Possible turbo whine failing turbo

[Mrmolasses]

Turbo

• Mrmolasses
• Oct 3, 2023
• 2

vcompress_5.mov

• Mrmolasses
• Oct 3, 2023

vcompress_6.mov

• Mrmolasses
• Oct 3, 2023

Does this sound like turbo whine from a failing turbo? People call it turbo siren. The car has 273k miles

 

[Mrmolasses]

Car also has straight pipe but it doesnt sound like normal whistle. Sounds like its under the hood from turbo

 

[burpod]

hard to tell from video sound.. but likely exhaust leak? an exhaust leak will also hamper boost. best to take logs

 

[Mrmolasses]

hard to tell from video sound.. but likely exhaust leak? an exhaust leak will also hamper boost. best to take logs

I have logs all seems good with boost so no leaks

 

[Mrmolasses]

hard to tell from video sound.. but likely exhaust leak? an exhaust leak will also hamper boost. best to take logs

You cant hear the whistle whine in video? I swear its coming from the turbo not exhaust

 

[dieseltruck]

Mine has sounded like that for years and still going strong.

 

[burpod]

You cant hear the whistle whine in video? I swear its coming from the turbo not exhaust

you could have an exhaust leak at the manifold, downpipe flange, or even a leak at the cartridge.... do you see any evidence of exhaust leak - sooty buildup in those areas? hard to see a leak at the manifold without taking intake manifold off tho

 

[Mrmolasses]

you could have an exhaust leak at the manifold, downpipe flange, or even a leak at the cartridge.... do you see any evidence of exhaust leak - sooty buildup in those areas? hard to see a leak at the manifold without taking intake manifold off tho

I dont hear it revving car in neutral only under load. Im just wondering does it sound normal driving in that video compared to straight piped ahus you have driven?

 

[Mrmolasses]

you could have an exhaust leak at the manifold, downpipe flange, or even a leak at the cartridge.... do you see any evidence of exhaust leak - sooty buildup in those areas? hard to see a leak at the manifold without taking intake manifold off tho

And when turbos go out and make loud whining noises they usually dont make full boost correct. My turbo boosts fully and whistles cleanly at idle and is responsive

 

[burpod]

i wish i could hear the sound in the video. my hearing sucks i know that, but i've tried a few times. i can't hear any high pitched whine/whistle.

however, a whistle is almost always some sort of leak. it might not be enough to affect boost much but the ecu will compensate for that by keeping wastegate or vanes a little bit more closed anyways and if it's pretty minor, it's unlikely you'd be able to determine that from log data unless you''ve become very intimate with n75 values with it running with zero leaks. it's been over a decade since i've driven a wastegate tdi. but both a boost leak and an exhaust leak will have the same effect of lowering boost and compensation for that.

not hearing it revving in neutral is not surprising at all. if there is a leak, it's probably very slight and will only become apparent under real load when namely exhaust pressures are higher.

if you're worried about the turbo, you just have to take off the compressor outlet boost pipe and check for shaft play and visual inspection, it's really the only thing you can do and make a judgement call. at 273k miles, i'd have a backup plan in mind. either a drop-in repacement or a vnt conversion. converting to vnt is more effort, but very much worth it IMO and not terribly difficult. really just a matter of a different exhaust flange, motor mount, alh n75 valve, a little boost pipe/turbo inlet pipe futzing. and a tune of course. personally, i would never want to run a wastegate turbo. just depends how invested you are in keeping the car and for how long.

 

[GTiTDi]

If it's a stock GT15/K03, then yes, your turbo is failing. I haven't seen ONE that doesn't have a ton of thrust play. They are too small of a turbo even in stock applications.

 

[Mrmolasses]

If it's a stock GT15/K03, then yes, your turbo is failing. I haven't seen ONE that doesn't have a ton of thrust play. They are too small of a turbo even in stock applications.

I get people saying it is and some saying it isnt. Almost just sounds like normal from exhuast hearing other ahus

 

[alanack]

You can always pull the intake and look inside the compressor housing. Little bit of side to side shaft play is ok, in and out play is BAD.

If it gets sloppy enough it will wreck the seals, then oil gets pushing into the intake, then you can have a runaway.... Ask me how i know

 

[Mrmolasses]

You can always pull the intake and look inside the compressor housing. Little bit of side to side shaft play is ok, in and out play is BAD.

If it gets sloppy enough it will wreck the seals, then oil gets pushing into the intake, then you can have a runaway.... Ask me how i know

did it sound abnormal to you? sounds similar to other straight piped ahus ive seen on youtube

 

[alanack]

I can't tell. Pull the intake and check.