welp, yesterday i noticed the car sounded a little funny above 4k rpm. i thought hmmmm. i also noticed the car felt slow. does anyone see where this is heading? i figured i would drive it today and see what happens. i start her this morning and she is stuttering and going crazy with a really crappy idle. i figured hmmmm, maybe it was just cold. so i let it warm up and it was still idling crappy. i started driving her, felt slower than my nt. i was like great, so i tried boosting, nope. i build maybe 1-2 psi at wot. so i thought to myself, great. the car is slower than piss, it idles like crap. can anyone tell me whats wrong? :-) stupid vacuum leak :wallbash (maybe dirty injectors but it is not boosting so i vote for vacuum leak)

so my question. where are the most typical places for hoses to blow off. i am looking for those before i look for cracked and split hoses. i looked at where my boost gauge taps in, those hoses are good to go. when the car shuts off, i hear some crazy sound coming from near the throttlebody/intake mani. it almost sounds like when you would put cards in your bike tires and ride around.

other strange things:
when accelerating, it sounds like there is an exhaust rattle/hissing of sorts from the engine bay. but only on accelerating. if i am maintaining speed, it doesnt do it.
it is like i can hear the leak hissing or something.


HELP. :-) have a nice day.

try doing a pressure leak test to see if you have a leak and where it's coming from. http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ICtester.html

i have one quick question about that tester, once i get to 20 psi, how do i safely let that 20 psi out? i cant just rip off the tester and let all that air go flying. i am not trying to get hurt. :-)

do you have any ideas about my noises during acceleration? do you think a vacuum hose that is off or cracked could make a noise like that if it is flopping around from the pressure being let out during acceleration? thanks!

Just push in on the valve stem with a screwdriver or somethin. Like deflating a bicycle tire.

you really don't need to put 20psi in it either. If there's a leak, you'll hear it. If your only running 9 or 10 psi on the stock turbo, I wouldn't bother testing past 15...
Good luck.

UPDATE: i was playing around a little on the way home. i noticed some things. the engine overall sounds like it is louder. when i got home i was under the hood and pulled the throttle cable so it would rev. it seems like the head is very noisy. that makes me worry thinking that the valves might be making contact with the pistons and part of the problem i am having is a timing issue.

secondly i noticed that the clattering sound only happens when i am at 0 or in boost. if i let off the throttle so that i am in vacuum, it doesnt make any noise. the chattering noise is also coming from the driver side of the engine. yet again, this makes me believe it is a timing related problem.

third, at idle, i am between 16-18 in vacuum. i know that 18 is normal, but i have always been at 20-21. this makes me think that it is a vacuum issue.

i rule out the injectors because at wot, my af is .88-.89. i am also not seeing a drop in af ratio when the car stumbles at idle, only a movement in vacuum.

another strange thing is this. when the car shuts off, i can hear the intake mani almost "spool down". it sounds like there is a turbine in there or something is getting blown around. it is near the throttle body and top of intake mani. i dont know if it has always made this sound or not because i cant hear it when the hood is shut.

nothing has changed and i noticed the problems yesterday while driving. it was a gradual problem because i could at least boost yesterday. the car just felt slower. i was able to boost to about 10 psi tonight, but it took me about 45-50 seconds to do so in fourth gear at 3500 rpm. at one stop light, i accelerated fast and when i shifted i heard a huge blow off. almost like i had a bov that was aftermarket and did not recirc. i could not get it to reproduce that instance after that time. that also makes me think an ic pipe is ripped or torn and is letting a large force of air out because i was wot in 1st gear.

i plan to do a vacuum hose check and the ic test tomorrow to see if i have any leaks. i am also going to call a buddy that has a timing light to see if he will come over and check my timing. i am going to go buy some plugs and wires and some injector cleaner, but only because i know i need to do it.



any other thoughts or ideas on what is going on is greatly appreciated. i am sure you should have enough info to make some kind of guess. :-) thanks guys!

i wouldn't worry about valves coming in contact with pistons, because if that were the case your engine would be incredibly noisy, not just "a little louder". That just happened to a buddy of mine and his motorcycle...a slightly bent valve sounded like a diesel motor...

Unfortunately this means you gotta go start trackign down leaks, which is no fun...if it makes you feel any better, i'm doing the samet thing now.

Tips to make it easier: Using a bycicle pump will take a long time and will make you less likely to concentrate on the task at hand---finding leaks. Walmart sells a compressed air tank for like under 15 bucks...since you'd pay 6 or 7 for a bike pump anyway, get the tank and just fill it at a gas station ($0.25). IMO 8 bucks and change in the couch for fill ups greatly outweighs scratched paint from feverish pumping to keep boost up....

IM me with ?'s
vandy

Is the wastegate actuator arm still attached to both sides of the turbo?

i didnt check but it isnt just hanging out either.



i did play with the car a little. could there be something in the intake? it seriously doesnt sound healthy. i am going to try and get some clips of it and the idle tomorrow or so. maybe that will help you guys know how bad the shut off noise really sounds. thanks for the ideas. it is night time now but i hope to get up tomorrow, shave my head, and go outside to work on the car til i have to be at work at 12 PM. :-)

it was raining when i woke up today so it was a no go for now. probly wont do anything till friday as this is my last week to work both jobs and will be tired. :-(

not the wastegate arm. :wallbash

if i do the IC test, will it test vacuum lines too? please say yes.