Ticking noise under acceleration - Exhaust leak?
 

Hi all

I have a stock 06 hawk eye wrx and have a ticking noise that only happens while accelerating. Both under mild and heavy acceleration. It's bloody annoying!

From my research it seems like it could be an issue with the waste gate. Perhaps some exhaust gasses are leaking from there. But not really sure.

The sound is similar to what I found on this video:

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg-UCUFuT0U[/url]

Check for the sound at 4 seconds in and 9 seconds in.

I have a stain on the top of my heat shield that may have something to do with this. Pic attached.

Anyone have any thoughts or need more detail?

Thanks!!

Hey mate. I had the same issue with my 06 wrx. You can hear it at 42 seconds.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VGlKWL0AJw&feature=youtube_gdata[/url]

Never found a solution, tured tightening the wastegate solenoid etc and never fixed it.

It sounds like exhaust leak to me. Possibly the join into the up-pipe is pretty common.

Tony, that sounds pretty similar but I think that your car is louder. So are you living with this day to day?

Bram, do you think it would be a good idea to change the gasket between the turbo and the exhaust?

And how the heck can I take the heat shield off without taking off a bunch of other parts?

[QUOTE=Woja;844084]

I have a stain on the top of my heat shield that may have something to do with this. Pic attached.

Anyone have any thoughts or need more detail?
[/QUOTE]

The "stain" looks like an application of data-dots (tiny info tags that can be used to track the origins of parts for theft recovery purposes).

Sounds a bit like wastegate chatter, I've been told that's what the issue is with my GC8 by MMS and it sounds similar to me. Mine occurs only in the middle throttle range while accelerating.

I've still been researching the issue. Looks like tightening the wastegate (as on mine it's preload is adjustable) isn't a good idea as it'll lead to over boost if done up too high and the cpu will learn and adjust to the new preload anyway.

Some people have found it is caused by exhaust leaks as it sounds fairly similar when listening to recordings although it's a separate issue this could be your problem. Have you changed anything recently that may of caused this to occur? is your exhaust aftermarket?

If it is wastegate chatter and there are no exhaust leaks and you have a hi-flow exhaust system then people say a little noise is normal. People have tried wrapping the exhaust to muffle the sound and changing the wastegate duty cycle to decrease the chatter.

I've been told not to worry about it and that it is fine on my car, however I'm still researching a solution. I'll post back if I fix it.

The exhaust system is completely stock as is the car. I have only just purchased it so haven't made any changes.

Is there a way to check if its the waste gate, or do i need to try another waste gate?

Zin, have you tried installing a new waste gate? Do you think this will solve the issue?

It is a pretty annoying sound :(

Its not an exhaust leak, i changed all of the gaskets trying to fix it with no luck. I think it was leaking where the wastegate shaft goes into the exhaust houseing.

Mine prob sounds louder because i had an aftermarket 3" down pipe with amplified it. I could only just hear it with the stock exhaist, but when i changed to the 3" tbe it was more prominent.

Here is the thread i made on the exact same issue.

[url]http://www.perth-wrx.com/vb/mechanicals/51577-wastegate-flutter.html[/url]

Yeah mine happened after going to a turbo back 3" with Hi Flow as well. I'm pretty sure mine is the same issue as yours Tony and it's either coming out the shaft or leaking past the wastegate.

Woja replacing the wastegate would require pulling apart your turbo and I'm not sure what the success rate would be or how feasible. Just drive around for a while, you might find knowing that it's harmless makes it less annoying.

It's on my long to do list to find a real solution to this but I'll probably just end up putting a VF34 turbo on there in the future to make it go away.