I have a 93 K3500. I was wondering: how do I test the wastegate on one of these.
Before you wannabe moderators jumps all over my $5!t, all of the FAQs and troubleshooting guides are for the later model GM5s and GM8s. The GM3 setup doesnt have a wastegate solenoid or a vacuum valve. It has a little gold-colored "Red Bull" can under the intake side of turbo. The "Red Bull" can doesn't have any wires or hoses. The rod moves freely.

If the spring loaded pot pushes the wastegate closed with no resrictions then its working good. However the stock boost on the 92/93 is only 4 to 6 psi. Check out this tread on how to make a low cost adjustable controller, you will need a boost gauge if you go this route.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=161604 You will want to get rid of the snorkel in the fender as well there is a section in the FAQ's about that.

Thanx for that link. Very informative. How hard is it to upgrade to a GM8? Will one "bolt on"? Wiring and plumbing are no big deal to me.

I'm not a wanna be moderator I volunteered to do it & got stuck with the job silly me :eek: ; so maybe it's okay for me to post :D , do you have gauges, what are your assumptions based on that the WG isn't working,

If you are planning to home build a WG control to save some $$$, then you will want gauges to know what level of boost you are setting, or you could buy a TM and set it per instructions enclosed and be confident setting won't put you into a overboost or high EGT situation.

WG/boost trouble shooting is same whether mechanical or vac actuated, if your WG is easy to move at idle you don't have enough tension on the spring, or vac system has issues, low power & heavy sustained black smoke on acceleration are typical indications of low boost/poor wg performance,

You could just wire it shut fully & go for a brief test run not too aggressive on throttle and see if you gain performance, if not then you have turbo or fueling issues, gauges would help you assertain which one was causing the problem

Thanx for that link. Very informative. How hard is it to upgrade to a GM8? Will one "bolt on"? Wiring and plumbing are no big deal to me.

GM 8 will be direct bolt on, if running a TM on a GM8 there will be no wiring or vac requirements, GM8 is upgrade from GM-X earlier turbos, and probably what is more available in junkyards these days

I'm not a wanna be moderator I volunteered to do it & got stuck with the job silly me :eek: ; so maybe it's okay for me to post :D , do you have gauges, what are your assumptions based on that the WG isn't working...

WG/boost trouble shooting is same whether mechanical or vac actuated, if your WG is easy to move at idle you don't have enough tension on the spring, or vac system has issues, low power & heavy sustained black smoke on acceleration are typical indications of low boost/poor wg performance...

Yeah, I appreciate your contributions. I am a little defensive from some other forums I am a part of. They are full of the "wannabes" who jump down the throat of any newbie if their question has ever been addressed and burried and it doesnt show up on a search.

I am getting a lot of black smoke on acceleration, but it might be any one of a host of other problems I am trying to fix. It's all out in the open here:http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167428

Oops, thought the title was about how to test the function of a Gunner's Mate Third Class???!!!!;)

Hey there, i took my stock '93 actuator and fabb'd an adjustable out of it. I posted the pics, you might have a look at those. I think i spent $5 on it.
Don

Hey there, i took my stock '93 actuator and fabb'd an adjustable out of it. I posted the pics, you might have a look at those. I think i spent $5 on it.
Don
I loved it! I think that once I figure out all of the other ills, I will make my own manual boost... uh... increaser... thing.

Here's a link to my post with pic's. Might give ya an idea or 2. ;)
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=161604&page=2

Don

Since I have bigger fish to fry at the moment (my truck is a cronic smoker), I will have to wait to install the goodies: EGT guage, Boost guage, Daustin-style-manual-boost... uh... increaser... thinger (patent pending).

Here's a link to my post with pic's. Might give ya an idea or 2. ;)
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=161604&page=2

Don


Beat you to it LOL.

Since I have bigger fish to fry at the moment (my truck is a cronic smoker), I will have to wait to install the goodies: EGT guage, Boost guage, Daustin-style-manual-boost... uh... increaser... thinger (patent pending).

VBB -

As stated in a previous post: " I am getting a lot of black smoke on acceleration..." This is VERY likely due to the lack of spring tension on that W/G rod. AND with this black smoke come very high EGT's, which in and of itself can damage very vital internal engine components. At this point, with your symptoms I would not consider any device that allows your turbo to return to making boost (ie: daustin manual boost controller) a "goodie". I would suggest that you make the installation/modification hurriedly. The life of your engine may be depending on it.

In addition, if the black smoke is cleared up then you may be able to better diagnose any other issues...

Regards,

VBB -

As stated in a previous post: " I am getting a lot of black smoke on acceleration..." This is VERY likely due to the lack of spring tension on that W/G rod. AND with this black smoke come very high EGT's, which in and of itself can damage very vital internal engine components. At this point, with your symptoms I would not consider any device that allows your turbo to return to making boost (ie: daustin manual boost controller) a "goodie". I would suggest that you make the installation/modification hurriedly. The life of your engine may be depending on it.

In addition, if the black smoke is cleared up then you may be able to better diagnose any other issues...

Regards,

I have about 3/4 tank of 2-year old diesel, so I am assuming that the white/gray smoke is coming from that. When I get home from work tonight, I am going to try to rig up an IV drip of new fuel (you know, route the supply line to the electric fuel pump into a gas can with fresh fuel) to see if that clears up one of the problems. I also need to test to see if I am getting a missfire in one of the cylinder. I am almost certain I do considering the rough idle. After I take care of all of that, if the black smoke problem is still present, I will tackle it.