38R Suddenly got louder...?

So I was playing around in the truck tonite, pretty heavily. A couple WOT runs. Well immediately after the last one I realize my turbo sounds 10x louder. It literally sounds like a siren from a police car, or an ambulance. Its not constant, it only sounds like that from about 10psi to 20psi. There is no shaft play, side to side or in and out, and the wheel hasn't contacted the housing. It spins 100% feely and still makes 40psi of boost. Ideas?

Why flip of a switch suddenly?

Do I need to park it until I figure this out?

Sounds like a boost leak... Doubt it the turbo, but a manifold or boot leak.

Run a boost leak test and see if there is a leak somewhere.

A boost leak even if it still makes 40psi of boost? I guess it could have split a boot. Ill check that tomorrow. But thats why I ruled that out.

The noise is directly proportional to the boost the turbo makes... If that changes anything.

I couldn't imagine a 38R being louder than what they already are.

Yep a pin hole or small leak is what would make that sound. If it was larger it would be more of woosh sound.

But if it would make you feel better then its a CHRA and the turbo is toast. oke:

Serious it could be something worse but not much more you can do yourself with the turbo in the truck then what you did by checking shaft play.


Did you look to see if the fins had made any contact with the housing?

TARM said:

Yep a pin hole or small leak is what would make that sound. If it was larger it would be more of woosh sound.

But if it would make you feel better then its a CHRA and the turbo is toast. oke:

Serious it could be something worse but not much more you can do yourself with the turbo in the truck then what you did by checking shaft play.


Did you look to see if the fins had made any contact with the housing?

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Its not really the whooshing sound that go louder. Its the whining noise that a 38R makes, multiple that by 10 and thats how loud it is. Its the whining that got louder.

And I grabbed ahold of the wheel and tried to move it. It had minimal play, the usual, but no more.

And no, there are no marks on the housing, and the wheel is in perfect shape.

Hence why it sounds like a small leak somewhere. Sure there could be something wrong with the turbo but what could you do about it anyways. Make a boost leak tester if you do not already have one made and test your system.

Sounds like a boost leak. Check the boots and clamps at the intake plenums.

Ok. Ill check for a boost leak when I get back home.

I agree with everyone above. The same thing happened in my dad's 6.0. After a WOT run it sounded 10x louder than it already was. The next day a boot decided it had enough.

JBone said:

I agree with everyone above. The same thing happened in my dad's 6.0. After a WOT run it sounded 10x louder than it already was. The next day a boot decided it had enough.

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Im starting to agree. I have all the factory boots, with the ccv still intact. Im sure after seeing 40psi everyday for the past year, that they are ready to give up. LOL

Or at least I hope so...

David N said:

Im starting to agree. I have all the factory boots, with the ccv still intact. Im sure after seeing 40psi everyday for the past year, that they are ready to give up. LOL

Or at least I hope so...

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Yeah, having the ccv intact definitely wont help the issue. The funny thing is, my dad's 6.0 still had all the power, it was just louder. Then all of a sudden there was a pop and no more power LOL.

When the clamp on my Spider wasn't lined up correctly it sounded just like an old-school police siren.

Well I finally checked for a boost leak with air pressure.

Well... Its leaking pretty substantially from between where the intake bolts to the head. On both sides. All the way around the damn thing. And I think a boot on the bottom of the spider is leaking too.

So could this have anything to do with the change in noise?

What do you think LOL!!!!!

Glad you found the issue.

Now have fun installing new intake pleniums and boots. Make sure to get the Ford RTV Grey.

Sounds like a connecting rod to me LOL

PowerstrokeJunkie said:

Sounds like a connecting rod to me LOL

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Kinda what I was thinking... Maybe a piston hitting the cylinder wall. LOL

PowerstrokeJunkie said:

Sounds like a connecting rod to me LOL

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This is actually in the back of my mind now. LOL

The motor will finally be making 100% power, and it may blow now. haha

Well... Ive gotten everything back together now.

Bad news, the turbo is still the same sound.

And something else wierd, when I started the truck for the first time, it kinda stumbled, and idled really rough, and its making a really wierd noise. It sounds almost like two chains hitting each other? Im not sure. But the noise went away, so I took it for a test drive. Well I can plainly hear the noise again, so I pull off, and it seems to be coming from the passenger side of the truck, and the truck is smoking blue pretty bad at this point and idling horribly. So I drive back home, and the noise goes away. It idles perfect now. So I take it for another drive and the noise didn't come back that time... Any ideas? Im completely lost. I was thinking maybe a pushrod, but they don't exactly fix themselves.