Anybody seen this before?

[Born-in-the-USA]

I have an '01 Super Duty pick-up with the 7.3 diesel. It has 106,000 miles since I bought it new, a week after 9/11. It really isn't a daily driver per se. I used to drive it 54 miles daily to work, then drove it less often when diesel pushed close to 5 bucks a gallon in the spring / summer of '08.

Last night, I was driving home when I heard a popping noise from beneath the hood. It sounded like a balloon popping, just as I was pulling out of a subdivision street onto a surface street. The turbocharger immediately began howling, yet it offered no power or torque boost as it normally would. 0-40 MPH took about a minute to reach with my foot on the floor.

The exhaust looked white by flashlight when I completed the 7-8 mile trip home. The engine idled like it normally did - no knocking sounds at any time. Oil pressure and engine temp gauges were normal, as was the oil level after I shut off my engine. The last oil change was done in July (roughly 2000 miles ago).

I looked at the truck during daylight hours today. I noticed an oil leak OUT OF THE FRONT SEAM OF MY MUFFLER!! At first I thought just the turbo was fried last night, but now I fear that a head gasket is gone as well.

Additionally, the dealer changed a cam positioning sensor several months ago. The check engine light came on shortly afterward. Low end torque hasn't been as good since the trip to the dealer. Towing a trailer at highway speeds about a month ago was smoother than low speed driving with no load.

Has anybody else seen this type of power loss coupled with the turbo being basically useless? Thanx!

[panheadjay]

check intake boots and intercooler boots see if one is busted.

[mustangvirgil]

you blow your turbo

[Austinj427]

Is there play in the turbo? You can rebuild them if it is side to side play, I think the kit is like 60 bucks from beans. Back and forth, well I'm sorry you'll need a new one.

I DOUBT you blew a head gasket. Did the degas bottle over flow?

Did you check your oil? Truck could be drinking that up through the turbo.

[Born-in-the-USA]

Yup, the oil level was low the next day. I lost a couple qts. thru the exhaust, and it blew white smoke on the short drive to the dealer. The turbo had to be replaced.