Lancer Register Forum banner

EVO X - Weird noises when on turbo

7K views 32 replies 4 participants last post by  michty_me 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all,

wondered if i you could ever be so kind to help me with figuring out whats going on.

So...the past couple of times of driving, when on WOT the noise coming from the turbo sounded a lot more distinct as in i could hear the air whooshing louder than i could before, almost as if it was blowing air through the air vents sort of noise, this if i remember was consistent behaviour.

Today on the way home between 2-4k revs there was a sort of grinding/rattling sound that sped up and slowed down at the same rate as the engine. this was not consistent, it sometimes was there and sometimes wasnt.

no loss of power seemed to be felt.

i doubt i could record it as there is so much other noise going on at the same time from the road, tyres, wind and the turbo that its hard to really listen to what it might be myself

any ideas??
 
#3 ·
i have had a poke around tonight and noticed a bolt head has sheared off the top of the heat shield above the turbo and if i move that up and down that rattles and wonder whether because its loose the noise of the turbo is escaping more hence i hear the whooshing louder.....its a possibility. if it is turbo damage, then time to buy an MHI so things aint all bad
 
#5 ·
Yeah i know,that would be catastrophic!!! but how am i supposed to determine if the turbo is failing? I mean, like i say when i was testing it there was no loss of power just this vibration/rattling noise between 3- 4k revs and then normal.

the extra whooshing noise seemed to have disappeared once this rattling started.

i have driven it since as its my daily, but just not driven it hard on turbo.

i need to secure the heat shield to determine whether it is that making the noise really i guess
 
#6 · (Edited)
I've not tried to access the turbo compressor wheel on a X, but I guess it can't be all that difficult ie by removing the intake pipe. And assuming you can get access, you can then feel for any play in the shaft and listen for any strange noises when the compressor wheel is spun (carefully) with your fingers.
 
#9 ·
UPDATE

so tonight i took off the heatshield and went for a little drive....not good, noise is still there. so tomorrow im going to take the intake off and spin the impeller and get my phone down there to take pictures of the inside for damage...

could this noise be from anything else....could the head make this noise under pressure from the turbo at peak power???
 
#11 ·
i managed to just squeeze my middle finger in and did notice a small amount of side to side movement. however i couldnt see anything so i put it all back together and went off to buy an endoscope....... i noticed on my journey that the blow off valve was operating under boost and inbetween the usual sound the blow off valve was making suddenly that sound i have been hearing chopped in and out of the blow off valve sound......you dont think all of this is a failing blow off valve??
 
#16 ·
i have another question actually, there are recirc valves that are being sold on indigo gt with no rating of psi on them, i have paperwork to show my car was mapped at indigo gt at 420/400 but i dont know what boost psi the turbo is running it is not documented....and then there are others that are adjustable but how is one supposed to adjust one without knowing what the max boost applicable is
 
#17 ·
Id take the recirc off, and blow through the ports, make sure they are sealing, also check the small pipe off it, make sure there are no leaks as that balances pressures, Give it a bit of oil and work it manually

Off topic, do you have upgraded clutches and other parts, as your power figures seem high for a basic sst remap

Stu
 
#19 ·
The recirc felt fine and I bought an aftermarket recirc from forge but still have this metallic rattle. Now I can hear the bov more distinctly I can tell that the noise isn't coming from there, it sounds like it is coming from directly in front of me, which is virtually where the hot side of the turbo sits in the engine bay. Couldnt be the waste gate making this noise could it? Or is it worth just buying a new turbo and seeing if that sorts it?

The new bov seems to hold boost better, feels more aggressive especially when changing through the gears so in the "powerband" of the turbo
 
#22 ·
Yep, stationary, engine off and cold. You need to get to the turbo and the actuator connected too it, make sure the arm of the actuator is still connected to the wastegate, and that it is pulling it tight shut. If the actuator arm has come off the wastegate, or its not pulling tight on the wastegate, they can rattle. A simple thing you can check if you think the noise is that area

Stu
 
#23 · (Edited)
OK so I took the heatshield off the exhaust manifold, and found the actuater which is solid, no problems there, can pull it with some strength but feels like there can't be a problem here, so rules that out.

I then got my endoscope out and started looking round everywhere and noticed the two bottom bolts that attach from the exhaust, one was loose and the other had sheered its head off!

I have tightened the one back up but the other has had it.
I decided I would go for a drive without heatshield on with that bolt tightened up to see if it made a difference, the rattle that appears when hammering your foot down thats in sync with the turbo seems to go when hot but there is another metallic vibrating sound which I thought had to be the heatshield as I could never locate all the bolt holes again as it got mishapen upon removing it, was still there, which is quite worrying.

So not bov, doesn't appear to be wastegate, one bolt loose and one stripped head, heatshield removed and still the same sounds.... I have got some dash cam footage which I'll review and see if that has caught any of the noise

Oh and to add it can't be sealing as I can smell exhaust fumes if I stick my nose near the exhaust mani.

Why do I smell big bills coming my way
 
#25 ·
Ive watched some videos on youtube on how to get snapped bolts out, i just know its gonna be ******* lol. ill try get it removed tomorrow and replace the bolts.

This is taking a lot longer than i thought to diagnose, but i dont wanna pay someone to look for me when i can do it myself for free either lol and i dont plan on getting scammed like the other similar thread thats on here at the moment where he got told to replace the turbo and manifold costing £1000's and it didnt even resolve the problem
 
#27 ·
Bingo!!
New manifold time for you. If you don't want to spend on a tubular manifold I believe a company does a forged manifold. Can't remember the manufacturer at present.
I've got a C-Tec manifold on my Evo X. It's been on for years. I would highly recommend if you are looking for a good tubular.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Solved

I thought i would update this thread to say i finally found the root cause to all my woes!!!!

So after buying a new BOV and finding that wasnt the problem, i went and purchased a tubular manifold. removing the existing one was a pain in the ass thats for sure, there is barely any room to shove the turbo out the way of the manifold.

the noise was coming from the metal gasket used between the manifold and the turbo. i probably didnt need to buy another manifold as i didnt feel i was losing any power, i did as it was cracked however just in case, my issues were as i say the metal gasket as there was no seal due to broken stud.

so just incase others find this thread that need to do the same thing you should start by removing the brace bar, remember to reattach nuts before jacking up the car. remove air piping to turbo inlet and outlet,including both inlet and outlet elbows from the turbo, this will help massively in maneuverability.
remove the spring loaded bolts on the exhaust downpipe to free the majority of the load, undo the turbo bracket holding it to the engine, disconnect turbo coolant rubber piping and seal hole to stop coolant pouring out.

once you get this far get a second person to hold the turbo out the way while you wiggle the manifold out. a lot of work for what i thought would be a bolt off bolt on job.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top