Wastegate fix

When I did a recent clutch change, I took a peek at the exhaust side of the turbo to see how it held up to 100k miles of use. Boost response has been softer then before, and the car had lost the punch it used to have when cruising in 5th gear. I expected to see some cracks to explain the slower spooling. It turned out to be much simpler then that. The turbine housing was in great shape, no cracks at all. But it was plain to see that the wastegate had walked, and the flapper left about 1/4 of the opening exposed. The bushing that the acuator arm runs through had backed out, taking the flapper with it. With the upper heat sheild removed, the bushing could clearly be seen sticking out. I've seen this happen on other cars, and a few taps fixed the problem. On my LGT, the bushing was really stuck. It took the heat from a torch and some very solid blows with a full size sledge hammer to knock it back in place. Once back in place, I used a punch to score the bushing from the inside, hopefully preventing it from walking again. The car was like new afterwards, boost comes on much quicker and my 5th gear power is back. If your car starts feeling like it has a lazy turbo, check the bushing.

Good info. thanks for sharing this.

interesting, plz share a pic next time you get in there.

Pics please.

I had this happen to my 05 OBXT. Figured it out just before the warranty expired, so I was able to get it replaced by the dealer.