Unfortunately, I think my turbocharger is beginning to fail.

I have a 1995 850 Turbo (not the T-5) with 165K miles. When the engine is cold and I crank the car, there is a terrible high pitch squeaking sound for 5 - 10 seconds. The sounds goes away and only returns on cold starts. (If the engine is warm when I crank it, there is no unusual noise.)

At first I thought it was my drive belt slipping but I changed the tensioner and belt only to realize that the noise was not from the drive belt.

Upon further investigation, it seems like the noise is probably coming from the turbocharger.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of squeaking noise? Do you think this is behavior that could be coming from a failing turbo?

I do not have any oil leaks, but I end up about 1 qt. low after 4,000 miles.

If I do end up replacing the turbo, should I stick with the stock "TD04-13G" or should I put in something like the "TD04HL-16T-6"? I don't want to upgrade the ECU or anything else. Of coure I would love to have extra power but only if it doesn't decrease my fuel efficiency (MPG).

If anyone has experience with these turbochargers I would really appreciate some advice.

Thanks,

elchingon2002

 

If your not going to upgrade the ECU then go with the stock 13g. To get the full potential of the 16T you will need an ECU upgrade.

FYI most people see a increase in MPG when they have an ECU upgrade done. Now if you mash the pedal all the time, then obviously your going to have different results.

 

For the noise make sure it is not one of the timing belt idler or tensioner pulleys.

 

Good suggestions. I will take a look at those timing belt pulleys before diving into a new turbocharger. (If I do have to get a turbo... I'll just stick with the stock 13G.)

Thanks!!

- elchingon2002

 

I think I have finally figured out the mysterious squeaking noise! I'm pretty sure it is my starter. When I place my hand on the starter and have a friend crank the car, I can feel the starter vibrate and that the metallic squeak is coming from inside it. What lead me to the starter was when the car wouldn't crank, but the starter would make a soft spinning noise. After a few tries it would crank and then the squeak noise would happen again. So I'm off to get a new starter! Thanks for the help guys!

- ElChingon2002

 

To check for turbo failure, next time you suspect it:
Undo the air intake hose to the turbo's inlet.
Spin the turbine and see if it scrapes the walls of the turbo. It should not touch the walls.
Then wiggle the shaft side to side and up and down and push it in and out.
If there is any shaft play then you might think about rebuilding the turbo.

 

Given that it happens only at cold start, another possible source of a high pitch squeal / squeak would be your power steering pump. If your fluid level is a bit low, when its real cold out, the fluid will cavitate in the pump at start up. The severity and longevity
of the noise is obviously affected by the fluid level and the ambient temperature.

When I worked at Chrysler we had specs for how long the noise could be based on temperature. Depending on the vehicle: Zero degrees was no noise, -20degF was 2-3 seconds, and -40degF was like 10 seconds.

If (a big if) this is the source, then typically adding fluid will rememdy the issue. If it continues, then your pump may be going.

 

Good find regarding the starter

 

I replaced the starter yesterday and that did the trick... No more squeaking after startup! Thank you all for the suggestions and information. I'll be sure to file away the data on how to check for a bad turbo and the symptoms for low fluid in the power steering pump.

Thanks!