ok so i just recently picked up my first 06 evo MR.
im fairly new to turbo engines but know a little about them.
so my problem is my car seems to be leaking boost, on idle the boost gause shows vacuum but when i rev it pretty high (at the 2 step) the boost only reaches .4 bars instead of the stock 1.3 bars.., i did the DIY boost leak tester and i took off the stock air-box and attached it to the stock rubber intake pipe.
i pressurized it to about .6 bars (on the gauge in the car) and from my oil cap some oil squirted out, anything over .6 bars started basically leaking from the oil cap (yes it was tightened fully.)
i have a small hole in the inter-cooler, its really small im sure it cant leak as much boost as im missing.
can anyone shoot me an idea what might be wrong?
everything on the car is stock, just wont hold boost.

 

you cant build no more than 2-3lbs with a stutterbox/2step without retarding timing so fuel ignites closer to turbine.

you're supposed to boost leak test from the turbo inlet. its normal to experience blowby during a pressure test, your pushing air through the entire engine.

if you have a hole in your intercooler you need a new intercooler. That is a major problem.

 

so your saying that its normal to be at around .4 bars when im in two step? (set to 5k)
i thought it should be at full boost isn't it?
so if i pressure test from the turbo inlet it would give me a different reading compared to intake pipe?
i was wondering that myself before i did the test, but thought that maybe it wouldn't matter much since the pressure would reach the BOV anyways...
one more question, if you take off your IC and run the car what will happen?
wouldn't it just be the same as a NA car..
thanks!

 

one more question, so when should my car be in full boost?
only when i'm driving?
cant i reach 19 psi or 1.3 bars during idle or it doesn't work that way?

 

yes its completely normal. These are only little 2.0L motors they don't have enough airflow to spool the turbo like that without some assistance with antilag.

i would hook the tester directly up to the turbo inlet, we dont care about the intake enough to pressure test it.. we want to know if you have any leaks in your actual intercooler piping and vacuum lines. If you hear air you must mix water with soap and spray it and look for bubbles. sometimes small air leaks are very difficult to track down.

you cant take the intercooler off and run the car, because the upper and lower intercooler piping attach to each end tank of the intercooler. the intercoolers job is to condense the air inside it. the intercooler sucks in air as you drive and as it shapes the air it condenses it and cools the charge down. If you look on your turbo you will see a pipe sticking out of it (not the intake) - this is called the charge pipe. all your pressure you produce from the turbo shoots out of that charge pipe and it travels down the lower intercooler piping and than into the intercooler where it condenses/cools the air the best of its abilities, and than it comes out the other side of the intercooler into your other piping connected to the other side which would be your upper intercooler piping... and it travels up there than eventually goes in your intake manifold and than into your cylinders. once you let off the gas your throttle body closes, and it stops the air from entering and once this happens the air has no where else to go so when this happens than your BOV activates. this is why you hear a swoosh inbetween each shift.

It helps to understand how everything works, it makes it much less frustrating and intimidating.. i hope im helping you.

you're doing good so far though, a boost leak tester is your best friend with a turbocharged car. once you fix all of your leaks your car should run like a dream and build boost extremely fast. typically the evos will spike to around 17-18psi i believe factory, the stock wastegate actuator is 12psi i believe.

 

with no leaks on a evo 9 you should see full boost somewhere around 3300rpm. the stock evo 9 turbo is a pretty decent sized 16G twin scroll turbo. its very capable of decent HP.

you can not reach that boost during idle, and theres no reason you should want to anyways. If you try to launch at that type of load you will start to break stuff... also when you launch these cars you must always leave the clutch out slow slipping it, NEVER just let the clutch go and dump the car or you will destroy the transfercase.

 

yeah your helping me out big time, thank you!
i have the Evo 9 which have the bigger turbo and i read on the forums that its set to 19 psi or 1.3 bars stock.
so my other question would be, there is no way i can reach max boost (1.3 bars) when I'm not driving- does full potential only activate on the road?? what about if im not in two step, for example if i was in neutral and floor it would it still just go up to 5psi?
one more thing, when i rev to about 4k and hold it on my boost gauge it shows the needle go up to around 0psi and then it falls back down to vacuum.. this was why i was wondering if i had a leak.
shouldn't it stay at around 5 psi??

 

yeah I've also read this, but don't worry i haven't been launching it at all.
the thing is as you said i should be in full boost at around 3300, its not working like that for me.
lets say I'm in neutral, i rev to 3300 and the boost needle will bounce up to around 0 then straight down.

i can try to get a video of this tomorrow.

 

Ya the evo 9 turbo is capable of over 400WHP. its a very nice sized stock turbo. Guys have ran 10's with it already.

the car must be driving to flow enough air to spool the turbo to its fullest potential. neutral and holding the clutch in are practically the same thing, its not going to spool the turbo very fast to make boost.

yes thats normal, when you just let the car idle its vacuum, you should be seeing somewhere around 19-22 in hg with the stock head.

 

no 3300rpm when you're driving not neutral.

 

okay, so your saying my car is running fine (except the tiny leak in the intercooler).
so when in neutral i rev it and hold it and the boost gauge shows my needle drop into vacuum its normal right??

 

if the vacuum drops when you let off the gas its perfectly normal. your car is fine. you just need to address the boost leaks now. if you really do have a hole in your intercooler you need to get a new one. I recommend going to the for sale section on this forum and finding one used. they are cheap!

 

and what if I'm still on the gas and the gauge shows I'm in vacuum? because that's what its showing, when I'm in neutral and rev to about 3-4k it rises needle a bit then falls to vacuum again, this normal?
yeah i was thinking either the stock one or upgrade to a slightly bigger as i do have future plans to mod the car.

 

im sure this has been covered, but ill reiterate.

you are not going to build much boost at all in neutral or with the clutch pushed in. the turbo will spool when there is load on the engine, but not when you're just free revving.

even when you are driving, you could have your foot on the gas ever so slightly and your boost gauge may still read vac. the turbo needs load to spool.

the short and sweet version: unless im not understanding you or unless im missing something, your car sounds fine

 

Way to handle this tscompusa, you guys might as well have set up AIM