R34 Mechanical Help Needed :(

[Firefrog]

Ok so, I've got a little problem with my poor car, and being somewhat of the mechanical noob, I figured you guys might be able to give me some idea of whats wrong, and how upset my credit card is gonna be when I get it fixed.

Basically I was driving home from work, when I noticed a loud whining sound (similar to hearing a turbo spool) when I hit boost. Thinking this was anything but good, I looked for somewhere to pull over, the car lost alot of power, and I barely made it up the hill I was on, to pull over.

Having a quick look under the hood, and at the guages etc everything seemed fine, nothing was overheating, everything was reading as normal. I managed to get home, and now the car behaves perfectly normally, except that, while the boost guage will move, it will go upto just below zero and stop there, and the car obviously isn't getting any boost. Apart from that, the car behaves exactly as before.

Someone point me in the right direction? Has my poor turbo gone up and died? (At least it would be a good excuse for a bigger one, hah). If you need anymore info, just lemme know...

Edit: I forgot to mention, apon inspection of the air filter, while not overly dirty it did smell decidedly burnt, and a small piece of foam had made its way from the funnel down to it, if that makes any difference.

[Abo Bob]

Is there smoke out your exhaust?

If not then it sounds like a hose has either come off or split somewhere. This is quite likely.

Keep the engine running while you listen for hissing noises indicating the leak. Might have to get someone else to rev it hard and quick to get a little spool so you can hear it.

[Binky1970]

Yeah, it sounds like a vacuum leak.

[Firefrog]

Didn't notice any smoke, if there was any it was minor. Once I got it home, I did pop the bonnet and rev it some, I could hear what sounded distinctly like some sort of air leak coming from under the engine. All the pipes I could see seemed to be in fine condition, but from the look of it alot of the valves and seals are underneath.

So replacing a hose or valve, that sounds pretty cheap, even on an import, right?

[Abo Bob]

Cheap as chips. Keep looking and you will find it. Check every little hose and connection to pipes etc.

[Binky1970]

Easiest way to find a vacuum leak is to open the bonnet and then either have someone work the accelerator or open up the throttle and listen for the hissing sound. Usually is just a cracked piece of hose.