guessing I have a boost leak

[sprfunk]

I don't know if all of this is connected but here goes. I am guessing I have a boost leak somewhere but I don’t know if this sounds right.

1) My car drives fine and the engine sounds good, but when I put a lot of gas into it the engine seems to stutter, and it does not really give me the performance I am use to. It kind of seems to lag out.

2) Not the best gas mileage and I smell very rich exhaust fumes after driving.

3) The check engine light comes on from time to time and the error code is “insufficient coolant Temp.”

Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks for your help all!

 

[sinfuleclipse]

Well I am not sure about the colant temp code you are getting, but if your gas milage has recently dropoed. and you said that there is a strong smell of fuel coming from the car. Then I would check your O2 sensor especialy if you have had to extend the wiring in order to install a new exaust system. Also you can check oiut the MAP sensor or the throtle postion sensor. Now I would love to be able to say this is exactly what you have to do in order to test the above sensors, but I am not that smart. I can tell you that the Haynes manual gives a very good description on how to test all of these with the use of a multi-meter.

I guess it really depends on how many miles the car has on it. As well as how well you have kept up on the vehicle maintenance, and how hard you normaly push the car. I hope this helps you out. Please post to let us know how it comes out.

 

[absolute_DSM]

Boost leak test it anyway for the hell of it. Its good to do it once a week just as regular maintenance.

That CEL may come from bad wiring leading to the coolant sensor. The wires often get hot and crack off.

 

[sprfunk]

Ok great, thanks guys. I have to get this done fairly fast because of a smog test I need to pass. I didnt do an exaust system yet but it should not be too long. Could you suggest a rout I should take to fix the problem, such as other things I should do at the same time performance wise? I dont want it to not fit other mods later on. Again thanks for your time!

 

[92awddsm]

Replace the coolant temp sensor. If it goes bad, it can cause an extremely rich condition which is the cause of the sluggishness and and the exhaust fumes. And an error code pointing to the coolant temp is the sure sign of failure.

 

[sprfunk]

Replace the coolant temp sensor. If it goes bad, it can cause an extremely rich condition which is the cause of the sluggishness and and the exhaust fumes. And an error code pointing to the coolant temp is the sure sign of failure.

Wow thanks! I am going to check that this week for sure! I hope scucks has one! Thanks all! That sounds a lot cheaper then I was expecting.

 

[sprfunk]

I am thinking I need that top one... would I be correct?

http://www.partsamerica.com/Product...&ptset=A&searchfor=Coolant+Temperature+Sensor

I am just wondering if I need the sensor that goes to the gauge or the one to the ecu.

 

[92awddsm]

I am thinking I need that top one... would I be correct?

http://www.partsamerica.com/Product...&ptset=A&searchfor=Coolant+Temperature+Sensor

I am just wondering if I need the sensor that goes to the gauge or the one to the ecu.

You need the sensor for the ecu.

 

[sprfunk]

Keith you freaking rock bro! I just changed it and am shocked it is working so well. Its been a very very long time since my car has driven this well! Thanks for all your help, and now I am off to get the smog test done. Again thank you.

 

[peter535]

Keith you freaking rock bro! I just changed it and am shocked it is working so well. Its been a very very long time since my car has driven this well! Thanks for all your help, and now I am off to get the smog test done. Again thank you.

witch sensor did u replace cause im having the same problems?

 

[92awddsm]

witch sensor did u replace cause im having the same problems?

Coolant temperature sensor.



http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=GPS&MfrPartNumber=385136&PartType=290&PTSet=A

 

[sprfunk]

Thats it, also drain quit a bit of coolant or you will make a mess like I did, I didn't heed the advice from another thread and That sucks... O well, just glad to have my car back to form.

 

[sprfunk]

Well thats not quite it. It was raining like crazy yesterday so I tested it a lot more today and there is still some hesitation under full throttle on the freeway. 1st - 3rd gear seem to show none but 4th and 5th loose it. I would say its about 75 % better. Does it sound like a boost leak?

 

[sprfunk]

Ok, I am doing a ton of reading and I think I may have a spark plug issue. I am going to buy some NKGs I keep reading about and do that this weekend. I know my last change the mechanic used Platinum serves me right for trusting a non specialist.

Any thoughts on this as a possible? I would think this would hurt my cars performance all the time, not just high speeds.

 

[jetblaze88]

i got the same problem i think it might be a boost leak or a bad ecu im gonna do a boost leak test tommrow let me know if u find the problem

 

[Nofear20]

This kinda sounds like the symptoms I am having. My car just dont feel like it should, and it does seem to run rich. My gas mileage sucks. I dont have a check engine light on though.

 

[appeartobelosin]

i have a boost leak somewhere on my car....i havent performed a boost leak test yet....but when the turbo gets fully built up there is a high pitched whine coming from somewhere....i cant hear where it is coming from cause it only does it while im driving and im full throttle....and when boost is 100%....any thoughts?

 

[appeartobelosin]

well nevermind bout the boost leak. one of my bolts that hold down the bov came loose. now i feel dumb. oh well it gone now. thanks everyone. i still have a problem with my fuel cut tho. when i mess with my mbc and turn up the boost i hit around 4000rpm @ full boost and it jolts real bad....any thoughts???? thanks

 

[1997hciv]

I had this same problem and it was actually all three culprits which was a little boost leak , a bad Coolant Temp Sensor(ecu) and my front O2 sensor was bad which was keeping the car in a closed loop fuel map because the car took to long to warm up according to the ecu code. Hope this helps.

 

[appeartobelosin]

i replaced the o2 sensor @ the turbo already. im waiting a new maf. hope this fixes my problem

 

[kenamond]

i replaced the o2 sensor @ the turbo already. im waiting a new maf. hope this fixes my problem

How much boost are you running? Your profile shows stock turbo and fuel and no logger, so you don't wanna be cranking the boost up too much.

Have you done the boost leak test yet and fixed the leaks? They're VERY common...unavoidable. They can cause you to hit fuel cut sooner, will cause you to run rich, and as a result will also kill fuel economy. Oh, and rich=slow.