Turbo Refusing to spool, help!

[cculos]

Hey guys - I've got a bit of a problem on my hands. I recently bought an ebay (lol) k03 to replace the stocker with a blown wastegate to save some money. Worked well in theory, I have the GIAC stage 1, and the first night everything went fine!

The car was pulling hard as hell to 20psi and sinking to about 15 by red. Was loud, and I figured that since it was a cheap ebay knockoff, it'll have a lifespan of MAYBE like 15-20,000 miles. Well, after that first night, every day that I drove the car after that, it would hold precisely 5 less PSI at max. Second day it was 15, then it was 10, then it was 5, where it bottomed out.

After that - there was, what sounded like, a massive exhaust leak in the car - i heard air whooshing out of the turbo while the thing was trying to spool, figured the wastegate busted after 3 days, what a ripoff! (duh!)

So i stumbled upon AWE-Tuning's k04 kit for a $500 discount. Plus a $200 trade in discount for all GIAC users, so $1099 for a k04 kit, tuned? I'm on it. Apparently I got the last one (said 6 of 6 on the box), and the sale ended a few days later - good thing i jumped on it :)

I bought the k04 and threw it in. Upon first drive, it did the same thing! I replaced all the gaskets and checked the manifold for any cracks - and it seemed fine!

Then I thought about the n75 valve, and how it's stock - would that matter? could the car really be electronically limiting boost based on what it perceives to be too much? I ordered an ECS race n75 to see if maybe that would correct the problem - what do you guys think?

And, by the way, I just sent the ECU out to get a base tune flashed for that sweet $200 credit. So I'm waiting on the car to get the ECU back AND the new n75 before I can test it at all...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[njm23]

is your manifold busted? you said the exhaust was way louder, besides that you would need a huge vac leak to not create any boost...your vac is fine? everythings normal on the car just builds no boost? also, i don't think the n75 wouold do that much, unless your in limp mode which shouldn't be there with the new turbo since everything on the ecu was changed, unless i'm wrong

[AudiA4_20T]

yea if the wastegate flap was broken, it wouldnt cause more noise assuming you have an exhaust

[Jibberific]

did you check your dv?

[djwimbo]

After that - there was, what sounded like, a massive exhaust leak in the car - i heard air whooshing out of the turbo while the thing was trying to spool, figured the wastegate busted after 3 days, what a ripoff! (duh!)

Big ass boost leak? If there's no restriction to create boost, the turbo makes some really cool noises.

[cculos]

The exhaust leak that I had mentioned before was due to the shitty turbo not bolting up to the cat directly - there was a bit of a gap because it used bolts, not studs.

The only reason I thought it may be related to the N75 (electronic, not mechanical) is because it was continually decreasing the boost in increments of precisely 5psi each time.... Seemed a bit too consistent to be an accident.

And the manifold is fine, I check it - and replaced all gaskets, etc etc and made sure all the intake lines were completely secure.

The race n75 is on the way - should i request AWE send me a new DV as part of that $200 tuning credit that I get? Just one more fail safe I suppose...

[djwimbo]

Why would you need a new DV? If you're running >15psi you should be using a billet DV anyways. The 710N is acceptable, but why?

[cculos]

Reason being that I was using the stock DV up until now... solid chance that it's torn?

[djwimbo]

If you're running a K04 or >18psi I wouldn't do anything less than a nice Forge. I think the Bailey's are cheap, but I haven't used 'em. I've been nothing but happy with my 007P Forge.

[cculos]

So basically that was a precaution I should have taken to begin with is replacing the stock DV? I'll have AWE send me one then, if the problem persists i'll keep hunting but I think its either that or the n75, and the n75 is on it's way already, so...

[djwimbo]

It should be upgraded regardless, as far as the problem, I wouldn't be certain that's the issue.

[cculos]

What do you think the issue would be then? If all the gaskets are brand new, the hardware is brand new, new turbo, manifold isn't cracked, plumbing is fine.... I'm lost then haha

[njm23]

well your dv has most definitely failed and imo shud be the first step taken to figuring it out. Your vacuum/idle and everything is fine? You strictly just can't build boost?

[cculos]

Thats it. Shit on the ebay turbo the thing was so loud you can even hear it trying to spool, it just sounded so winded. Thats the only problem i'm having - no boost at all. Idle's fine, etc etc etc. Just feels utterly dead when it tries to rev. It wants to go but it just doesn't...

[biketsai]

If you havent already, change out the DV. The new N75 valve wont make a difference so dont waste your money on that. Any fault codes?

[pipe7284]

i would take a wild guess and go for the wastegate flap

[njm23]

I wouldve said wastegate too but for one it would not be any louder since its internal. and 2 if i'm understanding his story correctly the problem persisted when he put the NEW ko4 in.

