Problems with my turbo diesel golf, help?

Question

my vw golf gt tdi has had a whistling sound coming from the engine, we have now found the sound is coming from the turbo/manifold area from listening through a s***w driver, does anybody have any idea what it could be, hoping it is not the turbo going wrong itself.the pitch off the whistle goes up on accelaration and comes down when foot taken off pedal, the car drives no different and the power is still the same. my car is 3 years old with 35000 miles. any help would be much appreciated, thanks

Answer 1

Either the manifold has loosened off or the gasket needs replacing. If a turbo is failing then the sound be more of a whirring sound, rather than high pitched whistle.

Answer 2

At a guess i would be more prone to say it is a split in a boost pipe/leaking gasket or similar, however turbos can have a very high pitched noise that matches speed when bearings are starting to wear. strange at your mileage tho. borrow a diagnostic stethoscope to listen more carefully. if you know what u are doing take off the large rubber pipe off the turbo when cold, you will see a impeller/rotor, without touching the blades and holding the centre gently move up down in and out etc there should be no noticeable movement. if turbo gone try a company called universal turbos they are great 4 exchange units.  

Answer 3

Sounds like you have a slight boost leak, could be a broken weld on the turbo itself or an another part of the turbo system, could also be the bearings, your best bet would be to pull the off the turbo and the manifold, clean it and inspect it.

Answer 4

You probably have a leak on either the gaskets between the inlet manifold or you have a split in the rubber pipe.

Ja.