Turbo Life

[Mals BA XR6T]

Just more of a comment then anything

Back quite a few years ago (10-15 years that is) if you said the word Turbo everyone would cringe (my V8 push rod type mates that is) and the comments would inevitably come out like... A turbo is very bad, bad for the motor, and just not going to last the distance.

Hearing horror stories of Turbo's self destructing, and destroying motors always put me off.

Seeing an XR6T Taxis the other day I thought is this guy must be nuts, how long will it last in a Taxis?

Ok, now that was then, and I assume that Turbo's have improved over the past decade... (I hope so since I have one) so how long should these things last (The Turbo's in the XR6T that is)

Anyone know the main differences between the Turbo's produced a decade ago, and the ones today, and expected life span? (Personal experience would be good)

[F6 RAPID]

Turbos in road trains last for at least a million kms. Good maintenance equals longevity, just like anything else. Are you going to pump in more boost?? How long is a piece of string??

One of my mates with a MY99 WRX has nearly 90,000kms on it and has been running around 14.5 psi for the last 80,000kms, pulling trailers, the lot. Not a drama.

If you look after it, it will last for as long as you want. They are the most understressed engine in the world......standard anyway.

[XRSICKT]

Maybe back in the days when turbos were first developed they may have not lasted too long but that’s like anything else that’s new, once the technology is perfected there is no turning back, all SAABs in Australia these days have turbo charged engines and if a company as big and well respected as SAAB put turbos in their engines, this sais a lot.

[XR6TK1W1]

From my understanding when turbos first came out the fan inside spun in a bush type of arrangement. This put alot of pressure on the oil and if not cooled down correctly, would seize or cause wear. If they were damaged underload from this they could break and let parts into the intake for the engine causing a whole heap of wallet damage. These turbos are oil feed ball bearing units which dont turn the oil to a froth as much as the old ones so they spin free and with little wear. Also oil tech is far better now and a good oil adds to the life of the turbo. And to my understanding the better the oil under pressure the better and more efficient the turbo will work as it keeps it cooler etc. Just dont ask which oil to use as peoples choice in oils are nearly as biased as which car company they support.

PS 3 year warrenty!!!

[CnC]

With the advanced engine management systems, ball bearing turbos, and improved manufacturing control these days you wont find the problems that were present in the old cars.

Ford has engineered this motor to be extremely reliable, so I would be surprised if its any less reliable than the normally aspirated motor, provided you dont modify it.

As soon as you modify the engine you are pushing it outside the manufacturers development envelope into unknown territory..

[bcl]

Up to about 1985 most car turbos were oiled cooled, and seals would blow or bearing go. I had a number of turbos that needed repair back then. After that turbos were water cooled and far more reliable. The last turbo that I had a problem with was about 10 years ago, and it was on a car running almost double the standard boost. ... I left a trail of white smoke all the way from Yass to Sydney. On a standard low boost car such as the Ford I would not expect any problems with the turbo whatsoever provided it is properly serviced, and nothing gets into the inlet that could damage the compressor blades.

Overall I've probably driven over 300,000 kms with turbo cars.

Brian

[turb06]

Way back then, how many cars came with standard intercoolers. How many specialised turbo mechanics and aftermarket performance parts were there available for people to learn from. Not many.

[svtang]

at work we have got a ten year old Toyota 80 series Turbo Diesel Landcruiser.....

it weeps a lttle from the various seals, done about 300000 km ... and we simply can't kill the thing (as much as we try )

love turbos .... including the Jap ones .....

[Mals BA XR6T]

So given all these comments that there is really nothing to worry about, "these days", what were the biggest problems with Turbo's years ago? And why did they get such a bad wrap?

[DavoWA]

Also got an '89 turbo Landcruiser, 240000 kms, another mates got a turbo 80 with 280000 kms.

As said before, older turbos sometimes had plain bearings, not rollers, and also the oil technology has improved out of sight since those days. I made some comments in another thread about oil technology 'cause that's what I do for a crust, but the short answer is that using a high quality oil and changing it regularly, (including more frequently if you are giving the ride a hard time!!!!!!) will mean that the "hairdryer" won't break on you.

As Turbo6 says, trucks go for millions of kms with no dramas, provided the servicing is done properly.

Synthetic or part synthetic oils will perform better than normal mineral oils in turbos, due to the additional heat sink that is experienced with turbos. Synthetics are very good at resisting oil oxidation (cooking).