getting zero boost, but turbo is spooling

i have a stock 2005 legacy gt unlimited sedan, manual transmission, 100k miles.

 

On my way home from work, i went to pass someone on the highway in 5th gear and my turbo started to spool, my revs would go up, but i was getting zero boost and power. the car has continued to act like this since in every gear.

 

 

There was/is no smoke, and no smells

I have no CEL lights showing.

I have checked all the hoses and wires and everything looks fine.

I unhooked the battery and tried again with no change.

i dont have any way to get any codes.

 

I dont know if this has anything to do with it, but more info is always better. i had just recently put a new clutch and flywheel/conversion kit on my car 2 weeks ago, i have driving it about 800 miles since before this started happening.

 

does anyone have any ideas of what i can check/fix to get this back working.

Try disconnecting the exhaust, you may have a clogged cat.

Sure there's not a boost leak? Can be some tricky hoses, would be good to do a boost leak test. If you're able to get a VAG-COM cable and snap a Learning View screen shot that could tell you if you had any leaks.

 

Wastegate functioning properly? Could be faulty and only a small amount of the exhaust is actually getting into the turbo and causing a small amount of spool. Would think you'd get a CEL if there was a leak around your headers/UP and certainly would be an increase in noise.

 

Only way I think the clutch/flywheel would cause this is if your engine is working perfectly but isn't engaging properly through the drivetrain and slipping. Do you notice the revs rising quicker than normal as if there were less load on the engine? Any noticeable issues with changing gear/engaging clutch?

Try disconnecting the exhaust, you may have a clogged cat.

 

how do i do this?

 

 

 

I will look into getting a vagcom cable, mine is 4 hours away.

 

what can i do to check to see if the wastegate is functioning properly?

like this? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcJp-Ujing]No boost? - YouTube[/ame]

like this?

 

no, not like that.

how do i do this?

 

 

 

I will look into getting a vagcom cable, mine is 4 hours away.

 

what can i do to check to see if the wastegate is functioning properly?

 

To disconnect you'd need to unbolt the down pipe from the turbo flange. The car will be LOUD but if you're making power and boost with it disconnected then you know the problem is with your turbo-back exhaust.

 

The vagcom cable will be able to log the wastegate duty but if the actuator arm is not working then that might not show it, not sure if the logged parameter is directly from the ECU or is a value read from the current wastegate position.

Someone with more experience could chime in but I'm sure you could force the arm to actuate by disconnecting one of the boost controller hoses and blowing air into it (pressurising the controller to make the wastegate perform) yourself or with a compressor.

To disconnect you'd need to unbolt the down pipe from the turbo flange. The car will be LOUD but if you're making power and boost with it disconnected then you know the problem is with your turbo-back exhaust.

 

The vagcom cable will be able to log the wastegate duty but if the actuator arm is not working then that might not show it, not sure if the logged parameter is directly from the ECU or is a value read from the current wastegate position.

Someone with more experience could chime in but I'm sure you could force the arm to actuate by disconnecting one of the boost controller hoses and blowing air into it (pressurising the controller to make the wastegate perform) yourself or with a compressor.

 

i will try diconnecting it tomorrow. and see if i can get a vagcom cable aswell

Do you have a boost gauge? If it shows boost then you have boost because it picks up on the pressure in the intake tract. If not, check for a couple of things:

Check and see that the compressor wheel is tight on the shaft. I took a VF39 apart for a guy that he said it wouldn't boost and the nut on the shaft was finger tight and the wheel could turn. It wasn't loose enough for the compressor wheel to actually hit the housing, but it was loose enough that I put a wrench on it and it took virtually no pressure to loosen the nut. I could see on the shaft where the wheel had been spinning and had basically ruined the compressor wheel.

Check and see that the shaft isn't broken. I have not seen that but I am going to buy a blown turbo that is missing the shaft and both wheels because it broke inside the center housing (I need the pieces for an experiment so that's why I would purchase something like this) and the exhaust was spinning but the compressor wasn't.

Check the actuator connection to the waste gate. It happens to me in a WRX. The car was running fine but not boost. The C pin that secures the actuator to the waste gate got lose and the actuator disconnected

ok, so did some reading, and found that the car has a code reader built in, so i check the codes and got 0 p-codes, but got a c-0107 code (front right wheel speed sensor implausable signal)

 

would this cause my car to go into any type of limp mode or anything?

Did you get this sorted out?

Did you get this sorted out?

 

no i have not

There's a hose that sits practically center under the TMIC that goes into the engine (breather hose?). I'd check that, as there's been a few times where that wasn't on and i couldn't get it to spool boost.

 

I can't locate a picture of it online, but if you get stuck, i'll see if i can get a pic of one.

ok, so did some reading, and found that the car has a code reader built in, so i check the codes and got 0 p-codes, but got a c-0107 code (front right wheel speed sensor implausable signal)

 

would this cause my car to go into any type of limp mode or anything?

 

still looking for information on this

i'll get a pic for u tomorrow night (away from the car atm) and post it up sat

As ptpixel mentioned earlier . Are you sure the clutch is not slipping after the recent new install. Try a steep hill and see if the car goes up as it should , even without turbo boost . If it is turbo trouble then how about the boost solenoid ? . These can become clogged and stick . On older models you could join the green connectors under the dash and turn on ignition . This puts car in test mode and solenoid will cycle . Dont know about later models though . Can also disconnect boost pipes from solenoid and spray carb cleaner inside . Will prevent future sticking .

Check the T under the intercooler, it controlls the BPV. If the line pops off, the valve will open when it trys to boost.

 

In stock form, this will lead to no/little boost. With an aftermartket VTA one, it leads to a smoke screen behind the car.

^^^ what he said, the stock fitting is simply crappy plastic nipples, after modding my car, they were not applicable anymore, it constnatly popped off so i got a barbed t fitting and zip tied them down...

 

you really dont have to take the intercooler off to see it, you can use a bright flasnight and poke your head from the passenger side front fender, and take a peek... almost centered a T fitting that should be pointing at each direction of your wheels and facing your grille

 

i used to just stop and check mine on a regular basis and i would have to put it back on until i got my barbed fitting

Check the T under the intercooler, it controlls the BPV. If the line pops off, the valve will open when it trys to boost.

 

In stock form, this will lead to no/little boost. With an aftermartket VTA one, it leads to a smoke screen behind the car.

 

FYI,

I got my clutch replaced yesterday and this exact problem happened to me except my check engine and cruise lights were flashing. I got home and it was the small vacuum line that come off the BPV. There was no "t" it hooked into, it just plugs straight into the manifold. It displayed the exact same symptoms, no boost felt but could hear the turbo spinning and it all going out the up pipe.

It's the braided hose that comes off the bpv. If you follow it form the bpv, you'll see if it's connected or not.

 

I had my top mount off so here's where it goes to. Check this spot.

 

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/brainy_1979/388ba5ce-44ee-439d-96c7-cd696763867d_zps6c16fae7.jpg

Did you ever figure this out? I'm having the same issue

i had a similar problem about a year ago, at about 100k, same as you OP.. took the turbo out, found that the waste gate door was not closing properly. it was off by about a cm to the side of the wg hole, if you can picture that. replaced it with bnr 16g

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/waste-gate-172683.html?t=172683

this is a thread of the same problem i had.

Any particular reason why it wasn't closing properly?

 

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