[cculos]

My thought on it being the wastegate was what originally lead me to buy the brand new k04. And I had the exact same problem on both the ebay k03 and the KKK k04. I checked the k03 when I pulled it and it didn't seem faulty, no shaft play and the wastegate wasn't destroyed. Besides- same exact problem on two completely different turbos? It has to be something else. The n75 is already on it's way and I'm calling AWE up tomorrow to order the diverter valve that's on sale on their website... See how everything works out.

Edit: And No, no fault codes. Would the n75 throw a fault code if it's malfunctioning?

[djwimbo]

I know it throws a CEL if it's unplugged, but honestly I don't know otherwise.

I'm guessing the new N75 didn't do anything?

[Rhinop21]

WOW what a nub everyone knows how that works

[cculos]

..wait, what?

I won't know about the n75 working or not because of a few reasons:

A) It's not here yet,
B) The ECU is halfway to PA right now (getting shipped out to AWE tuning)
C) The diverter valve is coming back with my ECU in a few days time.
D) My car doesn't have any coolant in it at the moment. (whoops lol)

[cculos]

Well the ECU came in from AWE today, along with a bailey's DV. Both carefully installed, changed plugs, FPR, everything.

ANnnnnddddddd....


Nothing. Still only at roughly 5lbs, and when I rev it high and let it go back down to idle, it idles erratically, any thoughts?

Please Help i'm getting frustrated here as I'm out of money and, now, out of ideas.

[thenofjboy]

i am having similar issues with my KO4 setup. i was only boosting to 15lbs and i switched to the N75 F valve and it was GREAATT! 1st time i really felt the turbo 20lbs..but that only last a week and now i cant boost past 5lbs.
my idle is fine though. but you could do a boost leak test & see if you hear anything. you might be in limp mode but i am not sure what engine code you have. i have an AEB so limpy mode is out of question for me. good luck!

[solowb5]

CC what year is your car? If it is dbw check the tb numbers. The car can blead boost off by shutting the tb. Cars can also cut boost alot fo different ways. I've never had a reason to look into if Audis did anything besides n75 or tb. The N249 could cause the dv to stay open too.

[cculos]

Okay so the crank case breather hose was disconnected , and NJM23 helped me reinstall a new one. Drove him home, didn't work. On the ride home, I heard a "thud" and the turbo spooled instantly, it's been spooling ever since. Perhaps the ECU corrected itself?

HOWEVER, all is not solved. Still only putting out roughly 15psi. This is with the n75 race valve installed, too. When it is high up in third gear at WOT, it hesitates big time and throws Misfire CEl's too, any idea what that could be? I'll be doing another pressure test to see if I can find any simple to fix leaks to see if i can't get it up to 21psi like it's supposed to be. But until then - any and all help would be appreciated :-)

BTW the car is a 98.5 so the engine is an AEB. If it's worth mentioning I don't have a full exhaust or larger injectors/front mount - so I'm running the k04 base tune. I realize that i NEED an exhaust regardless, but I don't have the funds for it at the moment - so i figure if the European A4's could deal with it stock, so could I, right? :)

[Oricle]

Okay so the crank case breather hose was disconnected , and NJM23 helped me reinstall a new one. Drove him home, didn't work. On the ride home, I heard a "thud" and the turbo spooled instantly, it's been spooling ever since. Perhaps the ECU corrected itself?

HOWEVER, all is not solved. Still only putting out roughly 15psi. This is with the n75 race valve installed, too. When it is high up in third gear at WOT, it hesitates big time and throws Misfire CEl's too, any idea what that could be? I'll be doing another pressure test to see if I can find any simple to fix leaks to see if i can't get it up to 21psi like it's supposed to be. But until then - any and all help would be appreciated :-)

BTW the car is a 98.5 so the engine is an AEB. If it's worth mentioning I don't have a full exhaust or larger injectors/front mount - so I'm running the k04 base tune. I realize that i NEED an exhaust regardless, but I don't have the funds for it at the moment - so i figure if the European A4's could deal with it stock, so could I, right? :)

You have a VAG?

[njm23]

my vag wouldn't connect... So IDK whats up with that. Chris hit me up tomorrow if you wanna run a pressure test. Exhaust wouldn't really affect this situation. It is an odd situation to say the least..

[cculos]

What's weird about the whole thing is that the boost is really erratic. I can handle a boost leak only spooling it to 15psi, but at times, it only wants to go to 10psi, and WOT in the top end stutters and throws misfire CEL's? that's extremely odd to me. And as far as I can understand - VAGcom won't connect until I get the ABS module fixed/replaced, because that's busted. But regardless, it can still be read through my generic OBDII scanner, so i dont know. Matt, I'll be in touch with you :) How's the k03 car running?

[ILoveT]

my vag wouldn't connect... So IDK whats up with that. Chris hit me up tomorrow if you wanna run a pressure test. Exhaust wouldn't really affect this situation. It is an odd situation to say the least..

Did he have an IceLink hooked up? That K line connects to the radio and if you don't have it plugged in you won't be able to connect.

[cculos]

I'm on the stock radio/stereo, non bose, cassette player, if that helps.