URGENT help. major loss of power and boost pressure above 5 psi or full throttle

[Shpyder]

INFO:
1997 Eclipse Spyder GS-T
JoeP MBC set at 13 psi
K&N FIPK
GReddy IC piping and type-S BOV
boost gauge, and a TT


Last night coming home, I accelerated just like I would on any day, shifted at 4K RPM. Now in third, when I opened throttle and let go of the clutch, the car "spasmed" after a second or two and there was a major loss of power...the car jerked and slowed down. It is doing that every time you go all out on the throttle or demand boost. It runs okay, however, if I drive very slowly and change gears at 2.5-3 RPM with about 35-50% throttle...very gentle driving where boost demanded is almost 0 and your not making the turbo do its job.

I can hear a "puushhhh" kind of sound indicating perhaps a boost leak somewhere in the system every time the turbo should kick in...ie high throttle, and this sound comes the same time I begin losing power after precisely 5 psi, and the car quickly jerks to a slow down.

No disconnected hoses at rough glance....the T-connector for the boost gauge seemed good, so did all the BOV and MBC lines. This really sucks. Please, any help would be appreciated.

[JoeWagon]

change your spark plugs and check for boost leaks. most likely your problem is spark plugs.

[george536]

mite as well change the plug wires also. never can be too sure.

[Shpyder]

I have had spark plug and plug wire related power losses before, they have a different feel to them than this issue. Besides, plugs and wires were changed 600 miles ago. It is a boost leak for sure...the hissing sound is more audible than before, above 5psi... the thing is, all visible hoses related to boost are tight.... could it be some kind of larger pipe, like an intake pipe or IC pipe?

[TurbosR4me]

www.vfaq.com leak tester. Use this tool wisely young padawan, for it will become your best friend. Star Wars.....wuts that?

[Shpyder]

Oh damn. I just reviewed the install instructions for Hallman MBC on the www.vfaq.com link. Am I safe to think that the joe P MBC is the same install? If so, mine isnt installed correctly... we didnt even touch the wastegate solenoid. holy crap, its a wonder my car even ran for 2 days.

[joemathews]

Leak tester is the way to go if you think it is a boost leak. My car did a similar thing and it was a plug wire. Make sure that none of the insulation on your plug wires has been burnt through (mine was grounding out on the valve cover and not giving spark to the cylinder). JoeWagon's plugs and wires check or replacement is a good idea as well. Why are you only running 13 psi? Even 15 psi is a conservative safe number !

[Shpyder]

yeah, I'll do all of that ... plugs and plug wires for sure. but i do know now that the MBC isnt installed properly...one tube connects the MBC to the BOV, the other connected the MBC to the tube that goes into the T-connector for the boost gauge. funky indeed.... i hear that you need to cap some nipples on the intake on the BCS side, etc... so should i folloe the Hallmann MBC procedure for my joeP?

[JoeWagon]

If you have new plugs don't change them until the MBC is fixed. Plug wires shouldn't go bad that often, as opposed to my plugs which foul way faster than non-DSMers believe.

[joemathews]

Follow these instructions for installing the manual boost controller:

http://www.belitski.com/vfaqhallman.html

Good tutorial. Shows you exactly where to plug in, T-in, or plug up what.