Need a good TT mechanic somewhere near Nashville

[kb7709]

Well, a little over 2 weeks ago, I was elated with my most recent purchase...a '91 TT. Now, only 2 wks and 2 days later, I'm in trouble. I was following my wife to drop our other car for some scheduled service (she was driving the Z) and saw a plum of smoke from the passenger side exhaust. It didn't do it again for the 15 mile trip to the dealership, so I thought maybe it was just because it had been idling a while before we left the house. After we dropped the other car off for service and I was driving the Z, I wanted to show her how the car ran. I pulled away from the dealership slowly, shifted to second and slowly boosted to about 10-11psi, shifted to third and slowly boosted to 15psi. Just as I was letting off the gas, I felt it hesitate. Since that moment, the car won't boost past 7psi. I raised it when I got home and found oil (or something) under the car mostly on the passenger side, but a good bit of oil kind of everywhere. You can't see any from the top. I'm thinking at this point I might have had a turbo fail (geez, I hope not), but need someone good at working on them who knows what they're doing to take a look. I live about an hour south of Nashville down I-24. Also, can I further damage the car by driving it now? Any help would be appreciated.

[evildky]

have you tried crawforsd z car service in nashville? the single plume sounds like the typical pcv valve (cheap part pain to treplace and you should do both at the same time) as for the boost it coulod be bothing or it could be the knock sensor, I highly recomend crawfords

[kb7709]

Thanks for the info, you're the second one to mention them. Do you think I would do more damage if I drove the car 60 or so miles to Nashville? I raised it up last night and found a good bit of oil, ps fluid or both underneath. It seems to be running fine, just no boost and there are no noises (at least so far) that I can hear. I knew it has a ps fluid leak shortly after I bought it (of course the prior owner says that's something "new" and maybe it is). I can see a slight leak just below the ps fluid reservoir but, from the amount under the car, I think it's leaking more than just there. Also pulled the codes and there's a code 13 - engine coolant temp sensor circuit. I'm no mechanic (yet...but I do own a Z now), but that sounds like it could result in the car overheating without me knowing about it.

[evildky]

the coolant temp shouldn't get hot unless you have some other more significant problem which I doubt, as for the ps leak, it's the pressure hose thats leaking, it's very common and the oe hose was around $130 as I recall (typical problem) and it's a royal pain to replace on a turbo car, if the car runs fine aside form low boost levels I'd think it would make the journey just fine

[ZXR_KiD]

Crawfords is definatly the place to have it done, but be sure you have good directions to get there, it can be rather confusing...

[nsrZ32]

Possibily a leak on one of the oil lines for the passenger side turbo (feed or return) as heat can affect them with age. Also, the 7psi is not going to be from a siezed turbo, you'd know if that was the case for sure. The 7psi is the safety mode (aka "safety boost") when the computer uncovers a problem.

Whatever shop you go to, make sure they don't hose you on repairs. Odds are pretty good that its not anything major.

[kb7709]

Thanks. I have a local guy looking at it to see if it's something stupid like a leaky line, vacuum hose blown off, corroded connection or something like that. If he doesn't turn up the problem, looks like Crawford's is the place to go. I appreciate all the help and encouragement (backed by some obvious expertise) that it's not major. I'd really hate that if it was....right out of the shoot and everything. I was so happy with it for a couple of weeks. Stay tuned.
Modified by kb7709 at 8:02 PM 1/7/2006

[kb7709]

Looks like the problem was a faulty connection in the engine coolant sensor circuit. Removed the plug, cleaned the connections on the plug and the posts (which were very corroded) and the car is boosting fine now. Thanks to everyone for your help. The PS fluid leaks appeared to be loose clamps allowing the fluid to seep out, but the jury is still out on whether the leaks are corrected or not. I have my fingers crossed. Best part of it is that the guy that looked at it, cleaned and tightened things up, etc. ended up doing the work for free. No charge!!!! Now that's something to appreciate. I'm back up and running and enjoying the Z again. Man, I love driving this car!!!!!!!

Thanks again for getting us on the right track.