New to this forum, but been on the vortex for years as a vw owner. Anyways
I just got the car a few weeks ago. 99 a4 1.8t quattro 158k. I think my tubo or wast gate is bad but have never had issues with a turbo before so looking to get pointed in the right direction.I have NO POWER at all. a geo passed me the other day. I put a boost gauge in the other day and at idle its at 19inhg and, when driving it goes to 0psi right away, then just sits there all the way to redline. In my jetta i could hear my turbo and dv very well but cant at all with this. no spool sound or anything even with a k&n. all i hear is a rattle like sound at real hight rpm (5000). What can i do to eliminate anything else it could be. Im going to do a boost leak test when i get to it one of these days.
Thanks

 

Seems to me you already have a good idea of what it could be. The boost leak test will confirm whether or not it's a simple boost leak. Though idling at 19 in.hg suggests it may not be... From what I understand the wastegate is the part most likely to fail on the K03.