Not sure how to attack my 1g TSI

[Kamak]

Alright ill start by saying ive been a talon owner for 2 years now with 94 ES and now my 90 TSI AWD. The TSI looked good and seemed to run fine when i looked to purchase it. The guy took my around and showed me how it rode and everything looked and felt great. Well 2 weeks after i got it home the problems started showing themselves. The front headlights would blink when they are off and down, just flash like hazards but the actual headlamps would flash. They would do this mostly when i first started the car and then when i shut it off. Somtimes flash when driving. I never really found a solution to this problem but if i turn on and off my headlights sometimes that gets rid of it. 2nd when i start my car it wont stay on. So i push the accel. a little bit and it starts but i have to sorta pump the throttle to get the fluids going and after 3mins it levels out and idles great. So after a few more weeks i took it to a perfomace shop and see what i can do to get my car running to where it looks good and runs great. He gave my information that kinda made my heart sink. He told me there was a crack in the Turbo Manifold and is shooting carbon on the extieor on the turbo. Also it is holding a Boost of 14PSI. Now this car has 178K and was raced alot (from what i was told). The Mechanic told me it wasnt a big problem at the moment but i needed to get it fixed before it gets worse. I was told it was Stock turbo, but can a stock turbo get 14psi i was told that stock could get maybe 7psi. I dunno im in the dark about most of this stuff. The problems contunie, with when i run it hard it seems to stall or hiccicup if u will or starving for fuel so ive limited my petal to the metal. Finally, the car is a 5-spd AWD shifting at low speeds is ok. but once i hit the gas the 1st to second is the worst once i get to 5000 RPM it doesnt want to leave first and sometimes misshift occurs and i strip it when going into second. Its like i put it in second and then i have to force it in to get it locked in...i know this isnt right. Also when i go from second to first while stopping the gears act like the clutch isnt even in.which i slam it on the floor. Any information or help would be greatly appreciated. Its not a total loss car seems to have alot of power and torque. If i need to add information about my car tell me but its a

1990 TSI AWD Turbo
5-spd I havent added mods to the car

One more thing ive been told the car runs very rich and goes though gas very fast

Thanks

 

[hereitcomes]

that crack in the manifold seems to be leaking boost. He said it was at 14PSi?? becuase the stock motor runs 7PSi. And you might want to check into a clutch pedal adustment if your having trouble finding gears. If there are no grinds or stops when shifting then your synchros are still in good shape. Make an attempt to change the gear fluid too. I have been using and informed that the GM gear fluid works wonders for DSM tranny's. You can get it at a Chevy parts retailer. good luck bro.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

First off for the transmission I would check the slave and master cylinder for leaking and adjust the pedal. Replace the fluid with BM synchromesh II transmission fluid. Sounds like your 2nd gear synchro is going out. Happens to the best of us. The stock 14b is good on 14psi. I ran it as high as 16 for a while before I got a Big16g. I would just replace your turbo manifold with a 2g one anyways. Port that 2g one out and that will be all the bigger manifold you will ever need. 1g one's are famous for cracking. Do you have a boost controller or is it just spiking to 14psi? An exhaust manifold crack won't cause over boost it will cause lots of lag do to the pre-turbo leak. Sounds like your wastegate is stuck shut or the person before you hooked up the vacuum lines wrong and is running that sweet "infinite" boost mod. Will wanna check those also. With 178k miles I would replace your fuel filter and plugs and wires and see if that helps the hiccup. If it is just doing it a little when you first get one it it's probably your fuel filter being clogged. Cheap fix. If it's running rich and burning a lot of gas I would look into getting a new O2 sensor or getting it checked. That would be my number concern if it isn't running right a/f wise. Even though our cars run rich anyways.

*** Also your motor runs 9-11psi stock. Mine ran 11 I know of people that have had there's set at 9 from the factory...Never understood that. 2g's ran 12.***

 

[Kamak]

I belive thats part of my problem...the gears. When i push it in first from stop i have to push then push it again to lodge it correctly in place or it grinds if i dont to the second push. Lets say my synchros are going out. What do I have to do to fix or correct this problem. also there is a ping sound when i swich gears sometimes. If you have anymore information that would be great. Also thank you for your advice guys i belive it will come in handy

Also, I do have a Boost controller (edit)

 

[RipperXX]

I dont know where you guys are getting 7psi from, mine was always 9 stock (85,000 miles) and 10psi with a stright line from source to actuator.. but maybe thats just my car



Anyway, I started out with what seemed like a flawless engine, (not now LoL) but it's now somewhat moded, still mild by ALOT of peoples standards considering im still on the stock turbo and injectors.


But no further than I have gone, I have lost alot of joy in the car from small anoying maintance problems. It is my openion that if your just starting out, and with a car with that kind of mileage on the clock you should get everything working perfectly before you start moding the engine. BELEAVE me you will be glad you did later on.


A good thing to do would be to preform a compression & leak down test, if that comes back good, and theres no other issues like idel surge, hard to start cold, etc. etc. Then go on about your marry way and mod the hell out of it.


But if your like me, and that once seemingly great engine now takes a few turns to start cold, (thats more of a tuneing thing for me I think) sometimes auto revs, has exhaust leaks and a bad valve etc. etc. Take care of these things FIRST!!!! I can't stress that enough, it will make your moding experiance much more pleasurable.


1G AWD TSi

 

[rstray]

I also have a 90 TSI AWD and while it was bone stock it ran 11-12psi. As for your shifting problem, I agree that u might need a clutch adjustment. There have been problems with the shifter too on these cars...ive seen a couple pages with ways to adjust them so they shift smoother...ill see if i still have them bookmarked to put up. Maybe u just need to put new differential fluid in too.....

 

[Kamak]

Thank you all for your help on this. I will be doing some work and see how everything turns out