Turbo Failure? Boost Leak? Bad Gasket? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SOUND?!
 

Ok so about a month ago I had just fixed a boost leak with my Jim IC. Went Around Boosting and BLAM I get this screeming/shrieking/BAD sound at 10 vac - 5.5 psi of boost. So I Figure fuck boost leak. Take off Jim's shit and hot-pipe it. Well it is still there. So check all my bolts. Manifold is at like 40 foot pounds. GReddy called for like 37. Used a long vac line around the turbo and the manifold couldnt hear any leaks. Checked to see if turbo was getting oil. It is. No smoke so Im not burning anything. Car pulls hard and hits boost where it should and holds it from like 4-4.5k (full boost) to red-line. Both people agreed it wasnt pinging. I have my Bipes set up to start pulling like 2.5 - whereever pretty soft setting. The LED's say it is working and so does my timing light. (Made it Retard the timing for heat then looked at it with a light and once the car warmed it turned on a light and blam timing went down.) So both the people I gave rides to said it was the Turbo. They said I should check for shaft-play and that TD04's that fail the most are GReddy something on the inside carrier or something. Anyway if anyone has had this happen to them or have any ideas please help me! Oh yeah the turbo has 543 miles on it and I didnt ever hit full boost till after 275 miles and after I re-tightend everything.

definately check for shaft play, and check your BOV to make sure its working properly, besides that maybee see if your turbine wheel isnt grinding against anything??

double and tripple checked the BOV, going to check shaft play tomorrow, what would it be grinding on? From the day I got the Turbo I cleaned it then taped off all inlets and outlets with masking tape and then put it in a bag. It stayed this way till it went on the car. Took all masking tape off and double checked if anything was in the turbo... nada....

maybe a little bit of something got knocked loosed and is being dragged around by one of the sides of your turbo? what kind of intake filter are you using?

If the compressor blades were hitting the housing and shrieking then you wouldn't be making boost.

does it sound like this (shrieking):
http://www.magnaflowonline.com/catal...load/spool.wmv

or does it just sound like a buzzing/whining noise? Can the sound be created at idle when bliping the throttle? Can you record a sound clip; phone, dig. camera, "Talkboy"?

damn- I forgot about that. Nasty!

i cant make it at idle with a snap throttle test or blipping it. It doesnt sound like that clip at all. I'm tryin to find a phone or a camera that i can record the sound with. Going to check the shaft play today.

K&N RU-5111 with an adapter plate.

I'm going to with leak then, make sure all your couplers are dag-nasty tight.

Right now it is stock hot-piped and all like what 3 couples are super dag nasty dirty tight

i know what it sounds like and i dont have to hear it because my symptoms are exactly the same and from the looks of it it seems that the shaft on mine has warped not good it will make a ticking noise at -10 and at 0 its more of a tiking noise and at +5 onwards its a screaching but ticking noise am i right ????

ticking is usually an exhaust leak. screaching/whining/whistling is usually a boost leak.

yeah at like -10 it is a screeching with a like puff like air is leaking past a coupler but a small so it flapps the coupler and that adds the puff into the screech. And it makes that sound from -10 till 5.5 psi and all the way to redline... Your shaft was warped only after 500 miles too? Have you called GReddy and yelled and screemed?

bought the car 2nd had with the turbo installed so i just got to buy new shaft or turbo but think i will get the water cooled one if i have to buy whole thing

-al-

edit i am going to strip the turbo down again and double check it is the shaft also check the turbine wheel for damage as mine had verry slight bent marks on the edges of the fins (wouldent notice unless actually looked for )

forgot to say living in the uk it is a right bugger getting parts for the turbo

so checked the shaft play and there is none in and out and back and forth and up and down is like zero you have it really push on it to make it move side to side or up and down even a tiny bit at all... (friend with a DSM and lots of turbo cars said this is normal) checked all couples none have rips and all where hella monkey tight down. uhhhh yeah so... wtf? Check Throttle Body leaks?

