Caution: for people who are thinking of tuners: Wastegate issue

[adc]

Originally Posted by aus

That's why I'm getting the SSTT. I'll just pull it out of the car. It also doesn't mess with the solenoid, which some think may be causing some of the problems.

Originally Posted by 335iM3krai

yea seems the SSTT is the best bet. it uses the stock boost level from the ECU. for example if u went up 5,00feet up into the pountains with ur car, your car would produce more PSI, up to 11.XX. the SSTT uses the same method in idea, and if ever a tech look at boost level, he would see they are under normal circumstances. for me this is very safe.

You guys keep forgetting that:
1. This happens on stock cars, stock boost.
2. There are other tunes that don't change the solenoid configuration: JB S1 (which I run), Dinan, probably also recent versions of the Procede.

So you can conclude that running a SSTT:
a. will not alter the probability of wastegate failure, or
b. will alter that probability to the same extent as the other tunes mentioned.

Not saying it's bad to run it, just that it won't prevent your wastegates from failing.

[JOe335i]

Originally Posted by 335iM3krai

yup, JMHO tho.

on topic unrelated from warranty work and or scare

it seems like a couple people have had this issue with a stock car. first the boost solenoid bypass was the rumor'd cause and now tuned cars, but both seem to be overcasted by stock engines have the same issue as was the HPFP!

i think the best info to get is build date of the car, maybe it has some kind of trend.

i did mention that

and as far as preventing waste gate failure, no1 even kno why they are failing. other than the TSB bmw has out on it, something has to be a manufacture defect.

[angelr]

Does anyone have any idea what part of the wastegate is failing?

[UR2SLOW1]

It's the part with a design flaw :biggrin: Sorry I couldn't resist.

[angelr]

touche

I've just not been able to pinpoint the actual failure point from the posts. I happen to a know a company that does a fair amount of oem replacement wastegate actuators.... didn't know if I should bring this to their attention

Originally Posted by UR2SLOW1

It's the part with a design flaw :biggrin: Sorry I couldn't resist.

[E82tt6]

Originally Posted by angel@forgemotorsport.com

touche

I've just not been able to pinpoint the actual failure point from the posts. I happen to a know a company that does a fair amount of oem replacement wastegate actuators.... didn't know if I should bring this to their attention

I don't think I've read anywhere what part actually fails.

[Evolved]

Originally Posted by angel@forgemotorsport.com

touche

I've just not been able to pinpoint the actual failure point from the posts. I happen to a know a company that does a fair amount of oem replacement wastegate actuators.... didn't know if I should bring this to their attention

Gee, I wonder what company that is.:wink:

You guys do good work.

[adc]

PUMA case opened yesterday - the technician had absolutely no trouble identifying the issue. My guess is, this was not their first case.

We'll see what happens next...

[adc]

Case resolved: turbocharger for bank #2 replaced with remanufactured one. Noise gone.

The whole thing took from Monday morning to Friday afternoon and the actual turbo swap a whole day, according to my SA.

I also spoke to the service manager and asked him if it's really worth keeping these cars for a long time and he replied to the effect that most likely BMW will follow up with an updated part, and that even if not they (BMW and dealer) will take care of me (customer). He also mentioned that both him and my SA have recently purchased cars with the N54.

Make of this what you will. I'll continue to closely monitor the situation, but I have to say I'm a little worried at this point - if nothing changes in terms of updated parts, I think it would be at least wise to invest in an extended warranty (whatever the source for it).

[marcva]

Actually, I heard that Mitsubishi was scanning AutoX results to negate warranty coverage on the diffs of the early Evos, saying that the cars had been driven abusively. Hmm, drove my last BMW 230 including 60-70 autox days and as many track days with no major breakdowns (other than the usual water related BS that all BMWs are renowned for).

[NOCede]

FWIW I have monitored vacuum in the wastegate system with and without the bypass and under most conditions there is no difference. I do not believe it is a wide spread issue or related to tuners.

But our JB1 tuner does not require a bypass, and we're testing a new arrangement on the JB2 and JBX vacuum lines that also do not require a bypass.

[adc]

Originally Posted by Terry @ BMS

But our JB1 tuner does not require a bypass, and we're testing a new arrangement on the JB2 and JBX vacuum lines that also do not require a bypass.

Terry, I have the JB1 out of the car now for obvious reasons - if you come up with such arrangements for JB2, please post it all over the place, I would be placing an order on the spot. :thumbup:

[imported_135Driver]

Originally Posted by 0002s

Occam's razor - the wastegate manufacture has some defective wastegates that were shipped and installed by BMW. Some of these defective wastegates are on tuned cars.





....

[gargoyal]

Welcome to the wonderful world of forced induction (FI) for performance. These type of problem are not that uncommon on performance turbo engines

THERE IS NO SUCH THING A SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

Flaws and faulty parts break faster under the stress of FI. Increase the boost and you increase the stress. If you are going to mod a car with forced induction (either add FI or increase the boost) you need to know your warranty rights.

A warranty is a form of insurance and there are federal and state laws that regulate warranties. A dealer can not void your warranty because you modded your car. They can deny your warranty claim for a specific issue , if your modification caused the problem in question. In the case of the problem described in this post, there is a pattern of failure outside of the modification. The dealer would be legally obligated to honor the warranty.

If you are going to tune, know your rightS. Attach is the SEMA page on handle warranty issues.

http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=60128

Most of the time you just have to say I know my right under the Magnusson Moss Warranty act and the case law and the dealer will back off and do what is right

[mistermojorizin]

Requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Act
The Act provides that any warrantor warranting a consumer product to a consumer by means of a written warranty must disclose, fully and conspicuously, in simple and readily understood language, the terms and conditions of the warranty to the extent required by rules of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has enacted regulations governing the disclosure of written consumer product warranty terms and conditions on consumer products actually costing the consumer more than $15. The Rules can be found at 16 C.F.R. Part 700.
Under the terms of the Act, ambiguous statements in a warranty are construed against the drafter of the warranty.
Likewise, service contracts must fully, clearly, and conspicuously disclose their terms and conditions in simple and readily understood language.
Full Warranty Requirements [THIS DOESN'T APPLY TO CAR WARRANTIES BECAUSE THEY ALL SAY "LIMITED WARRANTY" BUT I LEFT IT HERE ANYWAY] Under a full warranty, in the case of a defect, malfunction, or failure to conform with the written warranty, the warrantor:

• must, as a minimum, remedy the consumer product within a reasonable time and without charge;
• may not impose any limitation on the duration of any implied warranty on the product;
• may not exclude or limit consequential damages for a breach of any written or implied warranty on the product, unless the exclusion or limitation conspicuously appears on the face of the warranty; and
• if the product, or a component part, contains a defect or malfunction, must permit the consumer to elect either a refund or replacement without charge, after a reasonable number of repair attempts.

In addition, the warrantor may not impose any duty, other than notification, upon any consumer, as a condition of securing the repair of any consumer product that malfunctions, is defective, or does not conform to the written warranty. However, the warrantor may require consumers to return a defective item to its place of purchase for repair.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act

[mistermojorizin]

also a pretty good explanation of warranties here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...#Magnuson-Moss

"'Full Warranty' means the coverage meets the federal minimum standards for comprehensive warranties, while 'Limited Warranty' means the coverage does not."

[sixblade]

i currently have a mazdaspeed3 and the only oil that hold up well to fuel dilution that isnt rediculously expensive is penzoil platinum full syth