AGP Wastegate Actuator Instructions - The Be-All End-All

[Ben@AGP]

Installation Procedure.

1. Remove the five 10mm bolts holding on the top portion of the heat shield. (You might want to use WD-40, Liquid Wrench, or PB Blaster to help in the removal process of the bolts.)
2. Remove factory actuator by pulling the pin out of the flapper arm and taking out the two 12mm bolts holding the body to the compressor housing.
3. Line the new bracket assembly up to the compressor housing and tighten down the two 12mm mounting bolts. Hand tight will work just fine.
4. Loosen the jamb nut on the arm so you can adjust the length of the rod end to match up to the flapper arm on the manifold. Pull the flapper arm towards the driver’s side of the vehicle so the flapper door is closed.
5. Slip the rod end over the flapper arm and reinstall the pin to hold in place. At this point you want to make certain there is a little tension on the wastegate actuator. Turn the adjustment nut towards the firewall of the vehicle about one full turn.
6. You may need to bend the corner of your heat shield to clear the new actuator, and reinstall.

Running the Vacuum Lines

1. Remove both of the associated vacuum lines from the number 2 solonoid that is located on top of the stock airbox. One line comes from the turbo (green line), the other line goes to the stock WGA (black line). These lines will not be used anymore. You do NOT need to cap these lines at the solenoid.
2. Attach vacuum line with bleed fitting to the turbo (where you removed the green line), and run that directly to the top of the new WGA. You may want to secure both sides of the vacuum fittings with zip ties to prevent them from blowing off. If you are using a boost controller, you will NOT use the supplied bleed fitting.
3. At this point if you are not running the Mopar Stage 1 or Stage 2 PCM, you’ll want to remove the red vacuum line going to the TIP sensor solenoid (red line). Cap the nipple on your upper IC hose with a vacuum cap. This will eliminate the Part Throttle Overboost Check Engine Light that is common on Stage 0 vehicles when upgrading the actuator and/or boost controller. If you have a 2005 vehicle, you may need to order stage 1 to completely eliminate check engine lights.

Adjusting the Actuator

In order to achieve the best performance out of this modification, you will need to “preload” the tension on the actuator. This is accomplished by loosening the jamb nut from the rod end and turning the adjustment nut towards the firewall. Every car is different, so there is no set number of turns to get the correct tension. Start out with your boost controller completely open (lowest boost possible) and adjust the tension on the wastegate actuator so that the car will produce approximately 15 psi of boost. Once you have achieved 15 psi without a boost controller, tighten the jamb nut against the rod end and start turning the boost up with the boost controller until you have reached the desired boost. If you are not using a boost controller, tighten the wastegate to achieve desired boost. This process may take a while to dial in perfectly, but it’s definitely worth it. Keep in mind that you might not want to take the car beyond 16 psi at redline because you are reaching the limit of the stock fuel system.


This is how you would run the line from the turbo to the actuator if you were using a boost controller. Turbo XS HPBC shown.


This is how you would run the line from the turbo to the actuator if you were just using the supplied bleed.


This is a picture of the supplied bleed.

[Ben@AGP]

Which line do I use to hook up the wastegate actuator?
We recommend using the source on the compressor housing where the green line was connected.

I heard from a friend that you get more horsepower with the blue line and more torque with the green line, is this true?
You need new friends. A pressure source is a pressure source whether or not it comes from the throat of the compressor housing or the outlet of the compressor housing. You do not get any different power output from either source.

I didn't use the bleed when I installed my WGA but my car boosts to 18 and holds 15 at redline, should I install the bleed?
Your choice, it seems as if you're getting the most performance you're going to achieve without the bleed. Personally, I wouldn't change anything.

Why can't my WGA hold 19psi to redline?
Dodge made a turbo that is too small for the engine. You simply cannot get enough air through the turbine to generate "more boost". Even if you welded the wastegate door shut, you will still only get 15-16psi at redline.

Can I hook up the WGA to the stock lines?
Yes. We don't recommend it as the car will eventually learn the higher boost, but it's your car and you can do what you wish with it. If it works for you and you're happy with its performance, I wouldn't change it.

I just hooked up the WGA and now I get a flutter at part throttle, is this normal?
Yes. The WGA allows the turbo to spool up faster and will give a lot of part throttle boost. Sometimes you will get a lot of flutter at part throttle and at low RPM full throttle. This is just a by-product of having a turbo that's way too small for the car. You will learn to drive the car differently.

Do I need to cap the solonoids where I removed the green and black line?
No. No matter what your friend tells you, as long as you remove the lines from the solonoid, there is no need to cap them anywhere.

I installed my WGA, and now I get a Check Engine Light. What do I do now?

