Daughters 1997 1.8 T Quattro has no power and feels like the turbo is not working, the check engine light is not on. I did not drive it prior to this so I have nothing to compare to. ( mine is the 2.8 v6). so where do I start

 

The turbo isn't very powerful,if your coming from the V-6 it will feel weak as anything. The only thing more disapointing then driving a 1.8 manual is a 1.8 tip. Then again what do you excpect from a 1.8L turbo engine makin 150hp to power a 3300lb car? They run like high 16's stock and 0-60 in high 8 low 9seconds depending on the magazine you read with stick and god knows with automatic.As discussed ad nausem this is easily remedied by getting a chip. If the car feels like about as powerful as a civic its normal. From what i hear on the chip it will make a night and day diffrence and the car will be a lil quicker then the 2.8. As long as you are getting no engine codes.its got a steady idle,no shakes/shudders,no odd noises from Turbo your good. Chip it and go. the turbo stock is for torque and not so much hp,it's small and spools quick so don't excpect a sudden rush of power.

 

If your turbo is broken then you will hear a loud noise like a siren. You probably just have a leak.

 

If the turbo was dead, you would most certainly notice. Like said above, 150hp on a somewhat heavy car doesn't exactly equal a fast car
You can chip it, or just enjoy the slow goodness of the car. When summer comes again, turn on the A/C on, and it will feel like you are driving the car with a 1000lb anchor attached to it.

 

idk bout ur daughter and im not trying to **** anybody off with this statement but i've seen many young girls drive and trust me u do not want to give them a fast car.and it's pretty reasonable to say that ur 2.8 seems alot faster than the 1.8. a couple things u can do is have someone rev the car while u stand in front and listen. if u hear anything that sounds like air is escaping then u have a boost leak. a bad boost leak will basically render a turbo useless. all the compressed air will jsut escape rather than being used. otherwise evrything is fine.

 

where you start is by checking for vac leaks like stated above....... then you get a boost guage and see what psi you are hitting.... if you are spiking over 5 and settling back at about 5-7 everything should be fine, if you aren't you have a leak somewhere cause the older b5's didn't have limp mode if i remeber correctly, and they will not just stop boosting at 5

if you are not mechanically inclined, take it to a shop, have them replace all your vac lines, cause most if not all need it by now and have them pop in a boost guage

contrary to audi's belief our cars need one too....... help with diagnosis