Turbo with a Hurricane Whistle

So, yesterday I drove to work in my 2002 Golf TDI. No problems. At the end of the day I started it up, drove off, and immediately noticed a whistle, much louder than the usual Turbo whoosh. It continued all the way home, and I can hear it with the windows rolled up at highway speeds, especially when I step on the gas. It's not engine speed related, def. related to the Turbo because I can hear it grow louder as boost comes up on my gauge. The boost itself wasn't low, although it seemed to fluctuate somewhat. I'm suspecting that a bearing in my Turbo is going out, although I still need to remove the outlet pipe and check for play in the shaft.

This is my first ever post, and I would really appreciate some input from the fine members of TDI Club. Here are my questions:
1) Does this sound familiar to anyone, and does my diagnosis seem correct? I'm somewhat surprised that something in the Turbo would happen from one startup to the next, rather than gradually making noise and getting worse and worse.
2) I've got about 68,000 miles and have religiously changed the oil with a good synthetic every 5,000-10,000 miles. Does this seem early to have problems with the Turbo? I should note that I chipped it with un Upsolute Chip at about 40,000... and (cue up "wah-wah-wah" noise) never did a -1 VNT trim.
2) If I need to replace the Turbo (and I would probably just go with a stock Turbo, no expensive upgrades planned), how would anyone who's done this job rate the difficulty? I've found a complete new manifold/turbo assembly online for about $675... sound like a good price?

I would appreciate any other thoughts or advice you'd like to throw in.

Thanks,
Stuart

Sounds like maybe a charge tube leak. Perhaps a split lower turbo hose, or one of the clamps in the charge tubing between turbo and intake is loose or off. Way too early to assume it's the fan.

If you would fill out your profile, folks would have more info on your car and location. There might even be someone nearby who could look/listen to it for you!

Yeah, I know I need to do some checking/diagnosis. (I've just been sitting here at work all day chewing on my fingernails wondering what the heck is going on with my car, lol.) I'll inspect all the hoses when I remove them to check for play in the impellar shaft. Are there any particular hoses that show cracks or leaking, i.e., between the turbo and intercooler pipe?

The really-hard-to-get-to union just downstream of the intercooler seems to like to come off.

Also, be sure to check the EGR. My EGR was leaking after the stealership monkeyed with it, and it made a nice loud whistle.

Thanks for the tip. From reading the FAQ on cleaning the intake manifold and EGR valve, it sounds like it would be a good idea to remove the EGR and inspect for buildup anyway. Where exactly was your EGR leaking? Was it venting intake charge to atmosphere, or was it simply not opening/closing correctly and making a whistle internally?

Can't say for sure, but I think it was leaking exhaust (as I could smell it).

So, this weekend I was able to dig into my engine and see where the whistle might be coming from... inspected all intake hoses, no cracks or loose clamps. Took the turbo outlet pipe off, and checked the play of the impeller shaft... it had noticeable play, and some "hard spots" when you turned it while wiggling. Damn.

Question: I searched for Turbo Removal How-tos, and found a link to a pdf document, but the link does not work. Does anyone have this and can they send it to me?