stock 1.6td only seeing 5-7 PSI

[somedumbjerk]

i have a stock a1 Jetta with a 1.6 TD in it. i just put a boost gauge in it and it's only reading up to 5 or seven PSI. i haven't blocked the "blowoff" or installed the MBC yet, but i thought these things made around 10 psi stock. the only mods i've done to it are about 2 turns on the fuel screw. more like 1 3/4 turns actually, i kind of wussed out. i don't have a tach so i can't tell you RPMs, but the sucker is pulling pretty good. i'm wondering if this sounds like a bad hookup on the boost gauge or if anyone has seen this?
what other info can i provide that can help diagnose? i can take a video of the boost gauge while i'm driving if that will help?
thanks for the help!

[R.O.R-2.0]

prolly just stock.. with a boost leak maybe.

[damac]

I finally  hooked up a boost gauge on mine just to see what was up.  Stock pump settings, td, t3 turbo.  Mine bounces all over the place.  In the meat of the pedal though when pulling steady in say 4th gear I can see it hit 10+ and stay pretty steady.  bov is still there.  5th gear on my acn tranny is pretty useless with the turbo as I have to punch it and wait a bit and by the time it starts pulling hard I am speeding which I don't like to do   I have noticed the boost raise when I attack a hill at same speeds and trying to maintain as well.

This is my first vw and it was used so no clue on all that.

What I was going to say though is I was noticing wierd spurts of turbo after I got the car home.  Nothing obviously wrong to me except now that I think back I could smell exhaust when rolling the window down at moderate speeds?

One day the car lost power and started to sound just like an old vw bug

After freaking out I broke things down and looked at the turbo, still the same as when I first got it home, no damage, etc.  Then I decided to break down the intake/exhasut manifolds and turbo with new studs/bolts.  I found somebody did something on the exahust end because there was a stud broken off inside the head.  And I saw gooey rtv trails on the intake   Also didn't have those special washers?

Put all that back together after cleaning and with new gaskets(downpipe ring to), and what do you know the performance has been consistent now for a couple months and no more stink inside the cab?

So looking back something was happening, I suppose at differing degrees due to heat, etc.  My car was sitting for a while as well, and a bunch of the studs ended up being hand loose at the stud on the engine side!

[somedumbjerk]

will do, i'll check the studs/bolts. the only other of thing i noticed with my car is that when i commute to work in the morning and it's cool outside, it performs way better than on the way home. i commute from morgan hill to palo alto (ca) so i can't tell if it's the heat, or the wind that's causing the car to be sluggish at night. when i was driving the NA caddy it didn't really do that. it was just kind of always sluggish

[R.O.R-2.0]

will do, i'll check the studs/bolts. the only other of thing i noticed with my car is that when i commute to work in the morning and it's cool outside, it performs way better than on the way home. i commute from morgan hill to palo alto (ca) so i can't tell if it's the heat, or the wind that's causing the car to be sluggish at night. when i was driving the NA caddy it didn't really do that. it was just kind of always sluggish

sluggish AT NIGHT?!?!?!

you would think it to be the other way around.. my car pours mass amounts of coals if its warm out.. just laggy, and smokey..

then when it cools down, it hauls ass, and doesnt smoke, has way less turbo lag.

[somedumbjerk]

sorry, by night i mean 5pm - 6pm, i get to work at about 7:30 am. so it's waaayyy hotter on the ride home.

[R.O.R-2.0]

well, by what i mean, my car makes more power in the mornings, and evenings, when the temp is lowest.. yours seems to be making the most power when the temp is highest..

[somedumbjerk]

no, i'm saying the same thing you are. in the morning when it's cold it's good. in the early evening when it's hot it runs sluggish.

[R.O.R-2.0]

thats normal.. the air is HUGE when its hot out.. and tiny when its cold (air density)

all my TD cars have been this way. its less noticeable with an intercooler..

[DieselBalz]

It is sooo noticeable too. The Eco LOVES cool nights, after the sun has been down for some time. I will go for a drive sometimes because I have gone outside for some reason, realized that its that "temp", grabbed the keys and rip off 100 miles.

[8v-of-fury]

It is sooo noticeable too. The Eco LOVES cool nights, after the sun has been down for some time. I will go for a drive sometimes because I have gone outside for some reason, realized that its that "temp", grabbed the keys and rip off 100 miles.

Can't wait for FALL to get here

[somedumbjerk]

got sick of it and ordered a FMIC yesterday. wish me luck!

[R.O.R-2.0]

5-7 psi isnt even enough to justify ordering a FMIC..

add 10 psi to what you got and it might be a worth while upgrade..

[somedumbjerk]

yeah the boost controller is going in too.

[R.O.R-2.0]

yeah the boost controller is going in too.

and pump mods? or atleast a bit of a turn to the fuel screw?

if you increase your boost past a certain point with moderate fueling, the car will actually be slower than if you had just enough boost to burn that much diesel..

with moderate fueling, you make more power with 10 psi, than with 20..