*EDIT* Friend with DSM came over and wiggled it and said it was close to being a lot of shaft play so i was a tard... going to call GReddy and yell at them lots.

i want a sound clip. shaft play will cause the blades to hit the compressor housing walls. The video I posted is what that sounds like. plus you wont be able to make boost.

friend said that it might just be clipping the wall just a little bit and thats where the sound is coming from... Going to try and get a dial indicator to get some numbers. Will get video up tomorrow I hope.

sweet little video braineack. The thumbs down is the icing on the cake.

ive just dremeled about 0.2mm from each blade on the turbine and all the noise has gone completely ..

Umm... some shaft play is perfectly normal. Remember that that shaft is supported 360* with oil when operating. If there is no play then there is not enough clearance for the "oil bearing" to work properly and it will just wear down until there is. So, I recommend getting a dial indicator of sorts (harbor freight has a reasonable one for non-machinists for about $20) and measuring it for comparison to specs. I only trust the grab and wiggle method when performed by highly experienced turbo dudes (no just someone that has owned one).

Ok the video is uploading now there will be a 20 meg version and a like 8 meg version and here are some photos of the turbo blades/whatever your fancy word for them is.

20 meg one
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...F85BEA145D5424

7 meg one
http://download.yousendit.com/DB05DD8333C6AAB5

you can hear the sound the best at times

0:48 - 0:50

1:03 - 1:08

1:13 - 1:19

1:37 - 1:44

1:48 - 1:55

2:25 - 2:30

2:50 - 2:55

3:00 - 3:05

3:21 - 3:25

after that is me just showing you cant hear it when at an idle or with a snap throttle test

*sorry for the bad camera stuff it was with my roomies digital camera*

also when it shows me doing the shaft play you can kinda hear a small click when the shaft moves... dunno if that helps or not...

:sadwavey: maybe it's me but i don't hear anything

me neither

yeah it is pretty faint but if you listen really close you hear a sound that isnt exahust or normal turbo sound. Like a screeming/shrieking sound.

my roomie who has never heard the sound when i played him the video was able to hear it around 3:00 - 3:05 and is thinking bad gasket either Turbo to DP or Mani to Turbo

it's not shrieking. I'd say it's nothing at all.

you did hear it tho right? would you check gaskets too or just say F it?

Dude I don't think there's anything wrong. What I hear in the video is pretty normal, unless the noise is REALLY subtle.

really subtle turn on the radio cant really hear it... no radio and you hear it well but the camera has shitty sound pick-up.

it is exactly the same noise as mine , mine went after sanding the fins down abit (not adviseable) but the noise has came back genrally after talking to a marine technician he said he got the same noise on there turbos (dont ask what for i dont know) he said its when the bushes fail or when the bushes fail causing it to wear away the bushes housing in genral if it is not the bushes that has gone the turbo is on its way out

if i get a sound recorder i will record and post mine might do it later actually

im going to chalk it up to normal turbo whirling, not shrieking.

yeah going to get a dial indicator and messure the shaft freeplay if it is within spec then im going to say Fuck it and just keep my radio on. If it is out of spec then im going to send it back in hopes of a manufacturer defect.

also for shits and giggles where can i get a new Turbo -> DP Gasket and also get a Mani - > Turbo Gasket for the GReddy Flange TD04 15g?

Don't use gaskets. I don't. FM and BEGi kits don't.

I heard the sound faintly, sounds like you have a ghoul in your engine and you should most definitely get an exorcist.

I think its the turbo. how is your oil pressure? I ask because if you have low oil pressure it can screw a turbo up ... either way, see if you can find a turbo shop near you and take it in. From the video, i would say you have excessive shaft play, but this is coming from a guy with fairly little experience.

no turbo shops around... oil pressure is like 60 at start up on idle then 60-90 on driving till warm. once warm drops to 30 on idle and 30-60 on driving.

Thats not necessarially true because we are talking about the $1200 greddy kit. The begi and fm kits have very well made manifolds and downpipes, i personally have a begi kit and can testify to this. Besides, the sound is definitely not a gasket leak, it follows the spool of the turbo and therefore i believe it is the turbo, or possibly the bov.

