GFB+ Maintenance

[LilPartyBox]

Searching for GFB DV+ fails as it's too short so apologies if this has been discussed.

I've had my GFB DV+ on since 2017, about 20k miles. GFB instructions claim that blow-by should be enough to keep it lubed but I never buy into manufacturer claims of not needing maintenance. I'm over 60k now and I'm wondering if anyone has pulled it to clean and re-lube. If so, how was it in there?

I ask mainly cuz I stripped one of the bolts during initial install and really don't want to have to bother with it until I go S280 some time in the future. I DID order replacement bolts but again, would rather not. So, does the valve REALLY need it on our platform?

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Well I would imagine if you had a catch can, you'd need to lube it more often. My FiST gets a decent amount of blowby... but the GFB in my Fiat 500 Abarth needed re-lubing every other oilchange or it got sticky. Not FiST relevant, but it's *something*

 

[M-Sport fan]

WHAT are the indications (sound wise) of it sticking?

Having NEVER owned a turbo car before this one, I have no clue about 'flutter', or any of the other symptoms everyone on here talks about and assumes that everyone else knows.

I have had the DV+ on my car for about 25K miles now, used Red Line red high temp grease on it at installation, and have not touched it since.

I do notice that 'R2D2' type 'chirping' on shifts/throttle closure now, when I did not before.
But it also started about the time I installed the ST200 air box, so .

 

[Clint Beastwood]

WHAT are the indications (sound wise) of it sticking?

Having NEVER owned a turbo car before this one, I have no clue about 'flutter', or any of the other symptoms everyone on here talks about and assumes that everyone else knows.

I have had the DV+ on my car for about 25K miles now, used Red Line red high temp grease on it at installation, and have not touched it since.

I do notice that 'R2D2' type 'chirping' on shifts/throttle closure now, when I did not before.
But it also started about the time I installed the ST200 air box, so .

The chirping could be the GFB binding/opening too slowly. It doesn't hurt to pull and re-lube it. I'd recommend following the instructions to lube it with engine oil, anything thicker can make them bind up.
With your DV+ installed and properly lubed, a part throttle (like 1/3) lift off the throttle should make a sorta turkey gobbling sound, any more throttle than that should be the normal diverter whooshy darth vader breathing sound.

 

[LilPartyBox]

I drove for Uber Eats briefly a few months ago (new driveway is sexy) and I'd be out for 5 or 6 hours at a clip. On some days, I'd get loud wobbly flutter. I don't drive for extended periods anymore and haven't had it happen since. But it got me thinking. Does this DV+ need regular maintenance? I assume anything that I had to oil, grease, or fill with fluid will eventually need attention. I was wondering what we, as a community, are doing with our DV+ long term.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I drove for Uber Eats briefly a few months ago (new driveway is sexy) and I'd be out for 5 or 6 hours at a clip. On some days, I'd get loud wobbly flutter. I don't drive for extended periods anymore and haven't had it happen since. But it got me thinking. Does this DV+ need regular maintenance? I assume anything that I had to oil, grease, or fill with fluid will eventually need attention. I was wondering what we, as a community, are doing with our DV+ long term.

Its not supposed to need maintenance, they claim normal oil blowby is enough to lubricate it. That being said, I can see a couple of situations where this might not work. From a couple different forums where users use DV+ on their cars, every single one has users that have to occasionally take them out, clean them, and re-lubricate them. Some users ignore the instructions and use normal grease to lube them (too thick, the tolerances of a *real* dv+ can cause thick grease to stick). Some users get accumulations of dirt on the piston, and a *real* dv+ should fit the bore so tightly, a small amount of dirt may cause binding. Other users have the piston go "dry" - either not enough oil blowby, or maybe someone with a catch can, which means there's not enough oil in the passing air to lubricate it. There are also tons of fake/knockoff DV+ around, not only are they dangerous, but the tolerances aren't as tight and those fake DV+ wind up riding on the lubricated o-ring instead of sliding in the bore and relying on the tight fit to guide the piston.

*personally*, I don't like the "doesn't need lube unless it does" nature of the DV+ anymore. It works great, and on a car with an easily reachable DV it wouldn't bother me, but as-is I prefer the turbosmart I eventually went with due to it's zero maintenance operation. The fact that on some cars you have to physically break plastic inside the stock DV to install the DV+ bothers me. On my Abarth it felt like I was killing the stock DV installing the DV+, because you had to break and remove plastic retaining rings and stuff. There was no way to go back to stock.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Do the plumb back/recirculating Turbosmart BOVs set codes, or are they 'seen' by the ECU/related sensors as a stock DV, just like the GFB?

 

[Clint Beastwood]

^^^Do the plumb back/recirculating Turbosmart BOVs set codes, or are they 'seen' by the ECU/related sensors as a stock DV, just like the GFB?

Seen as a stock DV. I am talking about the EM2, it's a direct drop-in replacement. I used both the dual port (noisy) and plumb-back (quiet) ones. The only issue I had is that the plug on the plumb-back was missing the plug insert to prevent you plugging it in backwards, as a result my DV plug is cracked. I need to get that plug replaced but it looks like I need to replace the entire (gosh darned) harness to do it.

