Turbo gone bad?....96-F250 powerstroke

[Raymond S.]

Hi all,
I have had what seems to be a "humming" coming from up by the turbo since I bought the truck. Don't get any whistle out the exhaust and hardly any power. I pulled my 20ft. aluminum boat out of the boat launch and had to almost floor it to get it to move. The motor really wants to rev when shifting too. When I'm pushing 2000rpms I can hear the turbo, sounds like a fan accelerating really high but there is no power. I am thinking this is it but can anyone point me in another direction.

it should be noted that there are almost 290k miles on this truck and pretty sure it's the original turbo.
If it is the turbo, what would be a good replacement and what can I expect to pay?
Thanks in advance,
-Ray

[pipelayerjdh]

Remove the intake boot going to the turbo inlet and check the impeller for damage. Try moving it sise to side and in/out to see how much play it has. You can rebuild it yourself or buy replacement fairly cheap.