Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Less than a year ago I had my factory turbo replaced at @ 90,000 miles. I don't remember what the symtoms were that generated the turbo replacement except that the symptoms struck me at the time as being the VP44. I Also remember that the shop had a hard time isolating the turbo as the problem after replacing the VP44 (and then reinstalling the old one). The turbo was the problem and was replaced with a standard turbo.
Almost immediately I noticed that when I would pass someone at high speed or under load I would get a loud high pitched turbo whine which I thought was pretty cool but only seemed to occur at higher speeds or under load. I didn't think too much about the whine because it was a new turbo and I assumed the sound was normal or would go away after broken in.
Over the passage of time the whine became more noticeable and occurred at lower speeds. I also began to notice that after I would turn the truck off and the motor completely shut down it would sound like the exhaust system would rattle for about 5-10 seconds as if the exhaust system was vibrating because of a loose connection or part.
In the last several weeks (at @ 99,550 miles) the nature of the whine changed and got noticeably worse. It would whine under almost no load and sometimes sounded like a police siren at low speeds and light load. It would not whine for the first mile or two after a cold start in the morning. My initial reaction was that the problem was with the turbo. I read what I could find here on the TDR. After reading posts I felt were applicable to my situation I felt the problem could be a loose bearing. Through the process of elimination I was able to satisfy myself that the sound was not the front end, rear end, transmission or transfer case.
I checked the air hoses and air filter--all seemed to be tight and leak free. I also checked the turbo fan which seemed fine to me although I frankly did not know really what I was looking for. Finally I took it into the shop and reported what I though was a turbo problem as well as my diagnosis of the potential problems I thought I had eliminated.
The shop replaced the turbo under warranty and it has solved the problem. No more turbo whine--although it has been too wet to accelerate under a full or hard/agressive load. It does appear the turbo whine is totally gone now as well as the rattling sound of the exhaust system.
I thought I would write about my problem because I did not and could not locate anyone who identified a similar experience with their turbo and who also identified the fix. What I found frustrating about my experience was that I turned to TDR and searched the forums and found many others who sometimes reported similar symptoms but never followed up with an identification of what the problem was found to be. I am therefore hopeful that some day another TDR member who experiences similar symptoms stumbles upon this post to identify his turbo problem.
Almost immediately I noticed that when I would pass someone at high speed or under load I would get a loud high pitched turbo whine which I thought was pretty cool but only seemed to occur at higher speeds or under load. I didn't think too much about the whine because it was a new turbo and I assumed the sound was normal or would go away after broken in.
Over the passage of time the whine became more noticeable and occurred at lower speeds. I also began to notice that after I would turn the truck off and the motor completely shut down it would sound like the exhaust system would rattle for about 5-10 seconds as if the exhaust system was vibrating because of a loose connection or part.
In the last several weeks (at @ 99,550 miles) the nature of the whine changed and got noticeably worse. It would whine under almost no load and sometimes sounded like a police siren at low speeds and light load. It would not whine for the first mile or two after a cold start in the morning. My initial reaction was that the problem was with the turbo. I read what I could find here on the TDR. After reading posts I felt were applicable to my situation I felt the problem could be a loose bearing. Through the process of elimination I was able to satisfy myself that the sound was not the front end, rear end, transmission or transfer case.
I checked the air hoses and air filter--all seemed to be tight and leak free. I also checked the turbo fan which seemed fine to me although I frankly did not know really what I was looking for. Finally I took it into the shop and reported what I though was a turbo problem as well as my diagnosis of the potential problems I thought I had eliminated.
The shop replaced the turbo under warranty and it has solved the problem. No more turbo whine--although it has been too wet to accelerate under a full or hard/agressive load. It does appear the turbo whine is totally gone now as well as the rattling sound of the exhaust system.
I thought I would write about my problem because I did not and could not locate anyone who identified a similar experience with their turbo and who also identified the fix. What I found frustrating about my experience was that I turned to TDR and searched the forums and found many others who sometimes reported similar symptoms but never followed up with an identification of what the problem was found to be. I am therefore hopeful that some day another TDR member who experiences similar symptoms stumbles upon this post to identify his turbo problem.
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