Turbo Whine (LOUD)

Discussion in 'Modifications And Maintenance' started by scotty, Oct 2, 2015.

  1. scotty
    Offline

    scotty Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    103
    Location:
    St Paul
    Today I came around a corner, hit full boost, the back end kicked out a bit and I let off. Next light I went through, I was accelerating mildly when I heard a VERY loud (10x louder than normal turbo noise) whining noise from the turbo. The noise only happens as I approach boost, under any RPM. The noise correlates in pitch and intensity to how fast the turbo is (presumably) spinning. It sounds like a police siren, and not in a good way. No smoke, no other abnormal noises I could hear.

    Car: 2004 FXT 150k miles
    Modifications: VF39, STI top mount, STI ECU, Nuke Tune, 3" turbo back
    Problem Description: Loud whining when turbo spools
    Recent Modifications/Maintenance: No modification / maintenance recently

    I limped the car the last mile home, pulled the turbo, and I can see some slight scrubbing in the housing where the turbine has rubbed the housing. Side to side play is evident as well.

    Here is a video of just looking at the inside of the housing:


    Here is a video of the side to side wobble.



    Do you think the turbo is dead? Thanks in advance for any help!
     
  2. Squiggly
    Offline

    Squiggly Squiggly

    Messages:
    3,941
    Likes Received:
    175
    Trophy Points:
    248
    Location:
    Minneapolis
    With that much play and contact it's probably dead. You could take it in to NF and see what they have to say though. Fortunately, replacements should be easy to track down.

    Mike
     
  3. scotty
    Offline

    scotty Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    103
    Location:
    St Paul
    Thanks for the input ... It had a good run :) I didn't see any VF39s for sale on our own board, I will post up a WTB
     
  4. EricS
    Offline

    EricS Nooberator

    Messages:
    1,975
    Likes Received:
    1,061
    Trophy Points:
    348
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Saint Paul
    Dead. Why not look at the other turbos for sale, there's nothing that special about the VF39.
     
  5. scotty
    Offline

    scotty Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    103
    Location:
    St Paul
    Good point, I am considering any VF series that will bolt in. My main consideration is not wanting to up the injector and IC size. Any others I should be looking at?
     
  6. tangledupinblu
    Offline

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Messages:
    18,609
    Likes Received:
    8,955
    Trophy Points:
    573
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    MNBugeyeMafia#001
    VF48 would be a good match! :)
     
  7. EricS
    Offline

    EricS Nooberator

    Messages:
    1,975
    Likes Received:
    1,061
    Trophy Points:
    348
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Saint Paul
    @mke723 has a VF35 for sale under $250 that would do the trick! What size injectors do you have now? If they're fine with the 39, the 35 should be good to go. I believe it will give you a boost threshold rpm a fair bit sooner than the 39, at the cost of some boost at the upper RPM range. Mike could tell you for sure. Would be nice for a DD!
     
  8. Nhibbs
    Offline

    Nhibbs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    2,678
    Likes Received:
    2,222
    Trophy Points:
    348
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Atlanta
  9. scotty
    Offline

    scotty Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    103
    Location:
    St Paul
    Thanks @EricS , I picked that one up and installed it - problem solved. Thanks everyone!
     
    tangledupinblu likes this.
  10. EricS
    Offline

    EricS Nooberator

    Messages:
    1,975
    Likes Received:
    1,061
    Trophy Points:
    348
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Saint Paul
    Good stuff! Do you have an AccessPort? If so I'd recommend going into the Tune > Adjustments > Timing section and retarding the timing 2 or 3 degrees to be cautious until you can get Nuke or someone else to do a retune, since the turbos do have different characteristics. You can monitor the knock params too to make sure the ECU is happy. Do you have a wideband and boost gauge?
     
  11. MNRex07
    Offline

    MNRex07 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    686
    Likes Received:
    230
    Trophy Points:
    228
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    West metro
    If you're looking for a larger ic I do have a 04 STi intercooler. I also have 08 WRX blue injectors. Not sure if its a bump up but Its a extra set that can be modded to flow more. Let me know if you are interested.