[Opo]

Hey people!

So I have a e92 335i with ~90k miles on it. This car had brutal wastegate rattle at idle and at cruise deceleration, like I'm talking LOUD.

I had to change the thermostat and I was putting on my BMS down pipes so I decided to adjust the wastegates while I was there.

I adjusted the rear one fine so it seals nicely when 200mbar of vacuum is applied with my hand pump.

The problem is my front one.... I tightened it as far as I could (it's bottoming out in the receiving arm part) and it's still not even close to sealing nicely @ 200mbar of vacuum. In fact it takes about double that to seal nicely.

So now here's my question. Should I loosen up the rear one to match how the front one feels @ 200mbar? Or leave them as is? Any other advice?

I was thinking technically I could pull the front rod right out and cut it to shorten it then put it back in and tighten but I haven't heard of anyone doing that.

I also have a JB4 I'm installing now which will take care of a bunch of rattling as well.... But I wanted the mechanical set up as best as possible for now... I know adjusting wastegates is a temporary solution.....

For the future, would the wastegates sold separately for $32 on ECS Tuning resolve rattling issues or do you still have to replace entire turbos to resolve the rattling? //get RB's lol....

[blaster3500]

You can space the mounting of the actuator out with washers.

[surrey 335i]

here is what someone else did

Originally Posted by waikiki35

Hey guys,
Just wanted to let everybody knows that adjusting the front wastegate with washers under the 2 12mm that hold the actuator bracket is possible and fairly easy!!

All you need is a few 8mm washers . It took 2 on each bolt for me to adjust the wastegate to be closed at around 5.9 in. Hg

It's a 1-2h job.

To reach those two bolts I took the radiator fan and the vacuum canisters and that is it! No need to remove the inlet pipe. I was able to reach both the bolts with an extension on my ratchet. Nothing else needed . Go in from the front ( where you removed the fan. Top bolt is really easy as you can see it from the top of the engine ( where you removed the canisters. Go between the coolant hoses to reach it. For the bottom bolt do the same . You can reach it with your extension between the top of the water pump and one of the coolant hose ( still from front of engine) . To see what you're doing lay under the car and you will be able to see the bolt if you look through the space on the left side ( driver side) of the water pump .

Sounds complicate but you will figure it out once you get to it. The only thing I had a hard time with and that took the most time was getting the washers on there since you can get your hands in the tight space . I used one of those magnet stick tool.

MY RATTLE IS 100% GONE! ( at least for right now)

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=890145&page=2

[Opo]

Okay so I spaced out the front actuator bracket with washers and heres the verdict....

spaced it out with 2 washers and factory bolts.. still didn't seal nicely with 200mbar so...

spaced it out with 4 washers and factory bolts.. still didn't seal nicely with 200mbar so...

spaced it out with 6 washers and some honda bolts i had laying around.. still didn't seal nicely with 200mbar AND when released it wasn't opening nearly enough to allow for proper flow... and would almost certainly cause overboost codes

now I'm at a loss again..... and very frustrated

rear wastegate i tightened up the rod and its working nicely with 200mbar nice seal and releases nicely

front wastegate seems to be completely FUBAR, rod tightened as far as I can, spacing it out even further with washers causes the above results...

should i loosen up the rear one to match the behaviour of the front one? and hope for the best or should i leave it as is (front one maxed out rod, 0 washers so it releases properly but still doesn't seal nicely) and hope for the best....?

so frustrating these stupid wastegates/turbo assemblies we have..

[Dave W.]

Originally Posted by Opo

Okay so I spaced out the front actuator bracket with washers and heres the verdict....

spaced it out with 2 washers and factory bolts.. still didn't seal nicely with 200mbar so...

spaced it out with 4 washers and factory bolts.. still didn't seal nicely with 200mbar so...

spaced it out with 6 washers and some honda bolts i had laying around.. still didn't seal nicely with 200mbar AND when released it wasn't opening nearly enough to allow for proper flow... and would almost certainly cause overboost codes

now I'm at a loss again..... and very frustrated

rear wastegate i tightened up the rod and its working nicely with 200mbar nice seal and releases nicely

front wastegate seems to be completely FUBAR, rod tightened as far as I can, spacing it out even further with washers causes the above results...

should i loosen up the rear one to match the behaviour of the front one? and hope for the best or should i leave it as is (front one maxed out rod, 0 washers so it releases properly but still doesn't seal nicely) and hope for the best....?

so frustrating these stupid wastegates/turbo assemblies we have..

What do you mean when you say, 'seals nicely'? If you have 4 washers on the actuator, and it's tightened to the point where it doesn't open completely, then how are you determining it's not sealed?
When I test the wastegates I apply vacuum gradually and look for the point where the actuator rod stops moving, then note the vacuum reading. It's possible that your wastegate pivot arm is so worn out that the flapper valve doesn't cover the wastegate hole anymore. No amount of adjustment can fix it once it gets that bad.

[Opo]

Sorry when I say seals nicely I meant apply 200mbar of vacuum and try to spin the coin thing, you should be barely able to move it. Mine was still spinning very freely and even had a gap I could feel still, oddly enough tho if I hit the top of the arm with my finger it would then seal properly and I would barely be able to spin the coin.

The waste gate pivot arm can only be fixed by replacing the turbos correct?

[Opo]

I've since put the car back together and let it idle and revved it a bit, there is next to no waste gate rattle, so I'm pretty happy.

I have a question though. I accidentally broke one of the boost solenoids, so I rigged the one left up to both waste gates and both vacuum canisters until I can get a replacement one (hopefully tomorrow)

Is it safe to drive the car with both hooked up to one boost solenoid?

[Dave W.]

Oh I see, you have the downpipes off. That works.
Using one boost solenoid should be safe since the wastegates are normally open, but it might not spool up as quick.

[CustomColours]

I would sah the front turbo doesnt seal because its actuator is knackered. Whilst your fiddling. Buy two new actuators. Install and start again.

[_ink]

Great effort! And good to see the rears are easily adjusted. If anything this should reduce 50% of the noise.... Theoretically.

[Opo]

Question:

How much play would replacing both actuator assemblies really correct?

Is it extremely minimal and that's why everyone replaces the entire turbos?

Car has 0 warranty left 92k miles..

[robc1976]

DPS should be removed to properly adjust them, only way to see what is really going on.

[Opo]

I did have my DPs off while I adjusted mine, definitely makes it the best/easiest.