I've had another issue with this kit and thought I would post a quick update.

I now have a total of about 3,500 miles on the car since the kit was installed and have been noticing that when it's cold, the wastegate was not operating smoothly. It seemed to be sticking in the morning causing some very jerky acceleration which just wasn't acceptable.

I disassembled the wastegate and found that the valve stem did not appear to be polished correctly from the factory and the rough surface had begun to corrode and was likely sticking to the shaft inside the main body. I secured the valve in my vice using the nut at the top and used a combination of 1500g/2000g/emery cloth strips to smooth the surface and polish out any imperfections. I then used some penetrant and a nylon pipe brush to clean the main body shaft (luckily there was no real corrosion here yet and it cleaned right up).

Put it all back together with some assembly lube and it's smooth as silk. Took it on a couple long drives, let it sit a couple days and tested it again while cold this morning. No more stickiness and is really running great.

 

I continue to be impressed with your diagnostic and repair capabilities as it pertains to your supercharger mod.

 

Thank you sir! It's certainly forced me to learn some procedures and sharpen my diagnostic skills, so I can't complain about that.

 

Just whoring out this photo of my work space. Bought a house with a large garage mid-way through this 997 build. It's amazing how much easier the work becomes when there is space to organize your tools and move around the car.

Not pictured is my new Mustang GT (premium performance pack). Still not sure what I'll do with it, but starting to look at FI options. I had not driven a mustang from the last two generations before buying this one and I'm actually amazed how great it drives in stock form

 

Any more update? I was looking at 997 stuff and found this thread. Thanks for writing these btw

 

Wow, clean work space, and the flat screen is a nice touch!

 

Happy to do it. Glad to hear that the information is helpful

Nothing much to report at this point. Things have been running smoothly since the wastegate rebuild. I did have a CEL come on a couple weeks ago, but quickly hooked up the durametric and see that it's just a bad O2 sensor. Haven't driven it since, but four new sensors are on the way and it'll be back to 100% shortly.

I've also just received a blackstone labs test kit. I'll be sending in a sample from my next oil change for analysis and will post the results. (This could take a while as I am mostly driving my new Mustang, but I'll definitely make a point of capturing the data for this thread)

 

Welp... the o2 sensor error was not as simple as I hoped. As it turns out, the weld around the D/S rear 02 bung was about 98% broken and there was a substantial exhaust leak.

 

Fixed o2 bung



Going back together





Turbo system layout



All buttoned up

 

 

Obviously the normal PPI stuff applies and the standard set of checks will identify most major issues with the car (turbo kit or not)

Have you checked to see if there's an authorized TPC installer in your area? That would probably be the optimal place to have it looked over.

If you're checking it out yourself, here's a couple things I'd pay attention to:
- When was the turbo last rebuilt? (as you can see previously in this thread... it's a weak point)
- Maintenance schedule/receipts available? I'd want to see evidence of frequent spark plug and oil changes over that 20K for piece of mind
- Check all the welds on turbo manifolds/downpipe/02 bungs
- Check the condition of the hose running from the turbo to the A/W intercooler (it fits extremely tight between the p/s valve cover and frame. I noticed that mine was starting to wear after a very short amount of time and I added some anti-friction PTFE tape to area. It's not an easy job to replace if needed)
- Keep in mind that you likely need to take about 40-50% off the normal life for the clutch if it's a manual car. For example, if the clutch has 50K and it's normally expected to live for 100k, I'd actually assume that it will need to be replaced in the immediate future.

Regarding design or software changes over the years - I did actually see evidence when conducting my initial research on the kit that updates were made to both. I saw owner comments related to sending in ECU's for re-flashing with updated software, but am not sure of the date. I also saw pictures of a couple different exhaust designs including a single-tip layout and another with catalytic converters.

Hope this helps! Any pictures of the car in question?

 

Unless you're well versed in auto mechanics and can work on this yourself like Imolasoul, I'd think twice about a modified car. It will be tougher for you to find people willing to work on it too unless you live near TPC' in VA.

 

I'd say this is good advice overall. If you want a car that's an appliance and does not require maintenance beyond the factory recommendations, stay clear of anything with performance mods.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily dismiss the car in question immediately if it's something he's really interested in. While I've had a number of little issues with this kit in the first 5K miles, I don't believe it's anything a local performance shop couldn't handle. I would also hope that any similar problems have been identified/addressed within 20K miles of use.

Personally, I'm very happy with mine. I took it out Saturday for the first time in a little while after it was sitting on the top of my four-post lift for 2-3 weeks. It started right up with zero hesitation / smoke / noise, ran flawlessly during my 45 min "spirited" drive, and when I checked the oil at the end (2000 miles into this oil change), I see that there has been zero consumption as the level is exactly where it started. I certainly wouldn't feel guilty about selling to a friend that's a casual car enthusiast if it's something they were interested in.

Just another perspective

 

I wish there is a plug and play bullet proof kit.