Exhaust Brake whistle

[crispyboy]

2009 - 2500 all stock - 24k miles



I seem to be hearing a high pitched whistle when the exhaust brake is activated and working hard.

Is this normal?

Is there somewhere I should look for a leak? I assume I would look for stray soot.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Hoefler]

Perfectly normal. As the opening is closed off in the turbo, the exhaust trying to escape is forced through a smaller and smaller opening thus causing excessive back pressure and retarding the engine. As pressure builds up, what gets through is going to cause a whistle.

 

[crispyboy]

Thanks for your input.
I was concerned about the whistle as I don't recall hearing this before. It seemed to be more prevalent after towing my travel trailer about two weeks ago when I was going down a long steep grade just outside a state park.

 

[AH64ID]

If you hadn't towed in a while before that you may have had a decent amount of carbon buildup in the exhaust that acted as a muffler, then the tow cooked it off and more sound resonates out of the turbo/exhaust.

 

[sag2]

Take a look at the back of the exhaust manifold where the EGR cooler bolts up. If you see any black soot tracking the bolts may have backed off some.