Uppipe Leak ?

[ScoobySteve]

Last month, I had the Vishnu Stage 0 kit installed on my car at Diablo Imports. They are an approved Vishnu Installation center. I have done my own work on the car for the other mods, but as I heard so many war stories about uppipe leaks, I figured I'd take to a professional and not have to worry about it.

So a week or so after the install, I noticed a slight screeching noise (not even that really, kind of a whistle) on full boost above 5500 rprm. I took it back, they tightened things a bit, but the noise was still there. Two days ago, I took it back, the tech disassembled everything, uppipe, downpipe, etc. and installed new gaskets. He test drove it, said the noise was gone. I revved it to 6k on the way home, didn't really notice it. A day later, driving the car hard, the noise is back.

This is starting to irritate me. Not the noise, it's a small thing, not loud, but I'm just concerned if it's really a leak or not. I'm getting full boost in all gears (.9 MPa in the lower gears to 1.1 MPa in 5th), and it doesn't feel like I'm losing power. There is no rustling noise or other sound as some have reported is indicative of an uppipe leak.

Can I hurt my turbo by continuing to drive it like this, if it truly is a leak ? What do ya'll recommend, check it out by removing the heat shields and doing the smoke test ?

[mark5211]

Turn up the stereo and enjoy the power! No seriously, I think if you do the up-pipe you should be prepared for the possibility of some noise. It just seems inevitable with this particular piece. I just put the new TurboXS catless up-pipe on my car and I swear it leaks a little when the engine is cold. It's hard to tell because overall the car sounds so different with the TurboXS turboback exhaust and the silencer mod. I can't tell what noise is coming from what. I really notice it when I drive next to one of those concrete street dividers. You hear all of the new noises as they reverberate off the concrete. The noise at higher RPM that you mentioned worries me a bit. I think I have had a similar noise. I thought it might have been a belt slipping. I swear I heard something just before redline. Oh well, don't worry *too* much. It's just a car. All parts are replaceable.