ESS G1 - Boost Issues - Jekyll and Hyde

[Scharbag]

So, I am posting a new thread so that I do not Bogart the other ESS-625 thread.

Here is my issue - I am not making CONSISTENT boost. Other info: IATs are usually under 40C but sometimes they climb to 45C when stuck in traffic. No codes. No CEL. Running test pipes so I no longer have primary cats.

Sometimes, the car pulls hard and my P3 gauge will capture 7+ PSI. This is especially true in 1st gear. I can hear it making boost, nice whistle and when I lift, there is a whole lot of PSHHHHHH as it bleeds excess pressure.

Other times, it struggles to make over 2PSI. This is especially true when running WOT in higher gears. Faster than stock, but it just does not pull like it sometimes will. And this is so inconsistent. After struggling to make boost over and over, suddenly it will bull like a freight train and make all of the boost.

I have removed my plenum and checked all of the intake boots look just fine. I lubed up all of the seals and checked all of the vacuum lines. All hose clamps are tight. All lines look good. I put a new fuel tank vent valve into the car when I installed the supercharger.

When I re-installed the plenum, everything is lined up perfectly. Given the intake boots are lubed up, the plenum slides on easy. Nothing is folded up. I push down as hard as I can, and I weigh 250+. Then, I put a rag on the plenum and hammer it with a rubber mallet just to make sure it is fully seated. Then I tighten all of the clamps, making sure nothing moves or shifts.

I took the diverter valve off of the plenum to check it. Looks OK. The little o-ring had a little pinch of rubber on it but it seemed fine. I took the DV apart and the diaphragm looks fine. Movement is not perfectly fluid, but not bad. I put a little oil on the shaft to make sure it is lubricated.

Finally, I checked the belt. If I rotate the pulley with a wrench clockwise while looking at it (not the normal direction of force), it slips with 11Nm of force. If I try to rotate it counter clockwise, it will not slip and actually loosened the bolt at over 35Nm (I ran out of blue locktite during the install - give me an opportunity to fix that). Regardless, I do not think that there is any way I have belt slip - the belt looks 100% fine, as does the pulley.

After all this, I am still running into Jekyll and Hyde boost. And it is very frustrating. SOOOOOO FRUSTRATING!!

Has anyone else ran into this behaviour?? Is there anything that I should look for when I get my boost leak tester? Is there a chance that the DV is just faulty?

Any help would be super awesome!!

Note: I tried to install the high boost tie downs but I am sure ESS sent me the old ones as there is WAY to much of a gap to compress with the bolts. Unless the plenum is not seated properly. But I do not think that is the case as I said.

Cheers,

[amrazM]

Where is the boost reference line tapped?

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by amrazM

Where is the boost reference line tapped?

Boost line is tapped into the DV vacuum line.

[e90335e36m3]

I was making full boost on my ESS-625 kit but brought it back to have it removed the next day after installation. The issue was, it felt slow and the car was not fun to drive compared to the Harrop SC I had on my previous car. That is all I'm useful at diagnosing, which isn't useful to you. Hope you figure it out.

[Shrike360]

I stumbled across a post while I was supercharger researching complaining about low boost. Their solution was to replace the T in the BPV with a Y, ala this post by GMP: https://www.gmpperformance.com/galle...ibach-springs/

Hope you find a resolution. I just put an order in for a G1, so would be good to know if I should just order a Y and have that installed instead. Going to order some new throttle body boots, as well.

Originally Posted by e90335e36m3

I was making full boost on my ESS-625 kit but brought it back to have it removed the next day after installation. The issue was, it felt slow and the car was not fun to drive compared to the Harrop SC I had on my previous car. That is all I'm useful at diagnosing, which isn't useful to you. Hope you figure it out.

Heh, I rode in a Harrop car, and while I enjoyed the low end torque, I was already getting irked by the supercharger whine after about a 5-10 min drive. I was also not sure about the price mentioned on BPMs site, but the whine kind of killed it for me. It brought to mind this scene from Scrubs:

[nycplumber]

Originally Posted by Shrike360

Heh, I rode in a Harrop car, and while I enjoyed the low end torque, I was already getting irked by the supercharger whine after about a 5-10 min drive.

Do you also get irked by big tits and asses? Lol The whine is one of the best parts.

[Shrike360]

Originally Posted by nycplumber

Do you also get irked by big tits and asses? Lol The whine is one of the best parts.

I'm not Sir Mix A Lot, I'm more about shape. My rule of thumb is to avoid mods that make my day worse if I'm hungover.

[nycplumber]

Originally Posted by Shrike360

I'm not Sir Mix A Lot, I'm more about shape. My rule of thumb is to avoid mods that make my day worse if I'm hungover.

Oh I just found another reason to tell my girlfriend why I can't drink. Thank you

[Scharbag]

Removed the boot gauge. Made sure all was tight. Still feels Jekyll and Hyde FFS. Seems to work better if I roll into the throttle.

Does the DV need positive boost to keep it closed?

[BobS]

Might be a good idea to take the car to a authorized ESS shop or a shop with a lot of experience installing these kits. It has to be something simple....

My ESS 650 Kit on my car has run flawlessly for 5 years / 20,000 miles....never a issue, boost leak, or anything. These kits are very reliable and consistent....don't get frustrated...if you don't take it to a shop, maybe call ESS for trouble shooting?

[Camnyc]

You have a vacuum/boost leak, and from the sounds of it, its vacuum source related. Cheack the lines you added individually for pinholes/cracks/kinks. The Vf kit taps the vacuum at a different point, but still taps from the same source.

Also, your blow off valve should be adjustable. Try tightening the actuator a tad

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by BobS

Might be a good idea to take the car to a authorized ESS shop or a shop with a lot of experience installing these kits. It has to be something simple....

