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Originally Posted by Motorhead
I can give you info on a simular experience with a different turbo charged diesel. When I worked at UPS, we had some ONAN inline 6cyl diesels in some package cars. They would do the same noise as you describe when the ehxaust manafold was loose. From what you are saying that you increased your power after cleaning the ALDA line, you now are putting more fuel to the engine and also generating more boost. I would ck ALL ehxaust manafold bolts and look for any blown gaskets on the ehxaust.
These ONANs would SCREAM with a loud squeal/whistle when this happened.
Man were those things a P.O.S.
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I think you hit it right on the mark. I did some further investigation today as it was sunny and I could see deep inside the engine compartment without much difficulty. I stuck my head down in there, listening for where it could be coming from. I pushed the throttle linkage all the way open for about 1/4 second in park so it would make the noise, and I noticed a wisp of exhaust smoke coming out from near the turbo/manifold area, along with a bit out the tailpipe, normal for a short burst of WOT. After doing that a few times, I narrowed down the source to the gasket between the manifold and the turbine housing. A closer look at the gasket area revealed a small amount of carbon deposit, a sure sign of an exhaust leak. The gap between the two parts looked a little too big as well. So I went to check the bolts sandwiching the gasket between the two parts, and wouldn't you know it, the top two nuts are missing! I'm having a hard time believing that these two nuts could have just fallen off under normal driving conditions. And for as long as I've had the car, my mechanic hasn't done anything that would require the removal of the turbo or the exhaust manifold, so he didn't do it. That leaves me with the previous owners, which happen to be my grandparents
. They
always took it to the dealer for anything and everything...could it be possible that the dealer forgot to put these back on for something? I'll have to dig through the service records for any items regarding the exhaust system.
Meanwhile, this shouldn't pose any danger to the car, should it? I wouldn't think so since the leak isn't big enough for me to even detect inside the passenger cabin. It's just annoying, and it makes people on the sidewalks think "What is wrong with that car???"
And I'm glad that it isn't the turbo!
