Cooling Turbo

[HUSTLER]

Do we need to let the turbo cool or not when turning car off??

Why or why not??

[Guest]

No.

Ford very smart.

vik

[Cypher]

Vik

Can you explain why you don't have to let the turbo spin down / cool down after driving it??

What has Ford done that stops the usual need to let the whole thing cool down for a minute after driving?

[Benny]

Once the engine stops there's no oil or water being pumped through the turbo so it's just left sitting basking in its own heat. I certainly wouldn't be just switching the key off. Look after your turbo, its one of the main reasons these cars are so good.

[Guest cul08r]

I cannot comment on the details of this individual turbo yet, but in general on a late model car you should only need to idle the vehicle if it has been hard on boost in the last couple of minutes. If you have a driveway that is 4 km long and rises 500m to the top of your estate then yes, I would idle for a minute or two. I personally live 3 minutes from a freeway exit, a relatively flat drive at 80km/h. I rarely let the car cool down in this instance, as it it rarely on boost in those final minutes.

If you flog it, it will get hot, and you should let it cool. I'm now waiting for Ken or Miss Kitty to come and hijack this thread...

Andrew

Edited 16/12/03 10:45 PM by cul08r

[ktford]

Did he say flog?

Scotty

[Marcos]

From what I understand about turbochargers, a turbo keeps spinning for quite a while after you shut the engine down. The reason it's advisable to idle the engine for about a minute is to reduce the speed at which the turbo is spinning to as slow as possible, before shutting the engine down. Shutting the engine down removes the oil supply to the turbo (sourced from the engines oil pump), so the turbo is spinning without a fresh oil supply, causing a risk of siezure. At idle after about a minute, the exhaust gasses propelling the turbo are at an absolute minimum therefore turbo revolutions are minimum also. The greater the speed at which the turbo is still spinning after engine shutdown the greater the risk is for turbo siezure......there is little chance of a turbo siezing, but its more wear & tear on the turbos bushes/bearings.

[Phantomxr6]

Do a search on turbo timers, some good info available,as vik said ford very smart.

[Falchoon]

There is some thermo syphon thing that happens on XR6Ts that circulates coolant to the turbo when you switch off. I think there may be something about it in the owners manual.

But it is a good idea to let it idle down anyway if you've been giving it a hard time.

[Guest cul08r]

I'm unsure if this is what you meant Marcos, but I will explain it this way.

Oil is never removed from the turbo, however fresh oil is not pumped in, meaning that with the turbo spinning at 10,000rpm+ the oil will heat up. However, if you have moved the car out of the garage to wash it or similar, you are in no danger at all.

Once you have seen your turbo glowing at night or after a dyno run, you will understand that average joe driving gently through his suburb for the last couple of minutes getting home will have no problems switching the car straight off.

It's hard acceleration from intersections and high revving that heat a turbo up to dangerous levels if shut down immediately. It may not go the first time, but eventually...

Andrew