I've been looking at the homemade turbomaster threads thinking I want to build one. To me, all they seem like they do is control the little lever on the turbo where the waste gate was hooked up, by adding resistance. Is that all it does, is that little lever on the turbo what controls the boost? I've been thinking, if that is what it does, why not just run a throttle cable from a motorcycle/garden tractor that hooks up to it and have an adjustable one from the cab. For heavy loads, adjust for higher boost, and for highway cruising, lower for better mpgs. I guess basically what I'm asking is, is it possible to run a cable there and have complete control over the boost and what direction do you have to move the lever to gain boost and loose boost, up and down results? If I were to disconnect the waste gate to the lever on the turbo and just let it be there with nothing connected to it, would there be no boost, or too much boost or what?
From what I gathered from the pictures, the turbomaster has a spring that holds the lever up and the lever goes down to gather boost. So, my plans were to mount a spring below the lever that constantly pulls it down and have the throttle cable hooked up on top, limiting how much the spring can pull down on the lever to get more boost. It could be reversed if you need the lever to go up to gain boost. Theoretically this would give the driver full control of boost and allow you to adjust it from the cab. I personally looked at this for hitting the larger/steeper hills where I'm forced to slow down a lot.
I need to know what way to move the lever on the turbo to gain boost and loose boost is really all.
Thanks for any information.

 

You have the procedure backwards.

The wastegate covers a port in the exhaust housing of the turbo and uses exhaust gas drive pressure to determin how much boost the turbo can create.

When the lever is pulled forward,the wastegate closes forcing all the exhaust through the turbine driving the turbo,as the lever/flap uncovers the port(opens) exhaust is allowed to bypass the turbine reducing its available drive pressure and it is less able to make boost at the intake side.

So to sum up,the turbomaster uses the spring to hold the wastegate closed until exhaust drive pressure overcomes the spring and bleeds off the driving force.

An open wastegate means no boost.

In order to try for the best of both worlds you would need to rig a series of linkages that would act like a gear shift,engaging a weaker spring for cruising and shift to a stronger spring for needed boost towing or driving hard.

It is much simpler to repair the ECM controlled vacuum system to achieve what you want.

From a reliability standpoint the turbo master is dead easy and bulletproof,and from what I have read on the subject the poor fuel mileage concerns tend to stem from DIY setup's vs the real Heath Diesel Turbomaster.

Is it worth $120 to buy the real thing?
In the long run it probably is when you factor in fuel prices.

 

Yeah, using the vacuum system has worked, but lately I've been getting inconsistency from it. I'll be driving and sometimes it's working where I could floor it if I wanted and no smoke would puff out, then at the next stop light when I have to stop, it will loose all its zip and I can't help but make smoke.

What are the things to check on the vacuum system? I've read that the hoses by the wastegate solenoid crack often. I do know that a couple months ago, my vacuum pump seized up and the belt couldn't turn it, but I just got some WD-40 and sprayed it to kingdom come and turned it around with my hands until it was free, I don't think is given me any problems yet. Yesterday I took the vacuum line off the wastegate and held my finger on it, no suction but it was at idle too, so it can't be producing much vacuum. I've kinda had my doubts on the vacuum pump ever since it seized up, but I don't really want to spend more than what a heath turbomaster would cost to replace it, I could try to rebuilt it if they sell kits for that, but if I remember right a reman vac pump is in the neighborhood of $150, a little out of my college budget.

Another question, is there a way that you can get a little more boost out of the stock vacuum setup, better exhaust I've heard leads to quicker spooling, but I'm looking to get at most 11-12 psi out of the stock system just for the big hills.

About the poor mileage, I've seen that, that's pretty much why I was trying to find a different way to get better boost than what I was getting.

Thanks for the info.

 

Ok there are 2 solutions for your trouble,check and replace the vac pump and lines if they are not operating well enough to make 24"+ vacuum at the front port of the wastegate solenoid and get an aftermarket ECM tune to get a higher boost value-anything beyond 12 psi with the stock turbo only makes heat which defeats the purpose of a higher oxygen charge.

Or go with the turbomaster and add a boost fooler to prevent ECM coding.
Photos of boost fooler/baro BSer - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

From an budget standpoint the turbomaster and boost fooler are the best route to take-you can buy a 1" shorter serpentine belt and remove the vac pump and lines,but you must keep the boost solenoid.

There are a ton of DIY turbomasters out there and for about $5 you can make your own but there will be trial and error involved-above all else you will need a boost gauge and EGT gauge minimum if going the turbomaster route.

 

I have an uncle who swaps 6.5s out for the 12v cummins, I'll see if he has any vac pumps sitting around, if getting the turbomaster means getting the boost gauge and EGT gauge, it might end up costing more. I don't really need the gauges, all I use it for is to drive and no towing, but they would be nice. Thanks for the info, turbomasters hurt the mileage and that's enough to keep me away from them. Only reason I got the 6.5, besides the fact that I love diesels, was for the better mileage over the 350/454s.

This aftermarket ECM tune, is this just the "reflashed computer" from like Heath Diesel, or do they have custom tunes for increased mileage, instead of just the 40hp and the 80hp. I wished they made programers like the Edge for the duramax with 6 settings, but they don't

Thanks for the info.

 

94,95 can have a 6 gun tune but not 96+.

There is not really any standard tune anymore-the tuners like Kennedy Heath and KOJO all interview you to find out what your specific needs are and custom build the tune just for you.

 

Okay, thanks, Heath is in Washington, one weekend should be enough time from Butte, MT to run there and back. Thanks again.

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What's the 6 gun tune for the 94-95 called, I'm looking at a 94 cclb with the automatic in it and was wondering what that tune is called.
Thanks

 

It is called a buddy tune,I will try and get you contact info.

 

Joke

 

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The common screen/forum name of the creator of the selectable 3 tune and selectable 6 tune OBD1 6.5 ECM tunes is Buddy-therefore a Buddy tune is the advertised name for his product.
Some forums his moniker is 94C1500.

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Here is an expired ebay listing for an example of the product only:
6 5 Turbo Diesel Performance Multi Program Chip 94 95gm | eBay