Turbo noise

I bet you have a leak somewhere in the turbo plumbing. Mine is pretty quiet and it has never been "annoying" so perhaps the dealer is your best bet. Some others may have a better grasp. Best of luck on getting it right for you!

Sheetmetal Man said:

Has anyone heard a engine or turbo noise in the engine compartment that sounds like a vacuum leak or maybe a air leak in intercooler tubing. The noise is annoying upon acceleration when the boost is around 5-20 psi it’s been getting louder as time passes . It’s there at all times . The trucks runs great and the fuel mileage is great . Maybe this is normal? Because I never owner a 3.0 l Powerstroke I’ve had diesels with and with out turbos I know know this variable pitch might sound like this . Just looking for some help before I bring it to dealer . Thanks

Click to expand...

I hear my turbo all the time, sounds like a wooshing noise under certain conditions, I hear it more when the air is cool. I think it's just the design of the intake. If you put your head by the intake when the engine is on, you can hear how loud it can be. I don't see any signs of leaks for me, but some of that tubing is pretty hard to check. If you have someone rev it for you with your head under the hood, see if the sounds is coming from the intake on the drivers side, or if there are any leak sounds around the turbo.

Maybe talk to @fharrison about Squeal While Accelerating = could be related to faulty EGR ByPass Valve recall(s). Did your truck always do this since new? Or did it start happening post-recall work?

Laytunes said:

I hear my turbo all the time, sounds like a wooshing noise under certain conditions, I hear it more when the air is cool. I think it's just the design of the intake. If you put your head by the intake when the engine is on, you can hear how loud it can be. I don't see any signs of leaks for me, but some of that tubing is pretty hard to check. If you have someone rev it for you with your head under the hood, see if the sounds is coming from the intake on the drivers side, or if there are any leak sounds around the turbo.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info I need to get the recall I’ll have them look into the air charge tubing. Thanks again

Laytunes said:

I hear my turbo all the time, sounds like a wooshing noise under certain conditions, I hear it more when the air is cool. I think it's just the design of the intake. If you put your head by the intake when the engine is on, you can hear how loud it can be. I don't see any signs of leaks for me, but some of that tubing is pretty hard to check. If you have someone rev it for you with your head under the hood, see if the sounds is coming from the intake on the drivers side, or if there are any leak sounds around the turbo.

Click to expand...

Thanks for input ,the truck is in for the recall and some warranty complaints . Will let all know the repairs when done.

Sheetmetal Man said:

Has anyone heard a engine or turbo noise in the engine compartment that sounds like a vacuum leak or maybe a air leak in intercooler tubing. The noise is annoying upon acceleration when the boost is around 5-20 psi it’s been getting louder as time passes . It’s there at all times . The trucks runs great and the fuel mileage is great . Maybe this is normal? Because I never owner a 3.0 l Powerstroke I’ve had diesels with and with out turbos I know know this variable pitch might sound like this . Just looking for some help before I bring it to dealer . Thanks

Click to expand...

Follow up
Just got truck back from dealer, noise was from a cracked intake tube from air cleaner to turbo . This was covered under the CPO warranty

Sheetmetal Man said:

Follow up
Just got truck back from dealer, noise was from a cracked intake tube from air cleaner to turbo . This was covered under the CPO warranty

Click to expand...

i just started getting weird whistling sounds and lacking power I would say 50% , no check engine light- seems to run fine at idle, little bit of white out the exhaust but I figured because I live where the climate is cold(we still have snow, and when pulling on to my street the truck just didn’t feel right I know how else to explain it and then a constant louder whistle type sound. I’m guessing my turbo is about to kick the bucket? Thoughts?

@Cbjensen1 - have you tried bringing up he "Turbo Boost" display in your IPC?

This would at least show you if you are getting any boost from the turbo; i.e. if you have a crack/leak in any of the turbo plumbing, I would think your boost value would be diminished/weakened. More turbo performance-related data is also available via FORScan monitoring or a stand-alone OBD monitor like an Edge Insight CTS3.

I'm not that confident that you have an impending turbo failure. I know they can and do fail, but my experience dating back to the 1980's with turbo powered vehicles is that they are pretty robust. I've personally never had one fail, and my current fleet includes five turbocharged vehicles. I would focus on some sort of boost leak.

Depending on how involved you want to get, you could either have your dealer/favorite mechanic test for leaks in your turbo system or you could make your own. There are all sorts of DIY posts/videos on-line regarding how to make them.

One thing I would not do is ignore the problem. Even small leak from things like fittings can have a big impact on how the engine performs. The concern is that the air flow meter (MAF), might think it is getting X amount of air, and is adding a corresponding amount of fuel. In fact it is getting less air than it thinks, which will result in exhaust soot, and premature death of your DPF.

My F150 had this and then threw out a check engine message saying the "variable geometry turbo actuator may be stuck and is not allowing proper turbocharger boost control." Got it into the dealer, and after hoping for the best - learned the worst. I need a new turbo. Fortunately the dealer says it's fully covered under warranty so now it's just a matter of waiting for replacement. :-/

What year is your truck and how many miles?

PeteK said:

What year is your truck and how many miles?

Click to expand...

Hey PeteK-- 2018 Lariat with 65,000 miles. And as of today, I still do not have it back. They're expecting all parts this week and then it will be replaced.

My 2018 had its turbo go bad at 65,000 miles also. This was after my transmission went out at 50,000. Now, a week after getting my truck back it went into reduced power mode again and this time for a DPF heater according to the dealer. All covered under warranty, but I'm getting pretty tired of this truck being in the shop all the time.

Hi! Mine is doing this screeching squeal and getting worse each week. I originally thought it was the fuel injector pump belt but now I think it’s coming from the turbo area. Not sure where to start as I have 150,000 miles and need to pull the cab soon regardless.

Probably the accessory drive belt. Squirt some water on it while running and see if that changes the noise.