'92 Talon Loud spooling?

[hubbazoot (aka Jon Lewis)]

My '92 Talon TSI AWD turbo has a fairly loud whine-while-spooling sound. I've never driven a turbo vehicle before, so I'm still learning about how turbos are supposed to act/perform. Are the stock turbos normally loud enough that you can hear them from inside the vehicle with the windows up? The P/O attached an intercooler, could the piping be amplifying the turbo whine?

[JayRolla]

You could also have a leak somewhere. Do some boost leak tests.

[prophecymiller]

I had an evo316g on my car when I bought it and the turbo was quite loud when spooling and thought that was just the way the mitsubishi turbo sounded...well after a check for shaft play, the turbo was completely rubbing away the wheels into the compressor housing and against the center cartridge cover.

I was told by a more knowledgeable member here that my turbo was making "the whine of death" before we checked it and sure enough it was! I would check for shaft play to make sure!

EDIT: It is normal for a turbo to make a high pitched sound under normal operation due to the speed it's spinning, but it's fairly subtle and you probably won't hear it that well with the windows up...

[Cloud]

It's probably dying, I have had several do that on their way out.

[hubbazoot (aka Jon Lewis)]

I think leaks are fairly likely. How would I check for leaks?

Still learning a lot about these cars, and definitely learning about the turbos for the first time.

[Jon_K]

It's probably dying, I have had several do that on their way out.

My T-25 started whining about 4 months before it died.

Start looking for a replacement while it's still running!

[matthewdesigns]

VFAQ (http://vfaq.com/index-main.html) will be your good friend from now on :) Go to the Intake section, and scroll down until you see Intake Leak Tester. I used a quick release air nipple on my tester instead of a bike inner tube valve, but the latter will work fine, up to a point.

A loud turbo can also be a function of a post-turbo exhaust leak. The gaskets may have blown out at any of the connections between the turbo, o2 housing, and downpipe, so check them as well. Start the car cold, and feel around those areas for any leaks. I had a leak at the o2/downpipe gasket a couple months ago, and it really increased the volume of the sound I heard from the turbine wheel. I could also hear an exhaust leak, but once the car warmed up, I didn't hear it any more. I did hear the turbo while under boost, though, through that little crack.