Help Pls!! Options

[seacelica]

So I was moving my throttle cable around the other day so the hood wouldnt come down on it (I hae a 3sgte) and afterwords I took the car for a little spin and the turbo started making a squeeling/squeking (i cant spell) noise. My first guess is the turbo is leaking cause it seems to be losing boost, but i just got the car recently and am new to working on engines so any help on how to fix the issue would be a HUGE help. Thanks

[Gary]

Do you have a boost gauge?
What's your vacuum at idle and what is your max boost in 3rd/4th gear?

[seacelica]

Do you have a boost gauge?
What's your vacuum at idle and what is your max boost in 3rd/4th gear?

I am pretty sure yes. Like i said i am very new to all this stuff an got this car with the hopes of learning a lot. It has an greddy timer in the dash and i dont really know what the max boost is in 3rd/4th gear. It seems to be making the most noise from 2nd-3rd and 3rd-4th. As for the Vacum at idle i dont know, nor do i know how to check it.

[Defgeph]

who did you buy this car from ?

[Gary]

Most after market boost gauges have vacuum reading.
The unit of vacuum reading is usually in "in.Hg" (Inch of Mercury)
If you have one, just see where the needle points at idle.
That is your vacuum at idle.

Then, try boosting the car in 3th gear (pedal to the metal ) and see where the needle points at.
Boost reading is usually in "PSI" (pound per square inches) or "BAR"

[seacelica]

i bought the car from Brian a guy who was on 6gc.net. And i do not have boost gauges on my dash or anything like that...i just have the greddy electronic boost gauge to my knowledge.

[playr158]

oh you bought this car from brian forester?!

you are going to want to order this ASAP
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/product/vdo/vc150121.htm

and get it hooked up. turbo noise well hrmm
hows your oil level?

[seacelica]

i have one of those but its not hooked up...Brian said something about hooking it up to the BoV tube but i didnt want to screw anything up so i have been waiting till i really know what im doing (hopefully i will get to that point). The oil level is a little low...Im gonna be throwing some in tomorrow but i havent been driving it so i havent bothered to do so yet. Man I have soooooo much crap to learn :-P

[lagos]

My first guess is the turbo is leaking cause it seems to be losing boost,

check for boost leaks in the intercooler piping. you probably took a clamp off and forgot to put it back on tight enough.
you can just read your boost/vac on your greddy ebc.

[seacelica]

so I added some oil today and the noised stopped. It was the first time in 2 days i drove the car, and it was only for a little, but it didnt make the sound in any gears. How could the oil have been the problem? any suggestions/help is much appreciated! :-)
-Steve

[Gary]

The turbo is oil and water cooled. Without enough oil pressure, you are killing it.

[playr158]

dude cars 101.....always check your oil

[seacelica]

dude cars 101.....always check your oil

I checked the oil almost everyday...and replaced it every 3-4 tanks. I admit i don't know a lot about cars...but i do know to check and change the oil. I appreciate help but remarks like the above are not needed. Thanks

Needless to say the turbo isn't making that noise anymore but I think something still may be letting some pressure out cause the boost doesn't go past 53 (greddy timer ready...i dont know if thats the actual boost) w/ out going back down. I have checked the clamps that i would think could possibly be leaking and they all seem fine... anyone have anyother helpfull suggestions? thanks

[lagos]

post some pictures of the engine bay... maybe there is something we can notice by looking at them.

you should probably start out by reading something like this.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm
it might help you understand turbo cars better, and might give you an idea into whats wrong.

[seacelica]

so today while driving just for a little I noticed the car jerking while testing out the turbo in higher rpms. I wasnt going crazy with it by anymeans but on occasion it would jerk a few times when i hit the gas...it almost felt like a mini-stallout. The squeeky noise is a not as loud but i can still here it sometimes. any further suggestions on what it may be? by the way all your help has been really great so keep it coming ;-)

[brianforster]

it sounds like you have a boost leak, a big enough boost leak could cause a brick wall type feeling when you try to get on the gas quick.

53 on the greddy ebc is 5.3 psi, i was consistently hitting 14.6 psi on the ebc.

not sure what the sound could have been on the turbo, nor do i know how you could have lost enough oil to have an oil pressure drop like that. the car doesnt leak any oil anymore does it? i thought that was fixed.

[seacelica]

it sounds like you have a boost leak, a big enough boost leak could cause a brick wall type feeling when you try to get on the gas quick.

53 on the greddy ebc is 5.3 psi, i was consistently hitting 14.6 psi on the ebc.

not sure what the sound could have been on the turbo, nor do i know how you could have lost enough oil to have an oil pressure drop like that. the car doesnt leak any oil anymore does it? i thought that was fixed.

Yeah the seals are all good and the oil level was fine. I keep going through looking for more issues when i get the time but still havent found a spot that has a leak big enough.

[brianforster]

check all of the IC pipe, mainly the one coming out of the bottom of the turbo.

[seacelica]

Leak is fixed. I just took apart the piping all the way down and reclamped them all. I also messed around with the turbo timer settings...so im not sure which one fixed the issue but the car is back to ~146 (14.6psi). Now i just need to get my new struts and get the thing past inspection.