Signs of Turbo failure

Hazlitt777 · Mar 29, 2019

I'm interested in testimonials about signs of a Turbo that is starting to get "tired."

Is there a sound it starts making etc?

I have a sound I hear when I accelerate that I've not heard before. I'm wondering.....the car has 78,000 on it. It isn't burning oil. It is hard to describe.

So just wandering what a turbo starts to sound like when it starts to get worn. Ordso they just all of a sudden go out with no warning?

Thanks.

jblackburn · Mar 29, 2019

Whiny under boost or sort of a bearing howl. Lots of oil in intercooler piping (also a symptom of PCV issues on these cars).

When it went in the Volvo, there was tons of blue smoke on startup from the oil this thing pooled in the intercooler.

Most Cruze turbos don't fail like that; they just start throwing underboost codes, and that's usually a worn wastegate pin. A few have failed catastrophically, though.

What kinda noise do you hear? If you've got a manual transmission, and hear a whine only in 5th/6th...that's probably not the turbo.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Hazlitt777 · Mar 29, 2019

It isn't just in 5th and 6th, but anytime when I'm pushing it, accelerating moderately or more. I never felt or experienced any power loss.

But as far as describing the sound, I think I hear it up close to the windshield. When it warms up it seems to be quieter. Next time I have a change to drive it and accelerate significantly, I'll report back. Not quite sure how to describe it more clearly right now.

Whiny under boost, otherwise I hear nothing.

Signs of Turbo failure

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