I noticed a strange sound during my drive today that turned into a terrible rattling sound by the time I got home. The car still sems to run smoothly, but there the rattling sound, the sound of air rushing through a tube, and a funny smell- similar to the smell of burning wire insulation. There is no smoke, no cel and the car is not overheating.

Do these sound like symptoms of a blown turbo? Any other thoughts? I'm trying to decide if I should have it towed to a shop or drive it.

 

i wouldn't drive it... but thats just me. i can't afford to replace a engine on one of these things.

check to see if there are any leaks under the car. sound of air rushing through a tube where? the turbos are pretty much on the bottom of the car so if something was burning like wires, it wouldn't be really near the turbos.

 

Might be a leak in one of the boost hoses. I'd check those first. I would think that if it was a boost hose leak that it would throw a code, but stranger things have happened.

 

If the bearing gave up in the turbo that could explain the rattling sound but I'm just guessing. I wouldn't drive the car either, who knows if that could make it worse. Good luck.

 

is the sound there at idle or when just cruising easy, no boost? if so, then it may not be a turbo at all. It could be your exhaust bolts loosening or even header bolts loosening.

When is the car making the noise, under what conditions?

 

The car makes the noise at every rpm. It sounds like a jet right now. What's weird is that I didn't even know that there was a problem until I came to a light and I heard the noise. The car still drives well. I was still getting boost, too, but I wasn't really getting on the throttle.

Not fun. And I'm thinking that this is going to cost me some money. On another note, I need to have the car towed- is the front tow hook required? I don't have one. Can typical rollbacks get these cars on without scraping?

 

... id get a flatbed man. a flat bed that specializes in lower cars. unless they bring long pieces of wood, youre gonna have a hard time getting it on the bed without scraping the hell out of your front lip or exhaust.

 

yup when i had to have my car flatbeded to protosport the driver had all sorts of peices of wood different sizes ..he knew what he was doing didnt scrape or anything.

 

If the bearing had failed in a turbo, you would know about it. Loads of smoke and almost no boost. There would be damage to the Turbine or impeller as well and would not turn and if it did very slowly and not enough to produce boost. The other turbo would blow back through the broken turbo hence no boost. With a completely busted Turbo you should also get some codes as the measured air to the engine will be all to hell, but more to the point lots and lots of oil smoke from the exhaust.
As previously mentioned if the turbo has worked loose from the manifold that might make a noise like a Jet and would certainly rattle and you might not loose too much boost either
A split in a boost pipe can make a jet engine noise, or more of a squeal sound when on boost, but you are saying it does it all the time
Have you switched off your AC. Could be the compressor on its way out.
There are so many different things that might cause the sound.
Another example might be a belt tension-er bearing on its way out but form past experience that doesn't normally sound like a jet engine.
Have you tried to isolate the sound to an area of the engine bay.

I for one would be very interested to hear the sound before you have the car picked up. Can you record it or make a short Video.
It would be nice to read your outcome on this problem.
Good luck.
Frank.

 

I had a similar problem - car would sometimes become 5 times louder than usual under full boost, I could hear a sucking air/pressure sound while driving and the car was blowing grey smoke out the left-hand exhaust port.
Found out that the Fuel Vapour vacuum line was disconnected and that some of the oxygen sensors were loose. Both problems completely gone after these two issues were resolved. Hopefully yours will be something simple to remedy like mine was.

 

one of kevins turbo went on me two years ago, lots of smoke on the bad side, no strange sounds just smoke i would say your home free on the turbo thing.... aaa can flatbed your car for u..i've never had a prob with them good luck hope it's just an air leak of sorts

 

yeah it's not the turbo, sounds like something else. Still gonna cost you....

 

I'm going to have it towed to At Speed Motorsports this week. I don't want to risk further damage by driving it. Thanks for the replies. I'll post back with the the diagnosis to help those who might have the same thing happen.

 

Bob Miller, who owns At Speed Motorsports, is a great guy.

 

Good news! My first inclination that it was a bearing was correct, but thankfully it's not a turbo bearing. It's the bearing on the tensioner pulley. Everything makes sense, including the lack of CEL and lack of smoke. I wouldn't have guessed that it would be that loud. I'm relieved to know that the problem is very minor and I'll be back in my car tomorrow!