Possible Wastegate Issue/Boost Leak

[Bodack]

All right guys, I've had this problem since I got the car and it's driving me nuts. What I thought at first to be a boost leak may be something else. Sometimes when I'm boosting and approaching ~5K I get what seems to be a boost leak. Bogging, loss of power, black smoke, and won't go past 10psi (stock is 11.1 on a 1g I believe). This only happens sometimes. But the other day I was boosting in 3rd and approached redline without leak and I looked at my gauge and I was climbing to 16psi! I have NO boost controller, and I let off to prevent any damage. I've done several boost leak tests and I could hear the leak, but not pinpoint it. It comes from the turbo area. I can only pressurize the system to 10 psi because of the leak. I'm going to preform the test again tomorrow with a spray bottle of water to see if there are any bubbles, but could this possibly be the wastegate? I mean...I'm completely baffled otherwise. It would explain me hitting 16psi without a boost controller, but doesn't explain the bogging and loss of power when it does leak. Fuck I'm so lost on this...any help??

[crunchymilk55]

make sure it's soapy water fyi

wastegate probably isn't opening all the way, check for full movement with your hand. Also could be a pinhole leak somewhere in your boost control lines

[Bodack]

Originally Posted by crunchymilk55

make sure it's soapy water fyi

wastegate probably isn't opening all the way, check for full movement with your hand. Also could be a pinhole leak somewhere in your boost control lines

Nah it's coming from the actual turbo area, not the lines. Can a bad seal inside the turbo leak boost? Also when I pressurize it I swear I can faintly hear what sounds like liquid bubbling, but it's verrrrry quiet. Like the pressurized air is making bubbles in coolant or oil. It's so bothersome. I'm about to head back out there and take the turbo off and check things out.

[crunchymilk55]

where is your boost gauge tapped into? A boost leak will never read as higher boost unless it's placed before the leak, which since most of us tap the gauge at the intake manifold, that's not really possible. The bubbling sound is pretty normal. The best way to check for bad turbo seals is to look for oil in your intercooler piping, especially right after the turbo.

[Bodack]

It's tapped at the FPR/Manifold area. It's really frustrating to try and find it and it's taking up a lot of time and I'm moving to Tennessee in 4 days, so I'm just going to learn to live with it. Thanks for all the info.