will yer car still go if the turbo breaks

[KA9VQF]

Hi,

As some of you know my wife and I have a '05 PT GT Cruiser convertible.

My wife volunteered to go ring the bell for the Salvation Army today with some other folks. Ringing the bell is kinda boring so they decided to talk a bit.

The woman who organizes these kind of events happened by and they were talking about the wife's snazzy car. This gal asked what a turbo was and my wife just said it makes the car go faster and sounds pretty cool.

So she asked 'If it breaks will the car still go?"

Well, the wife didn't know so she asked me and I said yes it will still go just not very well and it would be best if you didn't drive it very far. It could suck all the oil out of the engine and destroy it.

Now, I said this with complete authority, but the truth is I really don't know if a turbo were to fail if the car wouldn't just stop running or if it really would suck the oil out.

So would you folks who actually know tell me for sure if I was blowing smoke up her skirt or if I am right.

Thank ya'll.

[Busted_PT]

Originally Posted by KA9VQF

Hi,

As some of you know my wife and I have a '05 PT GT Cruiser convertible.

My wife volunteered to go ring the bell for the Salvation Army today with some other folks. Ringing the bell is kinda boring so they decided to talk a bit.

The woman who organizes these kind of events happened by and they were talking about the wife's snazzy car. This gal asked what a turbo was and my wife just said it makes the car go faster and sounds pretty cool.

So she asked 'If it breaks will the car still go?"

Well, the wife didn't know so she asked me and I said yes it will still go just not very well and it would be best if you didn't drive it very far. It could suck all the oil out of the engine and destroy it.

Now, I said this with complete authority, but the truth is I really don't know if a turbo were to fail if the car wouldn't just stop running or if it really would suck the oil out.

So would you folks who actually know tell me for sure if I was blowing smoke up her skirt or if I am right.

Thank ya'll.

Well I my humble opinion! I think you were right on. As to the oil It would require that the rear seal be compromised and would loose oil out of the turbo into the exhaust and could eventually end the way you described. In the context of the conversation I think more fear of what may happen if neglected is better than complacency.

[KA9VQF]

So, I have been talking to lots of mechanics, excuse me, ''automotive technicians'' lately. One is the Corvette guy at a fairly local Chevy dealership another works at the Saab dealership and yet another has an independent shop of his own.

All of these guys have around 20 years working on vehicles that have turbo chargers on them. All of them tell me the same thing.

It depends.

There are a lot of ways for a turbo to fail. Sometimes they just stop turning. The car will still run just not very well. Sometimes the shaft between the hot side and the cold side will snap and again the car will still run just not with much for power.

Sometimes the seal between where the oil lives and the rest of the turbo will fail and you can lose all the oil from your engine.

All agree that the oil seal is the most common and most devastating. So I have an answer for my wife to tell folks when they ask, if that ever happens again.

Thanks to all who gave me input on this.

[quicksilverdon]

I think you would get lots of smoke of the oil were being pumped out and you would notice before you ran out of oil.
Be glad the discussions are just "What if?" and not "What happened?"

[Busted_PT]

Originally Posted by quicksilverdon

I think you would get lots of smoke of the oil were being pumped out and you would notice before you ran out of oil.
Be glad the discussions are just "What if?" and not "What happened?"

Not nessarly as it's not being burned in the cylinders. Being blown straight in the exhaust. Might not see it if the car is going down the road in the rear view.

[hotrodstills]

my 03 gt turbo made a sound that i thought was a loose heat shield but it was the turbo. the bearings had went bad and i could move the shaft up down in and out. it ran well enough but didnt have a lot of power.after i replaced it i was shocked at the power it has.

[NitroPT]

Originally Posted by hotrodstills

my 03 gt turbo made a sound that i thought was a loose heat shield but it was the turbo. the bearings had went bad and i could move the shaft up down in and out. it ran well enough but didnt have a lot of power.after i replaced it i was shocked at the power it has.

That would be a similar example to a resent PT Cruiser owner, member here on this forum and friend. He drove for months and thousands of miles with a froze TURBO PT that had less power then a 60" VW.

Hey Allan its not vw powered any more is it? LOL