do i need a new ecm for my 2g?

[bruce tis]

hey guys, i am stationed in japan right now and my mom has my car. she took it to a shop and the guy said i need a new ecm. shes saying that the engine isnt gettin any of the air from the turbo. the turbo spools, but they dont think the engine is getting it. any thoughts? thanks

 

[jrohner]

That makes no sense at all. Why did she take it to a shop in the first place?

 

[b00stedtalon2]

Boost leak. The needing a new ECM makes no sense though.

 

[bruce tis]

she said it was riding funny. her boyfriend thought it was the cat, so she took it in and the guy replaced the cat and put it on the computer and it said that it needed a new ecm.

i noticed a slight boost leak when i drove it last in december. i checked all the tubing and hoses to and from the intercooler and the turbo but none of them leaked.

 

[TrevorS]

she said it was riding funny. her boyfriend thought it was the cat, so she took it in and the guy replaced the cat and put it on the computer and it said that it needed a new ecm.

i noticed a slight boost leak when i drove it last in december. i checked all the tubing and hoses to and from the intercooler and the turbo but none of them leaked.

Visual inspection isn't reliable, it needs a pressure test -- called a Boost Leak Test (BLT).

 

[bruce tis]

where can she take it to get a BLT, and what should i tell her to do to fix it?

 

[jrohner]

Somewhere that knows something about turbocharged vehicles. Either a performance shop that deals with them, or even a diesel truck place maybe. Either one will have a pretty high shop rate though, so it will cost quite a bit if you don't know someone that can help instead.

 

[TrevorS]

where can she take it to get a BLT, and what should i tell her to do to fix it?

If it's the boyfriend that noticed the problem, perhaps the symptoms are actually minor and it could wait until you get back. I mean, is it a problem when she drives it? Or just when he drives it?

 

[bruce tis]

If it's the boyfriend that noticed the problem, perhaps the symptoms are actually minor and it could wait until you get back. I mean, is it a problem when she drives it? Or just when he drives it?

shes the only one that drives the car now. and i wont be back til maybe next christmas time. (military sucks)

 

[TrevorS]

shes the only one that drives the car now. and i wont be back til maybe next christmas time. (military sucks)

Well, you have my respect anyway !

You said you thought there was a boost leak before you left, but it apparently didn't strike you as a big deal. My suggestion is just that you drop the boyfriend out of the equation and evaluate what your Mom needs, I'm guessing she's probably not heavily into boost -- tends to be more of a guy thing ! Still, if you think boost is a serious issue, then the above remarks concerning a specialist repair shop seem on target.

IMO -- worst case for your Mom is if she's not actually experiencing a boost issue, but rather a vacuum issue. That interferes with the ability of the engine to run properly at naturally aspirated levels (non-boost). If she is having trouble at that level, any competent garage should be able to help, most likely a vacuum line leak (a traditional vacuum gauge will detect that just fine).