Turbo Whine - W123
 

Is it normal to hear a little turbo noise under moderate acceleration? I hear a slight whining noise when pulling away. I tried to wiggle the turbo vanes but there's really not a lot of play. The heavy plastic connector from the turbo to the air cleaner is tight and has no cracks. No heavy smoking either. Not a terrible sound mind you, I just don't recall if I had been hearing it before. I was thinking the tranny too, but the pitch of the whine doesn't change much after the trans has shifted up a gear.
Thanks

What you describe isn't ABnormal, put it that way. The car didn't make that sound when it rolled off the dealer lot, but it comes to a greater or lesser extent with age, based on my experience.

My current car is an '85 like yours with 102k and I cannot hear the turbo. My '79 SD was like yours is now, all 8 years I owned it. On acceleration my '83 SD sounded like the highway patrol was about 10 seconds behind....

The only thing I would mention to check would be the turbo inlet hose, but as you looked at the vanes you've already had that off and on so it must be tight.

Leaks in the Intake Manifold or other Turb Connections on the pressure side of the Intake can cause the Turbo to over speed.

I thin it is also possible for the Exhaust to make nose if there is a tiny split in the expansion Joint at the Turbo.

When the Engine is cold spray the intake down with a mix of Water and Dawn Dish Soap to make a mix that can bubble.
Unfortunately the Formula My Wife uses for Her Day Care Class is 1 gallon of Water to one cup of Dawn. I will let you reduced it to a more manageable amount.

If you a leak when you reve the Engine to produce boost it should bubble.

Mine sounds like a 747 at full take-off....:-)

It's a common for the '85 to have a whine because of an incorrectly functioning Air Recirculating Valve (ARV). The easy fix is to disconnect the vacuum line to the turbo and plug up the ends. This disable the ARV and should stop the whine.


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i <3 turbo whine!

since i put in my hot air intake, i get to hear that sweet music at every take off.

If you remove the Hood Pad it will be louder.

long gone way before i ever got ahold of this car. like i've said before, i've seen nicer cars than mine in the junkyard. :o

Double check your over boost protection, make sure your air cleaner is secure and all it's hoses and oil drainage is secure.

As the others have said, you may just have a loud turbo. Mine whines every so often when I romp on the accelerator at 2500 RPM.

Does the hood pad make that much difference???? My folks bought me one for my recent birthday, but I am yet to install it....

When I bought mine 7 years ago, I could only hear the turbo when cruising steadily at exactly 65 mph. Now I can hear it from 60 to about 70. I haven't checked for boost leaks, but if I have any, they must be small, since performance hasn't suffered.

leaks will not affect performance, they will affect longevity. any leaks allow Dirt past the air filter...

Usually this manifests itself as more of a whistle but its worth checking!

I have read that it doesn`t make any decrease in the noise level, however when I installed a new one on the 240, it really did make a noticable difference.

I have the Turbo pad on it and don`t hear the Turbo Whine now. :D

Charlie

I am going to get my new pad on next week and I will report back then!!!!