If you have stage 0, you will need to remove the red TIP sensor line that goes from the upper intercooler hose to solonoid #1. Completely remove this line from the car and cap the nipple that is left on the upper intercooler hose. If you have stage 1 or 2, you do not need to do this.
NOTE FOR 2005 USERS. You may get a P2074 code with stage 0. The first step is to make certain your vehicle has had the reflash 18-042-04 performed at the dealer. If you have already removed the red line and you have had the reflash completed at the dealer, you may need to purchase stage 1 to rid yourself of all check engine lights for your 05.

I just bought an AGP Wastegate used and it didn't come with a bleed. Is it safe to hook up without one?

Certainly. The bleed is there to help equalize the pressure in the line going to the wastegate and should make for a more smooth boost curve, and holds boost a little longer. If you don't have a bleed, try hooking it up without one. You're not going to hurt anything. If you want one, drill a .045" hole in a fitting and you're good to go.

How do I get rid of PTB (Part Throttle Boost)?

This is one of the drawbacks when upgrading your car with an AGP WGA. Because the turbo is so small, it spools up too quickly is a lot of situations. When you install the WGA, you have more tension holding the wastegate closed longer, which results in higher boost, and holding that boost to redline. PTB occurs because the exhaust energy, created with just a small amount of combustion, speeds the turbine shaft to a point where the compressor creates "boost". This "boost" is unable to make it all the way into the engine because your foot is only opening the throttle plate a little, and the extra "boost" only has one place to go, and that is back to the compressor wheel, causing surge.

This PTB that everyone talks about sounds much worse than it actually is. You will learn to drive your car differently so you don't experience it all that often. The benefits of 15psi at redline definitely outweigh the drawbacks of occasional PTB.

Don't let someone sell you a spring "upgrade" for the wastegate by claiming it's going to hold more boost at redline and eliminate PTB. It will not, or we would sell it.

[94thunderchicken]

Amazing write up

This should be a sticky in the How-to section as well as the Performace mods section.

Hopefully this will end the dozens of threads that pop-up a week.

Eitherway, there is zero room for misreading or misunderstanding with this updated version.

[PatrickSRT]

amen..

[Ben@AGP]

I'm going to leave the thread open here for a couple weeks in case more questions arise.

[NIVO88T]

woohoo, my pic makes it everywhere and every forum!

[TDRturb0]

Thanks for clearing that up Ben!

[Fisticuffs]

Thanks for the post, it's good to see info straight from the source. WGA is my next mod and each post I've read has people saying something different about how it should be set up.

[1STTRBO]

this setup should work w/ other wga too, right? i don't have an agp wga.

[rjefferson]

im having trouble installing my wastegate. followed instructions but no matter how much i turn the nut (looking at actuator from passenger side i turn it to the right) my car boost beyond the 20 on the gauge and some. when i recieved the
wastegate i had to make the part with the hole on it that connects to the arm where the pin slides in longer being it wasn't long enough to reach but im turning and turning with to fix. any ideas. don't wanna blow my turbo up ya know
thanks

[Gmanigio]

I just hooked up the WGA and now I get a flutter at part throttle, is this normal?
Yes. The WGA allows the turbo to spool up faster and will give a lot of part throttle boost. Sometimes you will get a lot of flutter at part throttle and at low RPM full throttle. This is just a by-product of having a turbo that's way too small for the car. You will learn to drive the car differently.

SO, is this harmful to the turbo?? Thats all i need to know.

[The_Greg]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ben@AGP

Start out with your boost controller completely open (lowest boost possible) and adjust the tension on the wastegate actuator so that the car will produce approximately 15 psi of boost. Once you have achieved 15 psi without a boost controller, tighten the jamb nut against the rod end and start turning the boost up with the boost controller until you have reached the desired boost.

im tuning my WGA right now, 20 till 14 redline, what im wondering is when you say "tune it to 15 psi" is that at redline or peak boost. im hoping for 18 down to 15 redline, because i think 20 is bad. flame on.

[jakez]

What size hose are you supposed to use? I think my friend hooked mine up using too large of a hose and it's expanding (I think) causing my boost to drop horribly.

[bena]

Ben From AGP,

Can you post How to modify your driving style after putting AGP WGA on to get the most benifit?

After I got my on and set to max at 17, I notice that my engine has lapses of power. I gapped my original Champ's to .4, but that really didnt help

I am not sure if I am having misfires, detonation, or something else. What can I do to monitor how the engine is working?

Thanks
B

[SRT-4Dream]

[quote]Can I hook up the WGA to the stock lines?
Yes. We don't recommend it as the car will eventually learn the higher boost, but it's your car and you can do what you wish with it. If it works for you and you're happy with its performance, I wouldn't change it.[quote]

So If I hook up the stock line back up..and this occurs how do I set it back to normal boost again?. Do I just reset the PCM or what should I do..