[vipermagic]

I just picked it up this morning... 05 STi, 38k miles, only mods are a turbo back exhaust and GReddy Profec-B Spec2 boost controller. Installed and tuned by Tuning Factory in detroit (when they were still Godspeed)

Problem is, when I'm around 5000rpm under load (accelerating), it goes CLICKCLICKCLICK from the upper-right (passenger side) of the engine bay. It doesn't really feel like knock, but I've got no idea what it is. Can anyone help diagnose?

[Evan]

Loose heat shielding mabey. Anyone else wanna chime in?

Congrats on the car btw, best year STi ^^

[Turbo_Joe]

The clicking could be the boost solenoid.

[vipermagic]

Thanks for the kind words Evan. I really wanted an 06... but I got this car so cheap, I almost feel guilty. It even came with receipts for every oil change since the car was new!

I should have checked the heat shield before I posted; first thing in the morning I'll have a look.

The boost solenoid would open to prevent overpressure, and is a normal and okay thing to happen, correct?

I did a TON of research before I bought it... but its a little different when its actually sitting in the garage. Forgive me for being kind of paranoid, its my first turbo car, and I'd really like to not blow it up :-).

[Turbo_Joe]

If it starts clicking under load it's probably the solenoid. Try putting a rubber washer where it mounts and it might stop. But some just like to click.

[STiAholic05]

It could also be wastegate flutter. My 05 has done it occasionally since I put my catless downpipe on. Though not under heavy acceleration. It only happens for me at half throttle right around the onset of boost. Wastegate flutter does sound a lot like pinging.

Congrats on the ride btw!!!!

[flatthump]

Flutter sounds nothing like detonation buddy^^.

Detonation will make your eyes water. That vf39 flutter sounds like bunny rabbits running through tall brush.

OP: Can you take it to somebody who is highly mechanically adept?

[FlyingPerformance]

Its not the solenoid, its the wastegate working. When the solenoid switches, it only does it once, not multiple times. The noise is totally ok.

[flatthump]

Originally Posted by FlyingPerformance

. The noise is totally ok.

You heard it first hand?

[FlyingPerformance]

OK, I havent heard his noise first hand, but how he describes it it is waste gate flutter which is totally normal and OK in these cars. A BCS only clicks once(I cant even hear mine) when it switches positions and under boost is in one position or the other, not rapidly changing. Plus he has a Greddy boost controller(which while still having a solenoid, doesnt work quite the same as the stock BCS).

[flatthump]

Originally Posted by FlyingPerformance

OK, I havent heard his noise first hand, but how he describes it it is waste gate flutter which is totally normal and OK in these cars. A BCS only clicks once(I cant even hear mine) when it switches positions and under boost is in one position or the other, not rapidly changing. Plus he has a Greddy boost controller(which while still having a solenoid, doesnt work quite the same as the stock BCS).

I understood what you meant, buddy.

You just got to be careful when you tell someone there car is OK over the internet. We don't know what the sound really sounds like. Plus, the vf39 makes that sound mostly around 3.5K where the WG really starts working to regulate boost.

[Turbo_Joe]

Just quoting from another thread, take it for what you will. My previous post wasn't from first hand experience, rather from digging through literature from other people's experiences.

"There is a reason that people say the GM clicks and the ProDrive doesn't. That reason is because the Prodrive reuses the rubber mounts from the stock solenoid. Thus, there is isolation. Most people who install the GM unit do not take the time to isolate it. I reused a stock mount. Thus, my GM solenoid is quiet. No woodpecker sound, no clicking, no sound at all."

So some people have been complaining about clicking and woodpecker sounds from boost solenoids....so just sayin

[FlyingPerformance]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Joe

Just quoting from another thread, take it for what you will. My previous post wasn't from first hand experience, rather from digging through literature from other people's experiences.

"There is a reason that people say the GM clicks and the ProDrive doesn't. That reason is because the Prodrive reuses the rubber mounts from the stock solenoid. Thus, there is isolation. Most people who install the GM unit do not take the time to isolate it. I reused a stock mount. Thus, my GM solenoid is quiet. No woodpecker sound, no clicking, no sound at all."

So some people have been complaining about clicking and woodpecker sounds from boost solenoids....so just sayin

He isnt using the stock BCS system, he is using a Greddy Profec boost controller which eliminates the stock system. The Profec includes a solenoid, but doesnt operate the same way the stock one does.

[Turbo_Joe]

I understand (now), just throwing out suggestions

[vipermagic]

Wow, thanks for all the responses! For the record, I'm really mechanically adept with tons of backyard and a few years of professional wrenching behind me. I haven't had a lot of experience with turbo cars, but I'm excited to start!

"woodpecker" is actually a fairly accurate way to describe the sound. The profec solenoid wouldn't make such a tune?