I didn't know this was a stock setup, so you're right, you shouldn't need a tune.

[bataangpinoy]

don't rule out a clogged coolant/oil feed line.

I have personally seen the coolant feed fittings clogged shut on customer cars, where they ran straight water without water wetter or some other kind of additive.

[twest7740]

Yes I'm going to also check the turbo lines, but that won't solve my lean issue.


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[Kingtal0n]

Fueling is

maf -> ecu -> injector

So, not a whole lot to go wrong there. Either somethin with the maf, ecu or injectors, or the fuel provided to the injector. You might have the wrong injectors in the engine or a bad ecu, or a bad wideband, or the wrong maf, etc use your diagnostic skills

If it was my engine, and I just bought it from you, to solve the issue I would do this:

0. compression test
1. tune up (plugs, oil, fuel filter, air filter)
2. boost leak test (a real one with 15psi or more into the entire plumbing)
3. replace ecu, maf, fuel pump, or injectors as necessary

[jppierre]

Sorry to revive this but i have a similar issue and im out of ideas, my exhuast manifold glows red hot just by driving in the freeway and my car overheats exactly after 3 miles of driving on the freeway at 70mph at around 3k-4k rpm, i let fo of the gas and water gauge shoots up higher and as soon as i get back on it my water gauge goes down and starts climing back up slowly.. I pulled to the side and pop the hood while the gauge still on overheating and my exhaust is glowing red hot and smells like burnt oil a bit but no smoke ad its very hot under the hood, i have a aftermarket radiator cap that tells me the temperature and its right around 150f which is perfect, but car is still over heating.. Car runs perfect with no issues besides lots of backfire , as soon as i got home i removed spark plugs and they are almost clean like new, the eletrode thing still super white and the flat round part is all black and the tip is barely burnt and a bit white... Running lean for sure but why?! The engine is all stock

[Croustibat]

Same cause = same consequences, retarded timing or poor fuel delivery, so check these. If you cannot, bring the car to someone who can.

Better do it fast because things that make a turbo glow tend to melt pistons, too, and glowing turbos die quickly.

[Tyler_240]

Manifold glowing red hot means your temps are in excess of 1500 degrees, like others posted in this thread, typically means your timing is jacked and its retarded. If your timing is off, a trip around the block could cause the EGTs to skyrocket.

What engine? Check your distributer/CAS, did this just start happening or did you buy the car this way?

[Crazyced]

If your AFR are past 17 in boost after you fixed the exhaust leak, that's your problem. You tested the fuel pressure to be over 50psi when it was flat lining? If so check the MAF and injectors. Even your TPS. Maybe your ECU is staying in closed loop for some reason.

[twest7740]

I fixed my issue awhile ago, this is an old thread. I had to replace the maf, knock sensor, coolant temp sensor, hard wired the fuel pump, put in a aftermarket fpr and it runs good now.


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