My wife has recently noticed that her 57 plate FL2 has started to sound "un-diesel" like once warmed up. We have had the car nearly 3 years and when I drove it it seemed like the engine note has definitely changed somewhat. As I say when cold the car sounds like any other diesel when driving along.

The issue starts when the car is warm and generally between 1st & 3rd gears when you are accelerating. Difficult to describe the noise accurately but it sounds like a steady whooshing/whirring/intake noise in time with the acceleration and the car almost stops sounding like a diesel, probably because you can longer hear it.

Having read some other posts I would hazard a guess that it may be the turbo/inter-cooler hoses that are at fault. The car has only done 42,000 miles, doesn't smoke and is serviced regularly. There is no real loss of power that I can notice although not driving it daily it's difficult to tell. I can even hear the noise albeit not so loudly when the car is revved in neutral, manual car.

If it is the hoses where are they, how can I check them easily and thirdly has anyone gone to the trouble of explaining how to change them?

Thanks guys.

Is this with the Air Con on?
If so, does it stop if Air Con turned off? Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

Air con is off as it generally isn't used that much anyway, it's mainly left in Econ. Just wondered if the Power steering pump could be noisy but I would imagine that would be noisy when parking etc...

OK, so we can rule out the Air Con - but I think it is generally accepted that it is best to leave it on to avoid the danger of the compressor seizing up - been there, done that!
I agree that PSteering would be more noticeable when parking.
Sounds like it will be one of the pulleys driven by the engine if the noise fluctuates with the engine revs. Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

So the noise just stays the same almost but its brought on by loading the revs. When the car isn't under load i.e. accelerating you can't notice it. It doesn't sound mechanical somehow, almost breath'y, very odd..

My wife has recorded the noise and after I checked the power steering reservoir after seeing that as a possible culprit. I opened the reservoir lid and noticed the steering fluid bubbling and jumping around, not sure this is normal but with the lid off it was virtually spitting out.

The recording shows that the car when turning has low pitch whine and when warm changing up the gears under load.

Looks like I will have to flush out the old fluid if that's relatively easy to do, does the reservoir need to be changed too?