My ESS 650 Kit on my car has run flawlessly for 5 years / 20,000 miles....never a issue, boost leak, or anything. These kits are very reliable and consistent....don't get frustrated...if you don't take it to a shop, maybe call ESS for trouble shooting?

If I could, I would. In Victoria we do not have an ESS shop.

An I am sure I will figure this out. I will wait until I get the boos leak tester to gather some more info and then involve ESS or a pro.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by Camnyc

You have a vacuum/boost leak, and from the sounds of it, its vacuum source related. Cheack the lines you added individually for pinholes/cracks/kinks. The Vf kit taps the vacuum at a different point, but still taps from the same source.

Also, your blow off valve should be adjustable. Try tightening the actuator a tad

I would agree - either a bad connection, a hidden hole or some other BS.

I will look at the DV again. I would rather not adjust it much as sometimes it is fine, other times it is not. So, I think you are right that it is a vacuum line issue. I will keep digging.

Cheers,

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by Camnyc

You have a vacuum/boost leak, and from the sounds of it, its vacuum source related. Cheack the lines you added individually for pinholes/cracks/kinks. The Vf kit taps the vacuum at a different point, but still taps from the same source.

Also, your blow off valve should be adjustable. Try tightening the actuator a tad

I took everything apart and checked every hose one at a time. No pin holes. No leaks. I hooked up my compressor and set it to ~10PSI. Connected it to each hose. Finally, put it all back together and introduced boost to where the hose connects to the DV. There is of course some air flow in this case as air flows through the idle air system. When I opened my throttle bodies, more air flows immediately.

Took it for a test drive and same issue. If I roll onto the throttle in second gear and run it to red-line, I will make 8PSI. If I grab third and hammer on it, I struggle to make 4PSI.

I do not have long open roads around me so it is hard to test properly. I also do not have a dyno in this village that I live in... FFS.

I noticed that if I rolled onto the throttle in 3rd, boost would start to build. If I then go to WOT, boost dropped and then it again struggles to make boost. It is almost like the DV just cannot hold the boost...

I want my damn boost leak tester!!! Come on Amazon.

Anyway, this is beginning to piss me off a little bit.

[Camnyc]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

I took everything apart and checked every hose one at a time. No pin holes. No leaks. I hooked up my compressor and set it to ~10PSI. Connected it to each hose. Finally, put it all back together and introduced boost to where the hose connects to the DV. There is of course some air flow in this case as air flows through the idle air system. When I opened my throttle bodies, more air flows immediately.

Took it for a test drive and same issue. If I roll onto the throttle in second gear and run it to red-line, I will make 8PSI. If I grab third and hammer on it, I struggle to make 4PSI.

I do not have long open roads around me so it is hard to test properly. I also do not have a dyno in this village that I live in... FFS.

I noticed that if I rolled onto the throttle in 3rd, boost would start to build. If I then go to WOT, boost dropped and then it again struggles to make boost. It is almost like the DV just cannot hold the boost...

I want my damn boost leak tester!!! Come on Amazon.

Anyway, this is beginning to piss me off a little bit.

Turn the traction control off completely and then lay into it in 2nd and 3rd gear. Be mindful that you will have to control the steering as the rear end will want to dance a bit.

Ecu is possibly sensing wheel slip and closing throttle to try to control, thus limiting boost. Also try driving in mdm mode and see if the same issue persists.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by Camnyc

Turn the traction control off completely and then lay into it in 2nd and 3rd gear. Be mindful that you will have to control the steering as the rear end will want to dance a bit.

Ecu is possibly sensing wheel slip and closing throttle to try to control, thus limiting boost. Also try driving in mdm mode and see if the same issue persists.

I should have mentioned that I am doing all this with TC off.

Gets squirrely when it makes boost for sure. That said, the Firehawk Indy 500 275s do certainly provide good grip!!!

[Scharbag]

How should the diverted valve be adjusted? Mine is fully open under vacuum. With the car running, I was able to turn the adjust many turns before it started to not be fully opened any more.

Does anyone have photos of their G1 DV showing how the far out the adjuster is sticking?

[azn4x4]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

How should the diverted valve be adjusted? Mine is fully open under vacuum. With the car running, I was able to turn the adjust many turns before it started to not be fully opened any more.

Does anyone have photos of their G1 DV showing how the far out the adjuster is sticking?

I had the same issue with my g1. Exactly the same. The dv oring on mine was also pinched.
Is the collar that sandwiches the oring on the dv in the correct way? I had mine backwards and the Valve wouldn't seal once it open after a shift.
The collar shouldn't be flush with the valve so when you bolt it to the manifold it sandwiches the oring. Check that.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by azn4x4

I had the same issue with my g1. Exactly the same. The dv oring on mine was also pinched.
Is the collar that sandwiches the oring on the dv in the correct way? I had mine backwards and the Valve wouldn't seal once it open after a shift.
The collar shouldn't be flush with the valve so when you bolt it to the manifold it sandwiches the oring. Check that.

So to be clear: you want the raised edge of that metal insert to point into the plenum? Not the DV? Basically so it self centers?

[amrazM]

The blow off valve isnt closing

[SAMM3Y]

Plug the intake hole and pull the hose on the DV. You'll be able to hear it working properly or improperly. You shouldn't have to mess with it, it's factory calibrated. If you have attempted to mess with it, hopefully you counted turns and can put it back?

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by SAMM3Y

Plug the intake hole and pull the hose on the DV. You'll be able to hear it working properly or improperly. You shouldn't have to mess with it, it's factory calibrated. If you have attempted to mess with it, hopefully you counted turns and can put it back?

I measured it with my finest carpentry ruler. Original exposed thread length was 17/32. She is back to that position. Flopped the ring around. Will see what we will see.

Cheers,