Taking care of our turbos

[jeomelia]

I came across an interesting article on taking care of turbos http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=43399

 

[dpuckett]

Good article; brought up some points I hadnt really thought of; didnt realize the turbo was so sensitive to changes in oil quality and contamination. Aother reason for regular maintenance. One thing I'll add is to spring for the better filters and oil when the time comes- good oil & air filters are cheaper than a $10-15K engine. I have to disagree with the one guy who said the turbine runs at 1300-1400 deg; at least in any rig I'm driving. I've been up to 1350 a time or two, but not for long. For cooldown, I try to let it get down to <300 deg before shutting it off; if I'm not going to be more than 5 minutes, I just leave it idling.



DP

 

[y-knot]

You know I don't think too many realize the environment the turbocharger lives and operates in. Everyone pretty much realizes the 1300+ degree heat that can quickly build, But think about how often the temperature cycles up and down just driving down the. There are many aspects of expansion and contraction, to both the housing and impeller to consider. Then the very high rpm's, I am not too sure it people really know what 100,000 rpm's mean? Most Diesels are limited to 2500-3000 rpm, try and imagine what 100,000 rpms would be like. A 4" diameter turbine spinning at 100,000 rpm would travel 19. 73 Miles in one minuet if it was rolling, That is 1,183 mile/hour! Does that help demonstrate the massive speed of 100,000rpm?

It is no wonder a small piece of dirt can cause such damage, the energy at impact is terrific. I have seen many guy's in the dunes, ruined their vacation by sand getting into the turbocharger. I helped one fellow who's engine had just ingested a big dose on sand, the damage was massive, and through out the entire engine. The impeller had many blades missing, and resembled a roof top after a bad hail storm. All the parts that broke were forced Thur the engine, and heads, pistons, cylinders were all damaged beyond repair. This created even more of a mess, which contaminated the oiling system and contributed to rod and crankshaft bearing damage. This particular guy was on his very first weekend with this car, he had spent a good year and many thousands of dollars, only to have it last under a hour. He was sick, and I felt his pain, but while he paid very close attention to all the major engine components and their assembly he overlooked the intake system. He had all this elaborate custom aluminum duct work for the turbo, inter-cooler and so forth. But he mounted a cheap little air filter off a 90 degree elbow that came from the turbo, and he did not support the filter. The filter simply vibrated loose after 20-30 minuets of use, and he didn't know until it was too late. Their might not be too many that read this, that have a sand rail but you all do have a turbo charger. And just remember next time you service your filter or add a new cold air kit, too look things over and make sure it is right. Good luck

 

[RowJ]

Interesting article - good argument for using synthetic oil! Shut down your CTD with EGT's at 290 and the turbo oil has to absorb that heat. A synthetic oil will cool down from 290-300 and return to it's original condition. A non synthetic oil, repeatedly heated to 300 degrees... . I'm not so sure.

Anyone ever turn your key back on 30 to 60 sec after shutdown and see egt's at 325 or higher? I have. Suspect turbo was still winding down and I did not allow enough time before shutting down, even though EGT's were ok.

 

[WStrmiska]

After departing the hi-way I have 4 stop lights that I have to contend with before I get home, after I get home I let it idle for 2 minutes to cool the turbo down, I don't have a egt to go by yet, so hope it's a long enought time for it to cool. I do notice the engine temp has dropped slightly before shut down also. I bought the SRT-10 A-Pillar, now I need to get my S. P. A EGT/Boost guage. Boy, no one told me after buying the truck that this was just the beginning of things to come, just bring money, (lots)LOL. This is a great site

 

[rbattelle]

Originally posted by WStrmiska

After departing the hi-way I have 4 stop lights that I have to contend with before I get home, after I get home I let it idle for 2 minutes to cool the turbo down, I don't have a egt to go by yet, so hope it's a long enought time for it to cool. I do notice the engine temp has dropped slightly before shut down also. I bought the SRT-10 A-Pillar, now I need to get my S. P. A EGT/Boost guage. Boy, no one told me after buying the truck that this was just the beginning of things to come, just bring money, (lots)LOL. This is a great site

I have a post-turbo pyro on my '03. If we assume the turbo temperatures will be similar on the 04. 5 engine and my engine, then waiting 2 minutes is PLENTY of time. Normally, just the time spent idling into my parking space (wherever I am) is enough to get down to 250. Idle for another 10-30 seconds, and I'm down near 200. Sometimes it's so fast that I sit and wait a bit anyways, just to be sure.

 

[y-knot]

Your Two minuets of cool down is most likely plenty. You didn't really think you would buy this truck and not add anything to it, did you? You are just getting started, the gages and pillar mount are essentials. They also offer a Cool Down Timer, that allows you to set the length on time, then just push a button and remove the keys and walk away. Though not an essential, It is mighty handy. Also, there are many members that have as much in accessories as the truck cost new, keep going you'll get their.