HELP: Noise and power loss
 

2003 A6 2.7T with about 105,000 miles. 6 speed manual.

Yesterday I took my boys up into the mountains to sled... came back. Let the car sit for a few hours then went to leave. When I turn to the right I get a rattle somewhere it seems to the right side of the car. This only happens under acceleration. During a few more tests it seems like the rattle moves from the left to the right, but primarly stays on the right side of the car.

Also at the same time I noticed that the car seems just a bit sluggish. Yes the power is still there but when I step on it something just seems wrong. I'm also getting a different pitch noise from the turbos as they spool.

Any help? I took it to my local dealer today but am also looking for solutions here as I would rather not pay their prices for repair if it is something that I can handle.

Well I don't totally understand this. Got the car back from Audi today. They found a brace that is below the motor that somehow got bent on my little journey into the snow. It was causing the rattle when there was acceleration.

What I don't understand is they checked the turbo pressures and boost and everything was within spec. Driving the car home it felt normal again.

How could a bent bar cause the car to feel so sluggish?

They also found a few erratic codes being thrown from misfires. They couldn't trace that so I'm still a little in the dark.

Thankfully it wasn't anything major this time around. Really don't need the expense right now