really troublesome boost leak

[Cirus_93TSI]

i have a boost leak thats really loud, and its been giving me more trouble then anything else ov done to my car.
iv pressure tested it, and the leak is comming from around the throttle body area somewhere. i thought it was the TB gaskets, but i replaced the ones on both sides of the TB today, and the boost leak is still as bad as ever

have any of you heard of a throttle body itself leaking air? because we pressure tested it again, and the leak seems to be comming from around the throttle springs. when we touch the outer spring, the leaking air sound seems to change or stop, like the leaking air pressure was being obstructed when we moved the spring.

i throughly examined the TB when i had it off, and i couldnt find anytuing wrong with it. it seemed perfect, and there wasnt anything inside that looked like it could be leaking air, otherwise i woiuld have put my spare (usdm) TB on instead of the jdm one iv been using.

so is there anything around there that could be leaking air? and if there is, is there any way to fix it? because the only other thing that could be leaking besides the TB itself is possibly the seal between the TB and its coolant housing. and im not trying to order and wait for more TB gaskets to put the spare TB on unless i absolutly have to.

if anyone has any imput that can help iwould greatly appriciate it
thanks, brian

 

[NOSNUSE]

It might be the throttle body shaft seals, if I am not mistaken the 90 through mid 92 are prone to wearing out, but don't quote me on that.
Here is the vfaq link for replacing them.
http://www.ca.dsm.org/faq/tb-shaftseals.html

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Also stick your arm under the intake manifold. I had a similar issue and then found it to be a bad IM gasket.

 

[Cirus_93TSI]

im pretty sure its cimming from the TB, i stuck my ear eight next ti it and thats wher ei hear air comming from
ill check the shaft seals, thanks alot

 

[NOSNUSE]

Use some starting fluid and spray it around the throttle body when the engine revs you know where your leaks is

 

[BitAddict]

also use a piece of vaccum hose to your ear for better listening results. your naked ear can play trix on you.

 

[steve]

Soapy water when your pressure testing works well for locating leaks. Just look for the bubbles.

Steve

 

[Cirus_93TSI]

water or fluid is a good idea, but the thing about that is, the air is leaking from under the spings on the TB. when we pressure test it, and toutch the outer spring, the noise of leaking air vanishes. as soon as i take my finger off the spring, it starts up again.
if i were to put fluid on it, it would just seep down into the spring, i wouldnt be able to see any bubles or anything.

and im just about positive its the shaft seals, because i replaced the gaskets on both sides of the TB sunday, and the noise still comes from the TB.

but like i said, i have a spare usdm TB, the one on my car is the jdm one from my swap. since jdm engines usually sit in someones warehouse for months or years untill its purchased and shipped, its very fesable that there is something wrong with it.
im going to make sure to check everything really good, and im going to hook my pressure tester to the intake mani without the TB to make sure its not the maniifold gasket.

thanks for all the help everyone, if it werent for everyone here on tuners helping people fix their own cars, my car would be sitting at extreme motorsports getting fixed, costing me tons of money for labor.