My wife was driving her 2008 WRX late last night and the

engine suddenly lost power.  She had
driven 20 highway miles and the check engine light came on and the “cruise”
light began flashing.  She didn’t have
far to go and it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit so she limped home. 

 

I tried it today and it is still running at about half
power.  There is also a “whirling” noise
that is not normally there.

 

We live in the country and don’t have a “trusted”
mechanic close by  -- so any input before
we have it towed somewhere would be appreciated.

 

It has 114K miles on it and, other than regular
maintenance, we have had no problems with it. 
The battery is new and all of the fluids are OK. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

BNEX

 

 

Could be the turbo. That's where I'd start.

Edited January 27, 201412 yr by bratman18

Flashing check engine light means it has a steady misfire. Cruise will be disabled when the CEL comes on. The blinking cruise light means it is disabled, not due to a fault with the cruise system. Fix the CEL and the cruise light will go out.

 

That said, get the codes scanned. Most parts stores will scan them for free. That should help point you in the right direction.

 

How long has it been since it had a tune-up? Did you get the timing belt replaced at 105k?

Consider the plug wires may be failing, and replace only with NGK brand.

If you can hear the turbo whirring loudly and you have a sudden loss of power, I'd look at the turbo's charge pipes/hose and see if one popped off (check the hoses from turbo all the way to the intercooler, then follow to throttlebody- check couplers too for rips, missing/loose clamps, etc.). Sounds like the turbo is just blowing to atmosphere and the engine isn't getting boost. Even if it's just leaking boost, it'll make a big difference. Also check the hoses feeding the turbo as I think you have mass air flow? and it won't get correct readings if hose isn't attached and turbo noise will be more noticeable.

 

Do you have a boost gauge in it? If so, are the numbers way off? Is it even going into boost? Or does it go from vacuum to "0" under full throttle? 

 

EDIT: Sometime a coupler will pop off ONE end, but remain attached to other end. At a quick glance, it'll look OK to the untrained eye, but WILL allow boost to leak past. Also, if you are getting *some* boost and are 100% positive it's not leaking anywhere, remove the inlet to the turbo's compressor side (the wheel that's in the aluminum housing), and with a cold engine (NOT RUNNING) reach in with your fingers and grab the center nut that holds the wheel in place. Try spinning by hand while wiggling it up/down, and pulling/pushing. It shouldn't go up/down, have very minimal in/out, and should NOT be binding on the wall while doing the up/down test. If it does come in contact with the wall, it'll deform the profile of the blade edges, which will cause excessive whining on a normally quiet turbo. If it's really bad, or if something got sucked in (say the inlet to turbo broke or loosened off) ANYTHING can get sucked in and will destroy the blades. This will prevent the turbo from boosting and cause excessive whining. I still suspect you popped a hose from the outlet side though, but you have to inspect.

Edited January 29, 201412 yr by Bushwick