Turbo Whistle

[ljonny18]

Hi guys... I am new to this forum, so I would firstly like to say hi - and apologise in advance if I have posted this query in the wrong forum etc.... (if so, maybe someone could point me in the right direction)


I have a 1999 MK4 Golf GTi TurboÂ…. The turbo has always made a nice / quiet whistling noise when you boot it, but more recently I have noticed that the whistle is starting to sound a bit rough!
It is hard for me to describe the noise in words, although it is the same noise but “broken” with a little interference / stagger breaking the seamless flowing whistle (if that makes any sense?)

I have not noticed any (noticeable) difference in performance – just the noise.

Does anyone know what this could be? Is the turbo on its way out?

Cheers,
Jon.

[topher]

Turbos can (and often do) give up the ghost randomly.. can be down to age/abuse etc. The borg warner turbos on 1.8T's are pretty tough, but every one i've seen that is more than a few years old has developed hairline fractures in the casing.. obviously allowing boost to escape.

It is possible, though, that the noise you're hearing is the turbo loosing boost pressure for other reasons.. such as a faulty diverter valve, that's very common and very easy/cheap to remedy.

Not much else I can offer without actually seeing the car.. i'd recommend you get it to a VW specialist a.s.a.p to diagnose the exact problem.