Evo Green wastegate flapper failure
Jun 6, 2008, 11:24 AM
#1
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 362
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Evo Green wastegate flapper failure
I purchased an Evo Green turbo directly from FP last Fall. I installed it, along with a number of other engine mods (intercooler, intake, cams, etc) on my 03 Evo, then stored the car for the Winter. The winter weather closed in before I could bring the car in to be tuned.
Six weeks ago, I had the car conservatively tuned by DB Performance in the Minneapolis area. This was the first time that the turbo was used at higher boost. It was tuned to around 21 psi for road track use, with a AFR of 11:1. The turbo worked fine initially. In fact, it worked very well. I have a total of <1K miles on the turbo.
Five days ago at an HPDE at BIR in Minnesota, the boost became inconsistent, then the car essentially behaved like the turbo was being bypassed - just 3-4 psi of boost at >5K rpm.
On Tuesday, I took the hotside off (see attached pictures). The flapper had
detached from the mount on the shaft, and the shaft is bent. It looks
like the flapper has been detached for quite some time. Note the
extensive wear on the flapper where it had been vibrating against the mount. Obviously the flapper wasn't sealing the the wastegate holes and the boost was minimal. I'm guessing the flapper wasn't properly mounted on the bracket to begin with.
On Tuesday, I left two phone messages with Forced Performance, plus an email message describing the problem in detail. NO REPLY. I consider this to be very poor customer service.
I'm still hopeful that I will be able to talk to them and hopefully have a new hotside for this essentially new turbo.
Six weeks ago, I had the car conservatively tuned by DB Performance in the Minneapolis area. This was the first time that the turbo was used at higher boost. It was tuned to around 21 psi for road track use, with a AFR of 11:1. The turbo worked fine initially. In fact, it worked very well. I have a total of <1K miles on the turbo.
Five days ago at an HPDE at BIR in Minnesota, the boost became inconsistent, then the car essentially behaved like the turbo was being bypassed - just 3-4 psi of boost at >5K rpm.
On Tuesday, I took the hotside off (see attached pictures). The flapper had
detached from the mount on the shaft, and the shaft is bent. It looks
like the flapper has been detached for quite some time. Note the
extensive wear on the flapper where it had been vibrating against the mount. Obviously the flapper wasn't sealing the the wastegate holes and the boost was minimal. I'm guessing the flapper wasn't properly mounted on the bracket to begin with.
On Tuesday, I left two phone messages with Forced Performance, plus an email message describing the problem in detail. NO REPLY. I consider this to be very poor customer service.
I'm still hopeful that I will be able to talk to them and hopefully have a new hotside for this essentially new turbo.
Jun 6, 2008, 11:47 AM
#5
Former Sponsor
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 470
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Customer service is what a company tries to do to help you in a bad situation involving their product.
Poor customer service is when they tell you to fly a kite, not when they can't understand your voice mail. Sorry for missing you on this.
This was a defect in some housings and it is covered under MHI warranty, and I have a brand new one sitting here for you as soon as we can identify exactly who you are.
BOOST ON!
Robert Young
Poor customer service is when they tell you to fly a kite, not when they can't understand your voice mail. Sorry for missing you on this.
This was a defect in some housings and it is covered under MHI warranty, and I have a brand new one sitting here for you as soon as we can identify exactly who you are.
BOOST ON!
Robert Young
Jun 6, 2008, 11:49 AM
#7
FP at times is not the best when trying to get a hold of them... however... I had one of the first batches of HTA 35R's and there was a problem with the anti-surge cover. They said send it in, and once they received it they shipped it back out to me the NEXT DAY repaired and also the center section was checked.
I've sent other items to some top vendors on this board and have had what would take 1 hour to repair, took them 1.5 months! So overall I am real happy with FP.
Apart from a few gems, customer service in Evo land is pretty awful.
I've sent other items to some top vendors on this board and have had what would take 1 hour to repair, took them 1.5 months! So overall I am real happy with FP.
Apart from a few gems, customer service in Evo land is pretty awful.
Trending Topics
Jun 6, 2008, 12:26 PM
#10
You are a perfect example of a customer who wants to broadcast a "problem" to the world, and then looks like an *** when your problem is solved with a vendor with excellent customer service. That's why EvoM has rules against fly off the handle threads like this one.
To make it even worse, the defect was a MITSUBISHI hot side casting defect, not an FP defect. Some places would have sent you back to the manufacturer, and you could have waited 6 months for a reply, much less a solution.
Kudos to FP for taking care of you even when you posted a bull**** titled thread for no reason.
To make it even worse, the defect was a MITSUBISHI hot side casting defect, not an FP defect. Some places would have sent you back to the manufacturer, and you could have waited 6 months for a reply, much less a solution.
Kudos to FP for taking care of you even when you posted a bull**** titled thread for no reason.
Jun 6, 2008, 12:47 PM
#11
I'm not sure I think a post like this is all bad.
I'm sorry but not replying to emails or phone calls is the pinnacle of bad service. It's so frustrating when you can't even get a hold of a person or shop that you have spent good money with.
I'm sorry but not replying to emails or phone calls is the pinnacle of bad service. It's so frustrating when you can't even get a hold of a person or shop that you have spent good money with.
Jun 6, 2008, 01:02 PM
#12
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 362
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Co VR4 - The green is sold as a FP product. Not a Mitsubishi turbo. How do you know that they don't modify the wastegate as part of their manufacturing process? I certainly don't know that.
This is not a "fly off the handle" thread. I waited 4 days for replies to multiple inquiries. It is a shame when it takes a public thread to get a response from a company. FP charges a lot of money for this turbo. Reasonable customer support should be available.
I just had a good conversation with Niel at FP (thanks for phoning back right away). I'm sending in the defective hotside at my cost, and hopefully will receive a new, good one in a reasonable amount of time.
This is not a "fly off the handle" thread. I waited 4 days for replies to multiple inquiries. It is a shame when it takes a public thread to get a response from a company. FP charges a lot of money for this turbo. Reasonable customer support should be available.
I just had a good conversation with Niel at FP (thanks for phoning back right away). I'm sending in the defective hotside at my cost, and hopefully will receive a new, good one in a reasonable amount of time.
Jun 6, 2008, 05:27 PM
#15
We had the same thing happen to a customers FPGreen. FP sent out a new hotside right away.
btw, you might want to use a Mitsu hotside to 02 housing gasket, not that cheap paper one you have been using. I can tell by the bumpy stuff it left behind. Those will blow out.
btw, you might want to use a Mitsu hotside to 02 housing gasket, not that cheap paper one you have been using. I can tell by the bumpy stuff it left behind. Those will blow out.