Now that my engine issue is in order, taking advantage of the turbo is new to me. First of all, is there an average lifespan for the stock turbo? Sometimes I accelerate kind of hard getting on the freeway or starting from a stop on long roads just to feel the response of how the boost kicks in. Sometimes I notice that in second gear the spooling sound is almost twice as loud as normal and while holding the gas pedal at the same level, the sound quiets down again at about 3500 rpm. Is there a problem going on here? Also, if the turbo isn't running properly, could this cause a cel to appear?

 

are u sure the turbo it getting more quiet and not just the engine and exhaust sound getting louder and drowning out the sound of the turbo? the stock turbo is tiny and therfore not very loud usually. i dont know if you r modded or not, but if your stock then u cant hear the turbo all that loud to begin with. i have never had a turbo go out on me in any of my cars but i imagine that you wouldnt feel the same acceleration and it would throw a CEL.

 

I know for sure it's not the engine or exhaust. The sound starts at around 2800 rpm, which should be around where boost starts (correct me if I'm wrong). It sounds like a shhhhhhhhhh and it feels like the car pulls harder than usual. The only mod I'm not sure about is the ecu since I bought the car used. So far no CEL has come on so I guess that's a good sign. Anyone have any ideas what's going on??

 

do you have a boost gauge? that alone will tell you a lot about whats going on, but unless your acceleration has changed dramatically I wouldn't be too worried.

 

yeah a boost gauge should be your next mod for sure. They're cheap, easy to install, and the info they give you is WELL worth the cost. From what you describe, i wouldn't be too worried. A turbo thats starting to go will sound like a dentist's drill, sorta like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0GEM_-NFmI

 

Ok this is concerning me now. I had an issue earlier with my suction pump coming apart and it's now superglued tight lol. I assumed that was the problem why the car would occasionally turn off while driving through town. Apparently, there's something else going on because it happened again today. Shortly after that sound happened again, the car turned off. I can start the car again with no problems, but this is annoying and could cause a rather unsafe condition since power steering and power brakes disappear. I called my mechanic that put in the new engine and he said that what I'm describing sounds like a boost leak. He said to check the hose that's connected to the turbo to see if it slipped off a little. To be honest though, I'm having trouble getting a good look at the hose from above, so do I need to lift the car and check from the bottom? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It sucks paying a bunch of money for an engine swap and then running into more problems.

I've actually been wanting a boost gauge and this probably would help me out in this type of situation. I'm just a little broke right now lol.

 

I vote check Maf to turbo (which you can see from above) but also the others which are harder and require looking under the car. Possibly the n75 valve?

 

Well, I pretty much looked at everything that I could from above and it all looks fine. I'm going to check the turbo outlet hose today from under the car to see if that's the problem first, which would explain the sound of air escaping. Could a bad N75 valve make this sound too though?

 

Well, it looks like I found the problem. I jacked up the car today and found that the DV is cracked. That would explain why I only hear air leaking sometimes under heavy acceleration, not all the time. A little oil had accumulated around the area too which should be caused by the same problem. I might just have to get another oem one even though I'd like to get a metal one like a Forge 007, but I'm really low on funds at the moment. I saw some metal ones on ebay, but I'm not sure I'd trust the quality. Any suggestions?

 

I'd personally stay away from ebay. Most of the stuff will be a knock off and im not a fan of that. Check on here, I know there are a few cars being parted out, and people are usually selling them.