turbo gauge in red, turbo whines, no acceleration

[bobthebuilder]

2004 9-5 Arc, automatic transmission, 191K. I just finished replacing the turbo with another from a donor car. There were an assortment of issues after that, which seemed to have been resolved with replacement of the boost control valve (that thing on the firewall with 3 vacuum hoses) and DIC. I also repaired a split in the vacuum line that attaches to the check valve located between the TB and oil trap, and found a hose disconnected from the intercooler (the hose from below the cobra pipe on the turbo).

Engine runs great sitting still. When I drive the car and speed is approximately 30 mph and I push the accelerator hard, the turbo gauge buries itself in the red, I can hear the turbo whining, but there is no acceleration. It's almost like the engine has no fuel - it's a dead feeling, but the engine is still running. I can also hear what sounds like a muted WOT under an air cleaner. If I let off the gas, the engine goes back to normal, easy on the gas acceleration. I have swapped out a bunch of parts (thanks to Pull a Part) - the TB, MAP, boost control valve as noted, the turbo bypass/dump valve (which I learned via the sucking on a hose method that the used part was bad and mine is good), the MAF and whatever the thing is called that sits above the cobra tube with three hoses attached to it.

I am out of ideas on what could be wrong. I have checked and rechecked all the vacuum lines and swapped out the components noted above. It is not throwing any codes I am aware of (no check engine light, and I've reset it many times...). The one thing I haven't checked is the intercooler - I'm not quite sure how to do that. It "looks" okay and the two hoses are securely attached. It is not easy to get to and I don't want to pull the bumper and whatever off if I can check it another way. I would really appreciate some help diagnosing why my boost isn't working. You all have been a great resource since I started this journey with my blown head gasket and I try to give back to the forum as I learn and resolve things.

[bobthebuilder]

Problem resolved. I decided to go through all the hoses and connections one more time. This included dropping the gravel shield under the bumper for access to the bottom of the intercooler. Well, darned if I didn't find a very loose hose clamp on the intercooler hose that attaches to the turbo. The hose wobbled around and could easily have tons of blow by under pressure. If it wasn't such a tight fit under there, I'm sure the hose would have blown off. No one to blame for that oversight except the guy that installed the replacement turbo last weekend, and the guy that said he checked "every connection". So, tightened it up securely, checked the others while I was under there, and fired her up for a spin around the block. She runs great - idles smooth, goes like stink when you floor it and comes back down gracefully. The boost gauge goes to the very end of the yellow, never in the red, exactly like my daughter's 9-3. So, I am closing the book on this one. Still work to do - functionally, the A/C is blowing hot air and the windshield washer hoses are totally dry rotted. I think everything else functional is solid. The rest is cosmetic - both fog lights are busted out, the shark fin is deteriorated, it needs a major cleaning inside and out. Oh, I forgot - all the brake rotors have significant pitting (but the brakes seem to work fine) and the tires probably have 5K miles left on them. I can finally look forward to seeing 200,000 roll over on the odometer.