uh-oh squeaky turbo!

[Madbaz]

Be gentle with me as this is the first turbo car I've had. Just had new exhaust mid pipe fitted as old one was a bit religious, over a couple of days the turbo sprung to life and the increase in power is very noticeable as is the rise in MPG , however when the turbo is working hard (on the many hills round Huddersfield) there is an occasional squeal , I'm pretty certain this is bearing related and not an air leak.

Is there a way to test the turbo/ get it  to work whilst at idle/stationary just so I can listen whilst my head is under the bonnet?

[Mirez]

Firstly - good luck tomorrow

Secondly, not overly following what happened there? Why was the turbo not working? Air leaks are generally either there or not so if unlikely to be that although you could always do a vagcom log to be sure.

The turbo spins up regardless of load so if you have someone rev it up whilst your under then you'll hear it but obviously as its not under load then it won't behave quite the same.

[Madbaz]

Thanks Mark, if anyones around west yorks tomorrow keep out of the way of the big orange truck

Before the exhaust was replaced I couldn't hear the turbo although it was working, now I can definitely hear it's muffled roar and there is a lot more power. When going uphill and engine/turbo working hard there is a definite squeal as opposed to a whistle/whine that may be associated with a leak from the 'charged' air side.

[gregers]

good luck MAD 

[Chrispb]

  for today Baz get rid of that L plate

[Madbaz]

Done a bit more digging in the engine bay today, I was going to clean egr, but as it has a date on of April 08, I think I'll leave it .

How much movement should there be on the VNT actuator rod? I only got a couple of mm and it was very stiff but managed to wiggle it free to about 5mm, also the vacuum pipe wasn't on properly, it was clipped only on the rubber pipe not to the metal pipe on the actuator itself, now attached properly

Whilst under car I got the missus to rev to ~3500 and the rod now seems to work as it should , but the aforementioned squeal is much more pronounced changing pitch depending on the rpm, it certainly isn't air leaking as I'd hoped (all pipes pressurise and are sound) it's definitely  bearings on their way out .

[Madbaz]

Next question, are recon turbos worth the money, there's a firm near me that'll repair & balance & supply new gaskets, same day collect & delivery for around Ã,£100 +vat, 12 month warranty.