Took a trip down to the city, drove the truck around all day, then was on my way back home, was on the highway comming up a steep hill, punched the throttle a bit to pass a truck but was cut off by a car half way through and let completely off the throttle real fast. I heard a double spirt of what I assume was air (blow off?) then I started to accelerate again. I barely let off the throttle again and there was another double spirt. Then I completely lost turbo boost. I could no longer hear it spool up and I had very little power.

That was two days ago. Got it home, and turbo is still not spooling up. Pulled intake tube off the front of the turbo to inspect the spindle, it spins freely and looks fine. No play in the shaft. Started the motor, spindle spins slowly...maybe 500rpm? It's not building pressure. A buddy who is familiar with gas engine turbos mentioned maybe a sticking actuator valve. Stuck open. But a mechanic at a diesel shop says the actuator valves on these turbos are hydraulic, using the engine oil and very rarely have problems. He said it's probably a ring on the inside that it clogged with carbon and stuck open. He wasn't very help and kinda rushed me off the phone. I could use some advice here on this.

 

The noises you heard are normal, we just call it turbo fart. There is no blow off valve or wastegate of any sort really, so when you're on the boost and let off sharply there is no place for all that air to go, so it just shoots back out the intake. That's what you heard.

Now as to why you have no boost, it's probably something else like a torn intercooler boot or something like that. I'm assuming the truck is slow as molasses right now right? Are you getting any smoke out of the exhaust when you do drive it? Be careful cause it can get pretty hot without the turbo.

 

Yes, I get white smoke with maybe a bluish tint at high rev if I try to drive it and yes, it's show as hell

 

If the turbo wasn't working at all, you would have all sorts of black smoke coming out... sounds like something else is up.

Tried reading codes at all?

 

I don't have a code reader, but I have no indicator lights on the instrument panel

 

codes wont always make lights pop up, when my FICM and an injector went out there were no check-engine lights

 

What he said. Try swinging into an auto parts store, they'll usually let you use theirs for free.