On the drive home yesterday, and even more so on the way in today, I experienced a loss of power while climbing. First look was if the kick-down cable was hung up; it wasn't. This morning as I gave the engine more gas, I saw black smoke as I watched my speed decrease. Turbo indicator gauge shows turbo pressure, but I don't feel the right amount of power or acceleration. I can hear air getting sucked when I'm driving uphill st city street speeds and the noise level is reduced. Fuel economy is noticably reduced. Driving under light load engine seems to run just fine.

Intake manifold? Could an injector gasket cause this much vacuum leak?

Any and all help is direly needed and much appreciated.

Shayne A. LaBudda

Check the stiffness of the induction hose between the AMM and the throttle body. Over time, heat and oil blow-by can cause the rubber to soften. Under load the vacumn can actually cause the hose to collapse, shoking off the engine. This happened to me. Replaced the hose ($20 used, $55 new) and it immediately fixed the problem.

My car has the exact same symptoms, though not all the time. When i really need some power when going up a hill, it starts to bog down, gets lots of black smoke, and if I don't pull over within a minute, will start to over heat.

Please let me know when you fix yours, so I can copy your homework, so to speak.

thanks

-Bruce

the car I am having this problem with is and 83 245 turbo, watercooled, but not intercooled.

Check the induction hoses for leaks very carefully. The elbow at the throttle body blows on the outside of the bend with age, and the discharge hose form the intercooler wears out on the bottom. The black smoke is an indication of rich mixture, and the loss of power would confirm the loss of air after the AMM.