As onetime says, see if the turbine wheel can spin freely. Remove the inlet to the turbo and you should be able to spin the wheel with your finger, with no resistance...

You checked that the new turbo spun freely, and that there was no plug in it to prevent damage in shipping?

I swapped the Turbo with the Borg Warner unit, new gasket, etc. - put it all back together, and something is horribly wrong! 

It is making a super loud noise and making a really bad smell from under the hood.

I have no idea what could be wrong!!!!

The core charge is in addition to the price of the turbo, so the price of the turbo remains at $699...

It 'can' be done in a well equipped personal garage, but a rack would sure make it easier.  Take a look at this video to see what's involved.

Am I reading it right that it's $699 but once I ship in my old Turbo I'll get a refund of $250 back, making the net $450?

Also - do you think this is something that can be done in a personal garage? Or is taking it somewhere absolutely necessary ? 

Had my turbo supplier check your video - he said it sounds like the impeller is contacting the housing. This means the bearing is worn allowing play in the turbine shaft.

It sounds like a new turbo, but we offer some cost effective replacement here. You can also get a brand new Borg Warner unit here. Here is the MINI factory replacement here for comparison.

If you remove the exhaust downpipe from the turbo, you should be able to put your finger on the exhaust turbine inside the turbo - there should be no play and I suspect you will find some movement...

100% positive using an OBDII reader that she's not throwing any codes which (admittedly) is bizarre because the Engine Malfunction light is on.

How do I do the test you suggest? I'm concerned that I'll need to swap the whole Turbo which is going to be extremely pricey since I should use the same OEM Borg Warner Turbo.

It 'sounds like' the noise is related to the impeller in the turbo, so the condition of the turbo is suspect...  If there is a check engine light, there must be an error code in the car's computer - it would be helpful to know what code is present...

Maybe you can try a smoke test in the engine compartment to see if there are any leaks?

That’s just ice cream, and leave my personal life out of it!

Hello All, 

Major Update! I did some more testing on it and found out that it actually isn't getting any boost (0.6psi MAX at WOT). 

It whistles a lot once the vehicle has been started after not running a long time too and goes with the revs. Here's a video of that:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=102Hyorpe7NSmpayiJ3DvIZsVC6lYy8l9

If I was to hypothesize, it sounds like the impeller is actually being driven given that as RPMs increase, the whistle noise amplifies and pitch changes. Having noted that, it clearly isn't pressurizing as it is supposed to and generating the amount of boost required. This makes me feel that there is a leak in the system / blown seal, etc. 

The engine light is on and a message is displayed saying there is a malfunction, but reading no fault codes. 

Sorry, here is the factory replacement for your MINI

No, sorry. I'm a classic Mini owner. My one and only turbo was a 1989 Dodge Caravan traded in in 2004.
The symptoms I would expect are loss of boost/power and unusual whistling noises... what you have.

For some reason it doesn't look like they have the part for my vehicle. I believe I have a "R55" but when I put in 2012 Mini Clubman, Manual - that blow-off valve doesn't "fit my car".

I just want to do an OEM-replacement swap. 

Which part should I get?

Any instructions on how to do it?

Before I do it, I'd like to take a video of the noise and upload it for folks to listen to.

My first suspicion is the bypass valve as Dan mentioned.

The diaphragm in the stock bypass valve 'sometimes' fails which is the reason why there are upgrades like this. Here is the factory replacement bypass valve.

edit: links corrected.

Do you have any recommendations @Dan Moffet about how I can trouble shoot this to be sure or how to fix it?

It is a Turbocharger, not a supercharger.

If it is a turbo (not a supercharger) then the serpentine belt wouldn't affect boost.
My suspicion is the waste gate or whatever dumps excessive boost is not functioning properly. I imagine early boost dump would not be picked up in a code.

Hello All,

I have my sister's 2012 Clubman back in the garage with another issue. Occasionally when she drives and the turbo kicks on, it sounds like it is whistling super loud and then it stops the next time she shifts. It seems to intermittently do it - on one gear maybe, on the next not so much.

She is getting boost but when it is in high gear, it's not getting enough boost to properly overtake another car (highway driving). I need to test it more to see if when this happens that the whistle noise is also present. 

Question: What are some possible causes for this? When I pull the OBDII codes, nothing is present.

I'm thinking maybe its the serpentine belt? Could be the intake manifold? 

I don't think it's the impeller because it's still providing boost to the intake (clearly she's getting boost).

I greatly appreciate everyone's inputs!