 

[LilPartyBox]

Finally wrestled the thing out. First thing I wanna say is NEVER AGAIN. You can judge for urself from the pics, but I don't think it needed the maintenance. Not so much so that makes it worth the absolute curse fest it is to get the bastard out...and then back in lol

There's some wear showing but the piston was still smooth in the discolored areas when I re-lubed it so all good.

One thing of note is that the whoosh replacement screws advertised to work for the GFB don't...at all. They're tooooo long and bottom out (so much cursing). Notice in the pics the length of the brand new screw vs the GFB units. I reused the screw i stripped... pure luck. Thanks Ron. Hope he takes them back and pays for shipping!

Originally installed November 2017 with about 22k. I'm at 61,400 so ur looking at about 40k miles, with Strat tune.

 

[Quisp]

Did you buy the long ones meant for BOV spacers ?

 

[anticon]

I just pulled mine to replace the turbo and accessing from the top almost seemed easier then how I did it from underneath the first time.

 

[Pablo Pistoffo]

I just pulled mine to replace the turbo and accessing from the top almost seemed easier then how I did it from underneath the first time.

What all did you have to pull to get enough room to access it?

 

[anticon]

What all did you have to pull to get enough room to access it?

The cowl, crossover pipe, and turbo inlet. I think you can get the turbo inlet off without pulling the manifold heat shield.

 

[Sam4]

Wait. For the GFB you pulled all that? Is your ST different? I accessed it behind the passenger wheel, little disco of the belt shield, long allen shaft to reach, yes - cursing, but from underneath the car. What I miss here?

 

[anticon]

Wait. For the GFB you pulled all that? Is your ST different? I accessed it behind the passenger wheel, little disco of the belt shield, long allen shaft to reach, yes - cursing, but from underneath the car. What I miss here?

I did it via the wheel well the first time I installed it and I feel like it took a lot more cursing than doing it from the top this time. BUT I was replacing the turbo also when I did it from the top. I just think it's another option. I remember the first time (through the wheel well) it kept popping apart while trying to get it mounted, and it was a pain to get everything aligned. I'm pretty sure it was a lot easier to do this from the top. It's probably a wash on time, but less frustrating. Just my $0.02.

 

[LilPartyBox]

Did you buy the long ones meant for BOV spacers ?

I bought the Large ones, labeled on his site to work for the GFB. They do not.

BPV (Bypass Valve) / Block Off Plate Bolt Kit *FREE SHIPPING* Fits 201 – whoosh motorsports (whoosh-motorsports.myshopify.com)

 

[LilPartyBox]

Both times I did it I only removed the accessory belt cover and went in from the wheel well. Going in from underneath and removing all that piping sounds like way overkill. I can't imagine it being easier to reach from the top even with all of that removed. I remember installing my Cobb intake and hating dealing with the inlet pipe. In the end you may be right, it's a wash. We're gonna wind up cursing no matter which end we attack it from lol

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I did it via the wheel well the first time I installed it and I feel like it took a lot more cursing than doing it from the top this time. BUT I was replacing the turbo also when I did it from the top. I just think it's another option. I remember the first time (through the wheel well) it kept popping apart while trying to get it mounted, and it was a pain to get everything aligned. I'm pretty sure it was a lot easier to do this from the top. It's probably a wash on time, but less frustrating. Just my $0.02.

for me I drove it up on ramps, schooched underneath, burned my gut on the underside of the engine, and used ball-head Allen’s to remove and reinstall. I removed the old dv while the car was hot (easier) and let it cool before reinstalling (so as not to overtighten). No piping to remove or anything, just reached up and over. It took a while the first few times since I have no feeling in my hands so I had to use a mirror to see where stuff was, but with feeling in the hands it shouldn't be bad. It's only bad the first time.

 

[LiLfieSTa]

for me I drove it up on ramps, schooched underneath, burned my gut on the underside of the engine, and used ball-head Allen’s to remove and reinstall. I removed the old dv while the car was hot (easier) and let it cool before reinstalling (so as not to overtighten). No piping to remove or anything, just reached up and over. It took a while the first few times since I have no feeling in my hands so I had to use a mirror to see where stuff was, but with feeling in the hands it shouldn't be bad. It's only bad the first time.

while i was flipping through the bov threads, i noticed that you've had a couple of these bov, which one are you using now?

 

[Clint Beastwood]

while i was flipping through the bov threads, i noticed that you've had a couple of these bov, which one are you using now?

I'm stock DV right now. When I ordered my turbosmart plumb-back it didn't have the little insert in the plug to prevent plugging it in backwards, when I plugged it in backwards it cracked the car-side plug. The only way to replace that plug is apparently replacing the harness, so I used UV epoxy to rebuild the connector and went back to stock DV for the time being. My overall preference was the turbosmart EM2 plumb back that goes into the stock DV location, quicker spool and so on, but I can't risk breaking the DV connector to the point of inoperability. Fixing it is on the list, car works fine right now so it's back-burnered.