Today i was driving, and i went it to second gear. as i accelerated i heard a pop under the hood. after this the car wouldnt boost at all, and as the vac/boost gauge got to zero, instead of rising it would stay at zero. it would also make a sound like air just passing through the BOV. i pulled over and noticed smoke, which looked like it was coming from the oil cooler. any idea of what this could be

 

Boost leak. Search for:

"Boost leak"

http://www.autosportracetech.com/RX-...leshooting.htm

 

The first things to check would be the blow-off valve line from the y-pipe and then the couplers in the intercooler piping.

 

why would this cause the oil cooler to smoke though

 

Small amounts of oil do get pushed through your intake tract. Up to a point, this is normal. (Blown turbos do this in excess).

So if there is a boost leak, it will spatter oil in that area, which can lead to smoking if it's blowing onto hot engine / turbo components. It also makes such a boost leak easy to find. Engine oil will burn, so don't drive the car until the leak is found/fixed.

Your oil cooler itself should not smoke. It is far from the hottest parts of the engine bay.

Dave

 

Yes - if you split one of the flexible couplers connecting the plastic cross-over pipe to the Y pipe or the intercooler, or if a coupler just came off one end, it would explain everything. There is often some oil in the intercooler ducting, and it would be blown out onto hot engine parts. Your engine is now sucking in unfiltered air, on top of everything else.

Inspect the ductwork between the Y pipe and the intake elbow for loose parts or gaps; look for tears or small splits in the rubber couplers; and check the torque on the hose clamps around all of the couplers.

And carry a fire extinquisher in your car.