turbo not spooling up
 

hey guys, i have just purchaced a 98 a4 1.8 QU and i have noticed a serious power drain. also, the turb o does not spool up, there is no minor whistle at all. my friend whos a mechanic showed me a 03 jetta with the same 1.8t motor. now when he reved it up, boy can u here the turbo spol. can someone tell me what might be cousing the problems? vacume leak or even worse, bad turbo? help

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

vac leak,dv valve,check for codes

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

Keep in mind that you have only 150hp stock and the stock hp on an 03 jetta and psi is more.
A stock 1.8t a4 (pre 01) is stupid slow.

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

oh. so maybe wha im feeling is just standard. ok so let me ask you this. my stock motor, will it make a whistling sound when my turbo spools up? or will it keep quiet? and how do i hceck my boost level? turbo timer?

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

in its stock form, the turbo is kinda hard to hear unless you are just taking off from a stop. Like bellow 2500 rpms in first gear it is mostly audiable.... Other than that, youd hardly know the car is even turbo charged if at all... Its very light compression, 7 or so psi. A boost gauge is HIGHLY recomended for any turbo charged car... even if it doesnt have mods done. Its nice to have for diagnosing mainly. Get a chip or bigger turbo and you will hear and feel it way more!

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

i got a 97 A4 1.8T quattro and it spools up pretty good and its stock no modz at all so u should hear it and if ur not deres sum problem

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

it could be a pluged exhaust. like your cat went bad and melted down or something like that. one way to test that is with a vac. gauge. if its plugged then vac. will drop as you slowly increase rpm. no exhaust flow would cause no turbo spool up. that is if thats the case tho. I have an 02 a4 1.8t and i cant hear the turbo just by reving. I have to be under a load and even then i have to really listen for it

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

umm i was just thinking and that might not be a good test for a boosted car but i would still check for a plugged exhaust

RE: turbo not spooling up
 

Might sound crazy but turn off your A/C and don't put the blower on AUTO...makes a very big difference, that's with me also chipped!

My car is A4 '02 1.8T, stock was slow...