No boost...turbo making weird noise. RESOLVED!

[SleepinGVR4]

This is just started all the sudden. My car won't build boost and the turbo is making a whistling noise like a supercharger kinda. The car idles and drives fine, just has zero power. I pressurized the intercooler piping and there weren't any leaks. The compressor wheel spins fine, has some shaft play, but its not extreme. All the compressor fins look fine and undamaged. The compressor wheel does look to be unbalanced, I noticed it when i started the car up to see if it still spun freely and when the wheel slowed it has a slight wobble to it. I still have to take the 02 off and look at the turbine side of the turbo.

Any ideas? Like i said it just started all of the sudden.

Also, I have a dejon tool stop leak kit. Is it normal for the vacuum solenoid to bleed off air pressure when i pressurize the intercooler piping?

 

[prove_it]

I had my wastegate actuator pop off the wastegate arm after the clip rusted/broke/something came off. I had no boost, but didn't make a sound....

Maybe an exhaust leak?

My two ideas

 

[jepherz]

I think someone here had posted a picture once of their 14b and how the exhaust wheel had sheared off the shaft, effectively blocking the exhaust passage. That's a possibility too.

 

you mean like this lol.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif This was when my 11b on my colt saw 20 psi. i went from full boost to all motor in the blink of an eye.

 

[Lonewolf64]

Quoting SleepinGVR4:
This is just started all the sudden. My car won't build boost and the turbo is making a whistling noise like a supercharger kinda. The car idles and drives fine, just has zero power. I pressurized the intercooler piping and there weren't any leaks. The compressor wheel spins fine, has some shaft play, but its not extreme. All the compressor fins look fine and undamaged. The compressor wheel does look to be unbalanced, I noticed it when i started the car up to see if it still spun freely and when the wheel slowed it has a slight wobble to it. I still have to take the 02 off and look at the turbine side of the turbo.

Any ideas? Like i said it just started all of the sudden.

Also, I have a dejon tool stop leak kit. Is it normal for the vacuum solenoid to bleed off air pressure when i pressurize the intercooler piping?



I had the exact same symptoms when my 160,000 mile original 14b died on me. That is the sound of a tired turbo biting the dust. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif

 

[GVR4ZUM]

Hey Sean,
That sucks man, +1 on wastegate, I'd check that first then like you said take out the o2.
Isn't that a new turbo?

 

[mikus]

check axial (in/out) play while spinning it... I had one that felt to be in great shape - it would move towards and basically "sit against" the CHRA when pressurized. Looked/felt top notch when I removed it. Whistled. The 'whine of death'...

 

[BoostedAWD91]

there is some in/out play and up/down play in it but nothing really bad that would cause any problems. When u crank the engine and it spins, once its starts slowing down it wobbles pretty bad. It really seems like the exhaust wheel is screwed up throwing the balance off.

 

[Wizardawd]

Take the turbo out imo, It's definately a turbo issue and there is basically nothing you can do by looking at it anyways.

(1)Exhaust wheel sheared off and that's where your wobble is from, missing 1/2 of the shaft. Find another turbo.

(2)If it's intact, remove the turbine housing and look at the exhaust wheel and turn it by hand. If it's a little stiff, get some carb cleaner and throughly clean the backing plate and behind it. I've seen a lot of 14b's that suffer from poor performance and find that a lot of soot and carbon has built up behind the plate. Which is forced into the exhaust wheel and slows it if not tries to lock it up (which is probably why the exhaust wheel shears off at that spot). I've cleaned old turbos up and they spin twice as easy and spooled considerably quicker.

(3)And check the wastegate flapper hole for cracks and make sure the flapper actually covers the hole when closed. These housings will crack and warp bad. I've even seen the flapper itself come apart.

(4)And check the intake tube/air filter for a restriction, once had a 1g that would kinda boost but made god awful noise and was pretty slow. Found that a mouse had made a home in the intake can and it was stuffed with leaves, branches, etc.

Wiz

 

[Brunoboy]

Quoting Damills:
you mean like this lol.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif This was when my 11b on my colt saw 20 psi. i went from full boost to all motor in the blink of an eye.



happened to my 14b when the cat was clogged. Disconnected the dp from the o2, boosted Like a Champ til the wheel blew out..........lol
-shane

 

[1990ggsxnj]

Wow! There are a lot more of us than I thought. Mine just sounded like a fan tapping its metal shrouding every few seconds until [see picture above].

 

[SleepinGVR4]

Quoting Wizardawd:

(2)If it's intact, remove the turbine housing and look at the exhaust wheel and turn it by hand. If it's a little stiff, get some carb cleaner and throughly clean the backing plate and behind it. I've seen a lot of 14b's that suffer from poor performance and find that a lot of soot and carbon has built up behind the plate. Which is forced into the exhaust wheel and slows it if not tries to lock it up (which is probably why the exhaust wheel shears off at that spot). I've cleaned old turbos up and they spin twice as easy and spooled considerably quicker.

(3)And check the wastegate flapper hole for cracks and make sure the flapper actually covers the hole when closed. These housings will crack and warp bad. I've even seen the flapper itself come apart.




It was a combination of both of these problems. The turbine wheel wasn't sheered off but it is kinda stiff. And there is more shaft play than i thought.

Also I over ported it. Yes yes I know how the hell is that possible. Well it is. I took this 16G off to re-port it at one point to help with boost creep. Well I ported to much by the WG flapper and it eventually blew a small hole right above the WG flapper, that would explain why it sounded like i had a bad exhaust leak this whole time.

So all in all another EVO3 16G fixed the problem. Thanks Hill! Now i just have to get my knock situation figured out.