Not building boost

[BaseBD]

I was a lucky one to get my Bronco at the end of last summer. Drove it thru the fall and parked it early November for the winter.

Spent the last few days putting some accessories on I gathered over the winter and changed the oil. I went to take it out on its first drove of the season and I am having a problem with boost. I have the 7MT and am getting zero boost in 1st gear an almost none in 2nd. The only way I get get any is if I lug the engine some in 3rd-6th. Even then it maxes out at 12 psi. It doesn't appear to be a gauge issue as it is a dog in 1st and definitely not getting any boost.

Initially thought some crawled up the exhaust over the winter but it has been run for 20-30 mins between idling and driving down the road and there are no strange smells like something is getting hot that shouldn't be. I have also tried disconnecting the battery for 25 mins to see if it was hiccup in the ECU. That also didn't do anything.

Thoughts?

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[Drex]

wastegate sticking or bad knock sensor putting in limp home mode would be the places to look after verifying all the hoses are on properly and there are no leaks.

 

[BlazinGTO]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/2-3-underboost-underpower.34553/

Check this thread. Someone had a similar problem although they had a code indicating reduced power.

 

[thesocalexplorer]

Seems like it might be the wastegate stuck open & dumping boost. I was reading another thread where an owner had a sticky wastegate & the dealer had to cycle it a few times to get it to work.

 

[2ata]

I'm going to piggyback on to this.

I put the boost gauge on to keep an eye on things. In my 20 mile drive to work this morning I was solidly 0psig, at one time I did see a small moment of 5psig and it was oddly enough on a downhill.

My fuel economy is sitting at 15.6 hand calculated as well.

 

[Bob]

I have a 300 mile 7 MT base. First tank of premium. Hit 18.5 pounds boost briefly in 2nd gear. Get your truck back to the dealer.

 

[Raptor911]

You guys over react way too much. It is turbo so anytime you don’t get boost the 1st thing you check are the pipes. 99.9% of the time is the pipes came loose.

If it still drives with no boost then one of your pipes came loose under boost. It will be obvious. Reinstall the pipe and tighten down the clamp. I had the same issue on my RS.

 

[2ata]

I don't know about over reacting. Personally, I've never had a turbo vehicle so have no clue on how it should feel comparatively, nor what readings are "normal". The last four cylinder I owned was an '85 Ranger.

The beauty of a forum is asking questions and garnering information from those that may have more experience.

You guys over react way too much. It is turbo so anytime you don’t get boost the 1st thing you check are the pipes. 99.9% of the time is the pipes came loose.

If it still drives with no boost then one of your pipes came loose under boost. It will be obvious. Reinstall the pipe and tighten down the clamp. I had the same issue on my RS.

 

[JohnnyBronco]

There has been enough discussion in other threads about disconnected pipes

 

[BaseBD]

I have boost just not until I get into the high gears and it maxes out at about 12 psi. That has stayed consistent. Any specific locations to check on the 2.3? I looked at.checked all the connections on the turbo/intercooler system and they all seemed solid. Seem seated and no play in the joint. Also not getting any strange noises that would say there is a rush of air escaping from a small orifice. I'll double check connections again, but will most likely be looking to get it in to the shop next week to see if it is something with the wastegate/turbo.

 

[white_dc]

I have been getting a turbocharger wastegate error and check engine light for 3 weeks now. My dealer was booked out 2 weeks for an appointment and finally brought it in

My service advisor explained that it was a known issue and there is a bad batch of turbochargers. They ordered a new one and told me the car is ok to drive, but will have reduced performance. Interestingly enough when the code is present I am only limited to 7psi boost, but when the codes are clear I have seen 17-18 psi.

 

[Havoc1]

I have been getting a turbocharger wastegate error and check engine light for 3 weeks now. My dealer was booked out 2 weeks for an appointment and finally brought it in

My service advisor explained that it was a known issue and there is a bad batch of turbochargers. They ordered a new one and told me the car is ok to drive, but will have reduced performance. Interestingly enough when the code is present I am only limited to 7psi boost, but when the codes are clear I have seen 17-18 psi.

This has been an issue since the 3.5 eco came out. Not sure why but for some reason, it always favored the #1 side in my experience. I can't tell you the number of times I've worked on these things.

 

[white_dc]

This has been an issue since the 3.5 eco came out. Not sure why but for some reason, it always favored the #1 side in my experience. I can't tell you the number of times I've worked on these things.

I’ve owned 4 Ecoboost f150s and that’s the first I’ve heard of bad turbos. I’ve had cam phaser issues, but never a turbo problem. Had no idea it was common.

Probably forgot to mention, my bronco is a 2.3 so it’s just one turbo.

 

[Havoc1]

I’ve owned 4 Ecoboost f150s and that’s the first I’ve heard of bad turbos. I’ve had cam phaser issues, but never a turbo problem. Had no idea it was common.

Probably forgot to mention, my bronco is a 2.3 so it’s just one turbo.

I know it's just the one, I was just stating in my experience it was the #1 on the 3.5's mostly on the exploders and expeditions. Decent amount on 150's but the cam phasers issues were making their debut shortly before I decided to retire from Ford a few years ago.

 

[bronco100]

Sometimes it doesn't seem to want to build boost if it doesn't really need to. Probably something to do with emissions. I bet if you put it in Sport mode and put your foot down it will build boost fine. If it doesn't, then yeah something's definitely wrong.

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