Normal turbo noise??

[Ade6]

Hello im new to this forum! Just got muself an old a3 2.0 tdi on a 53 reg!Ive noticed that the turbo makes a "hissing" noise on acceleration! Is this normal?
Hard to describe! Its like a verry hight pitched whistle! And it only comes in with the turbo!
This is my first tdi! The car still pulls strong and no black smoke!

 

[JRock247]

I have the exact same issue on my 2.0Tdi 06 reg. I get a whine/hissing noise form the turbo during acceleration, almost sounds like a mini dump valve installed!?

Audi first noticed it when it when in for its service. I spoke to my mechanic and he said, it sounds like it is on its way out. The whine, he thinks, is a result of low oil level in the turbo, apparently quite common in the 140 PD engine, never heard of it myself.

Audi quoted £1500 for new Turbo, my mechanic quoted around £750 for new turbo with manifold and installation.

Tried to get an idea on how long it would last but he just said, 'how longs a piece of string'.

Not sure what to do now, get a new one and have piece of mind or leave it until it blows??????

 

[Ade6]

I dont think it wines so mutch! It just a hiss, souns like the turbo spining up! But
Im not sure if its normal! I can get a recon turbo and fit it for £250 if it is! But i dont
want to spend more mony on it for no reason!

 

[Geraldy212]

Good turbos don't 'Hiss', but a leaky pipe does. Suggest you check very carefully all of the pipes and joints in the intake system for good fitting joints/seals and no splits. Best done when the car is on a lift, and you can get someone to push the pedal to give enough revs for the turbo to kick-in. While underneath, you should be able to determine where this 'hiss' is coming from. Hopefully, it won't be the turbo. A scan with VCDS would be a good idea to see if any fault codes show up. Good luck.

 

[Ade6]

Yea will do! I will haveto invest in a vcds! Where can i get one from?

 

[ex911driver]

pm Nigel username NHN on here he supplies vcds cables

 

[bmh.01]

Hissing will most likely be a boost leak, quite common with the snaplock pipes used on the car.

 

[max69vk]

Its fine, its the N75 valve relieving pressure so you don't overboost & pop the turbo or engine. Totally normal.

As for the 'whine' the turbos whistle on these cars a lot & the first thing people say is that your turbo is failing. Rubbish.

If it sounds like a police siren, then yes, it's dying. If its whistling that's pretty normal, obviously if it gets much worse then you have a problem to investigate. My last TDI did over 70k on a whistling turbo that was apparently 'failing', it's subsequently been sold on to 2 more owners & is still on running the same turbo with no problems.

 

[Ade6]

Thanks for all of your replies! I forgot to say i have a recipt from audi for £2600 for a new turbo and exhaust system! But that was 60,000 miles ago! The cars on 99264 now!

 

[max69vk]

If looked after, the turbo should last as long as the engine itself & there are plenty of these cars running with over 200k on them.

To look after the turbo use a decent fuel, don't nail the engine when cold & change the oil every 10k (long life services are terrible for Diesel engines).

 

[Wilky5]

The turbo on my TDI170 is whistling and I was a bit concerned about it. Its been for servicing today, so thought I'd mention it whilst I was there - been told its absolutely fine, nothing wrong with it at all. Very relieved and very honest of them too, usually querying a possible fault with something is like giving the garage a license to print money haha

 

[SootySport]

You can be paranoid over whines and whistles from the turbo, they sound different on different cars and also the weather seems to change the sound of them, especially in cold damp weather. As long as there is not excessive smoke of any colour and no rattling from that department they are working fine. Most you can do is check for leaking I/C hoses, seals, the split hoses are hardest ones find.

 

[SAiLO]

You don't want to see blue smoke when accelerating or hear a police siren kind of sound. High pitch whistles are usually norm. Split pipe from EGR cooler can be the cause of a whistle on acceleration too.