Ok here is the deal. Only performance mod is a MBC and Jestr Tune.

A while back when I installed the MBC I got in a hurry and broke the nipple off that POS factory BOV. Well it was sunday and I needed to drive it to work so a little JB weld and it was good as new for a temp fix. Well I had a friend loan me his stock BOV. Forgot all about it till earlier this week when my temp fix failed. It failed at lunch so I had to drive home like that with a blatent Vacuum/Boost leak. I took it pretty easy for the most part as I had no power and a terrible idle.

So I got home and swapped on my buddies BOV. All the sudden it was hitting boost 25+ so I turned the MBC down, not sure why the BOV made a diff in that, but oh well, I have an EBC coming soon and I will hook it up right and let it control my boost.

Ok so now I have the boost down the about 20-21 psi. Here is the things I notice

If I get on it hard I get a smell in the cabin (windows up), its almost like an exhaust smell but I can't quite put my fingure on it.

Other thing I notice is a little bit of a gurggle on downshifting and slowing down. Sounds like its in the downpipe. Now maybe this is normal and I just notice it now cause I am paying attention.


I put it back to the stock program and both things happen still. One thing I checked was my vacuum lines as the one on the BOV does not have a clamp right now, thought maybe I blew that off at high boost and that made the smell but its still on solid.

Only thing I can think of is maybe running around with the vacuum leak (about 40-50) miles, I fouled my plugs or pissed something else off and now I am running rich or not getting a good burn?

When it had the leak it did throw a cylendar missfire code but no MIL and I just attributed it to the crappy vacuum leak idle.


Any input?

 

OK so maybe my ears are playing tricks on me with the gurgle. I didn't hear it once at lunch of an hour driving in various conditions.

Car runs strong. I did notice a flutter noise that I have heard recently too so I think I have an idea what might be going on.

I think I have a small boost leak at the BOV since I "misplaced" the clamp that clams the rubber hose down. The hose doesn't pop off, but I bet the pressure works its way out. Not enough to cause my boost to drop, but I did notice it "flutters" between 20 and 21 the needle fluttered that is! So if it is leaking around there and my MBC is t-d into that it could very easily cause a flutter like that with that and the BOV.

The smell is suprising though and that still bothers me. Why with the windows up would I smell that in the cabin? Where does the heater/vent get its air from? Would it be a funny fuel/emisions hard to explain kind of smell out of the intake like that? I guess it could, between teh air and oil.

Well I will put a clamp on that BOV and see what happens and see if it makes all my problems go away. Still on the fence about the smell since the flutter could just be because the BOV and MBC are on the same line (thats another issue that iwll be reseolved). But I only get the smell when I mash on it and I can't figure out if its boost related or RPM related. Maybe I will turn my MBC way down and see whats going on.

The only thing that has changed between this week and last is that BOV and its connections. So Unless something else went wrong that almost has to be the issue...


I did pull a couple logs of when I smelled it. They don't show boost pressure but it was always with the peddle mashed (or close to it) AFRs look good too, atleast on the stock program I ran at lunch:

10.4223 all the way through the pull.

 

Mabye you have a small exhaust leak and that could explain the exhaust smell in the cabin. Also, maybe try changing your plugs, they may be fouled from the boost/vaccuum leak. Not having a clamp on the BOV would almost certainly cause a boost leak as well. I'm not an expert but just giving you some suggestions. Also, is the flutter you hear from the stock bov, or is it aftermarket? Keep us updated.

 

OK well I did some stuff and its still there

I changed the plugs, old ones looked pretty good. Installed my EBC so I went through all my boost/vac lines. Flutter is gone on the STOCK BOV now that I took out the T.

But the smell is still there and its running well. Its not boost related so it can't be a boost leak. It seems more RPM related so it would almost have to be an exhaust leak. I only smell it in the cabin with the windows up when I am on it hard at high RPM. With the windows down I catch it once in a while jsut tooling around.

I never noticed it till I had the BOV issue, but thats just when I started paying attention I guess. I have a few ideas of what it could be.

1) There is an EGT probe in the downpipe that I am not using anymore but its that slide in and clamp style. Possibly a leak there.

2) The Downpipe to turbo connecting bolts have messed up threads thanks to someone else so that may not be a perfect seal?

3) I put in a bung for the wideband, but I checked my weld thoroughly and even gave it a sniff test after I reinstalled it.

I popped the hood and stuck my nose all around while reving it and smelled nothing. I guess I need to get it up of the ground and get under it and do some checking for lose bolts and smells and what not. Maybe its rattling lose somewhere that I didn't thighten it enough???

Any other ideas besides exhaust? I guess I will look at it this weekend. Get under it and find someone to rev it for me

 

OK, if I wasn't so lazy and just looked to begin with I would have found it in less time than it took to post this


Finally got under the car. Turns out I am missing a bolt for the downpipe to turbo mount. I was not suprised. I took this off once and found that the bolts had prefiously been cross threaded by whoever worked on this before me, so I did my best not having metric taps that size on hand to get it back in there. I thought I had it good, turns out I was wrong.

For the amount of time it would take me to pull that o2 housing off and tap it (buying a tap of course too) I am just gonna upgrade it

So then new one is on its way!