my car doesnt have pills like everyone elses, so now i need to drill out the nipples to increase airflow to lower my boost down from 16! has anyone done this, if so how much did you drill to lower the boost, thanks for any info regarding this subject, scott

 

Pettit use Holley carb jets. I know I have seen a conversion from jet size to drill size. I would Call Jeff at Pettit and ask what to do.

Later, Jeff

 

I'm guessing that you already checked all the advice from your earlier post since you are still asking about the pill size.

Your problem is not typical, and though your logic seems well intentioned, I really doubt that your problem lies in the pills alone. You need to look beyound the pills and focus on what the pills are actually controlling, the waste gate actuator. This actuator is the primary device that physically diverts exhaust gas toward the primary turbo. Under normal working conditions the actuator will open and close the waste gate to the same locations each time when controlled by the ecu.

Lets look at some extreme senarios of abnormal conditions and how they affect the boost.

No boost pills = 7 psi
No hoses connected to the either end of the actuator = Max amount of spooling possible by the turbo.
Stuck shut solenoid = Very low boost.

To me, some how you are losing pressures from either end of the actuator faster than normal conditions.

You would need an abnormal amount of pressure loss in the waste gate actuator to produce the amount of boost you are talking about.

This is how a remapped or boost controller produces more boost. They allow more pressure to exit the waste gate actuator so that the actuator stays in the optimum position longer.

A slow or leaking duty cycle solenoid such as the waste gate control solenoid could cause the symptom.

An ill adjusted actuator rod could do the same.

So could a leak in any of the hoses that connect the actuator to the solenoid.

Sorry if I went off on a tangent that has little to do with your post, but I just wanted to share my idea of what could be wrong.

 

what is a pill?? im getting about 7psi on first and second gear.. is it because of the pill?

 

Some late model cars did not have any pills. Instead of pills, the nipples the hoses go on have small orifices built in. I think that is what slopoke is talking about, rather than a problem with pills.

Slopoke, I suggest you remove the primary compressor housing before drilling so you can clean all the shavings out after you drill. Drill them big so you can just use pills to set your boost.

However, as other posters have suggested, you may want to check out your hoses and stuff first to be sure that it isn't just a pinched hose. Pulling the compressor housing is a fair amount of work. I am not even sure you can get to all the fasteners without removing the turbo unit itself.

-Max

 

thank you all for your responses. if the control actuator it self was leaking how could i tell, can i use one of those vacume testers? the lines that connect to the turbo housing and to the actuators, the ones about 4 inches long, seem to be in fine shape no hardness or anything. i am starting to wonder if this has to do with my irradic boost problem, but i cant tie any correlation together. but if anything instead of leaking actuators wouldnt it be more of a clogged line, so that the turbos have more time, instead of less. as you can tell i am a far cry from a pro so any advice, psitive or negative, is always appreciated, thanks scott

 

Yes, you can use a hand vacuum pump as long as you use the pressure side of it and not the vacuum. The only bad thing about using it is that you don't get to see the leak down since the guage works for vacuum only.

Hook the pump to the hose that comes off the compressor housing to the waste gate actuator. If you put a long enough hose on it you can lay down on your back at watch the actuator arm move. If the rod starts to move back into the actuator after a few seconds of being under pressure then you may have a leak.

The only bummer part about this, is that things change when the car gets hot. Parts move differnently, and solenoids stop working.

You should read your shop manual for more information.

 

ok thanks spooled up, i will try that this afternoon. unfortunatly i do not have a manual, owners or, repair, but thanks for the help, you hae been more then helpfull, thanks, scott

 

i agree with spooled, drilling out your nipples ain't gonna do you any good in the long run, it will just hide whatever problem is brewing. if those lines were clogged you might get 16 psi...16 psi boost is an awful lot to get by accident. are there any mods to it?

 

If & when you drill out the nipple, unless you remove the turbos, you will get metal chips in the intake.
What to do?
Get some thick grease, like wheel bearing grease. Put a heavy coat of grease on the drill bit.
Now when you drill it out, the metal chips will stick to the grease, instead of falling into your intake. Slick huh
I installed a Dawes Device & had to drill out my nipple to lower the boost.
You should check all that other crap mentioned in the above replies too.

 

thanks for the tip,which is very ingenious. unfortunatly i have already done the deed. what i did toavuid shavings is i tookoff the precontrol line and hooked up a vacume to it so all the shavings got sucked out as i drilled. it all went well and now i have a nice 13 psi what year are your turbos. no one seems to hae the ones with the nipple controls, thanks, scott

 

Uhhuhh... Uhhuhuhh.. You said Nipple Control.

 

In case it does turn out to be the nipples, here's what I did (my turbos were replaced just before I bought the car in 1998 and had the integrated pills).

I had the turbos off and I drilled the nipples out. However, I have heard of people doing it on the car with a dremel and drill bit. Just remove the primary turbo plastic intake elbow and stuff some paper towels down inside the turbo or tape off the inside of the hole where the pills are. Then vacuum it up really well before reinstalling everything, maybe even flush the line out with some brake cleaner or something.

That little elbow with the two nipples is press fit into the compressor housing, so you could probably remove it with some pliers and a little effort. Then you could drill them off the car and reinstall when finished.

Like Max said, just drill them out well and then you can rely on a pill or a valve to set your boost from now on.

Wade