That is good oil pressure and you seem smart enough to plumb your oil and water lines properly. Good luck, hopefully I have helped

no water lines for teh GReddy =P but the oil return is to the pan and is always going downward. The oil feed is from the block to the turbo. Have pulled off the oil feed and there is oil getting to the turbo. So yeah... going to try and find another BOV to put on there (cut off my air baffle so cant really just take off the BOV) and see if that is the cause (very likely not) and on Friday taking it to class (am in a auto tech program) and going to change all the gaskets and also check the freeplay with a dial indicator.

Not to highjack your thread here, but is it safe to run at 90psi of oil pressure? My pressures are the same, 60-90 when cold, then 30-60 after warm. When its cold I shift at 2,000 rpm to keep the oil pressure at 60 or lower. Makes for SLOW driving. Is 90psi going to blow past the seals or harm anything?

I don't use a gasket on the turbo to manifold and I don't have any leaks (even before I replaced the broken studs). Guess my crappy greddy manifold is one of the lucky ones. :ugh2:

yeah just shows that your oil pump is in working order. Now dont get me wrong saying driving at 90psi = ROMP ON THE GAS! just means your oil is cold and thick still. But you can still drive up to 3k rpm just dont like you know gas it hard to 3k drive like a granny and shift at 3k within 5 or so minutes the oil should warm up and within 10 or so minutes your water temp should go to normal ranges. Once both have gone to where they should feel free to romp on it!

going to shop tomorrow to get numbers on the shaft play... but i cant seem to find like spec numbers for it. So yeah I'll get the numbers but I cant find the numbers that are "in range" for spec... yeah so uhh help?

I don't know "in spec" numbers. But when i took one of my turbos in to TurboAuto Nashville they measured my shaft play to be 3 thousandths and said it wasn't that bad if that means anything to you. When it starts hitting the housings you have problems. Truthfully, the $70 complete rebuild kits on ebay are a hell of a deal for someone who wants a turbo that they know doesn't have worn bearings and has good seals. If you have the resources and you're worried, you'll prob spend 2 hrs rebuilding it and that is worth the peace of mind knowing it's good to go. IMO

i heard something like a shriek only twice throughout the vid, it definately didnt sound like something exhaust oriented, sounded like a knife being dragged across a stainless steel top REALLY fast or something. i see how some can mistake it for a spool noise though.

K so can you point me in any directions that you might think? Car was driving fine with no noise then BLAM out of no where noise started... any ideas after hearing it?

can you hear it in cabin with the windows and top up? possibly we could hear it better over wind noise.

yeah the only time on that video the window was down is when the camera is outside the car rest of the time my hard-top is on and the windows are up... and yes you can hear it with the top up and windows up and also with the windows down. I swear to god the noise is loudest right around where the bloody turbo is hence why in the video i try and hold the camera tword the front left of the car.

time to leave it in the engine bay when you record. I still don't really hear anything out of the usual.

well took it to school threw a dial indicator on there and the reading was 9 thousands to 14 thousands. WAY OUT OF SPEC. Took some people for a spin and they said it sounds like a bearing is fucked. 4 said a turbo bearing one way split between a engine bearing on the rod or the turbo. He said 75% sure turbo 25% engine but didnt think it was the engine due to not doing it during idle and also doing it the same under low load and high load. Anyway in a week or two going to rip the bastard back to N/A and send the turbo back.

boo, see what GReddy will do for you. you could always rebuild, bu tthat sucks on a new turbo.

fuck that shit they can send me a god damn new one for some factory fuck up of theirs =P.... hey you got any idea how the hell i can plug my Oil Return line in my oil pan lol? Or the bolt to block the oil feed thingy again?

ok got the turbo off (mother fucking Flyin Miata lock washers are really good... tightened the SHIT out of the turbo to mani nuts. On the bottom of all the nuts you can see the pattern of the washer. Anyway it looks like some of the backside fins have small signs of damage like they might have made contact. Again what should I do about my drilled and tapped oil pan?

What did you put in it? A hose barb? AN fitting? If you used the hose barb and rubber hose might be able to rig something. Maybe leave the hose attatched to the barb and plug the top of it and zip tie it up high? I would make sure its elevated and secure, and keep your eye on the oil pressure gauge. I hope someone here has a better solution, good luck.

yeah it is a 1/2" hose thing