Exhaust Leak?

[Zach Ayres]

Hello all,
My turbo started making whistling sounds when it would boost so I figured I would think about getting it rebuilt. Well I was taking off the turbo today and I found that one of the 4 bolts holding the turbo to the exhaust manifold was loose. It was so loose I started unscrewing it with just my fingers.
Now I am second guessing getting my turbo rebuilt because the whistling could have been caused by this supposed leak. Also the turbine wheel spins freely, there is no play when pushing the turbine in, but there is some play when moving the turbine side to side. Maybe it is rubbing making that sound too. Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks.

[Jeeves]

"but there is some play when moving the turbine side to side."

How much play? Some (see: enough to feel it) is common, but not bad at all.

Also just look at the condition of the blades on the impeller. I had a turbo whine since it was installed, turned out at some point something hit the blades and screwed the edges up nicely. This was causing my whine.

A whistling sounds more like an exhaust leak. Re-install the turbo, tighten all the bolts and go for a 5 min. drive. If it whistles, pull it and have a rebuild. Also look for for gaskets on the turbo -> elbow/downpipe area too.

[Zach Ayres]

Thanks for the advice Jeeves. I will reinstall everything and see what happens.