Turbocharger care

[TedT-CA]

I have had a number of turbocharged cars in the past (SAAB,Volvo) and all have had turbo failures due to bearing overheating/wear.

Does the PT turbo have any special cooling for the turbo bearings like circulating oil after the engine if off, or do you still need to let hthe car warm up at startup, and cool down before turning it off?

I know there is an intercooler, but this only influences the air temperature.

Thanks
Ted

[ptgtcb]

It is water cooled and it is supposed to pull the heat away from the bearing after shut down. However! The owners manual still recommends idling for a period of time after running it hard. It is a fact of life and a good idea with any turbo.

[hoopdiewagon]

invest in a turbo timer. $100. walk away and forget it.

[crazie.eddie]

Or if your not happy with the so called "alarm" system on your PT, then upgrade it to something like a Viper 791. It includes a turbo timer, shock sensors, hood switch, excellent remote starter, etc.

[TedT-CA]

Where does one find a turbo timer?
Ted

quote:Originally posted by hoopdiewagon

invest in a turbo timer. $100. walk away and forget it.

[Mean Green]

"Where does one find a turbo timer?"


http://www.greddy.com/

Go to Electronics and then to Full Auto Timer

[crazie.eddie]

Actually, from what I understand. A turbo timer is not really needed. As long as a person doesn't really stop the engine immediately after running the car hard (towing a vehicle, driving uphill, WOT, etc.). A person just needs to keep the car running under 2500 rpms for about 3 minutes. Driving around your subdivision or taking a long slow path home should be enough to keep the car at low RPMs.

[Mean Green]

quote:Originally posted by crazie.eddie

Actually, from what I understand. A turbo timer is not really needed. As long as a person doesn't really stop the engine immediately after running the car hard (towing a vehicle, driving uphill, WOT, etc.). A person just needs to keep the car running under 2500 rpms for about 3 minutes. Driving around your subdivision or taking a long slow path home should be enough to keep the car at low RPMs.

True

[Cal Cruzer]

Or just use synth oil. I had the same experience with my first turbos. The dino oil will "coke" on the bearings after shutdown. It in effect fries on the bearings and becomes a gravely material. When you startup again it wears the bearing severely. I burned up a couple of turboschargers and then the service manager suggested synth. This was many years ago when it was just coming out and pretty untested. I switch to synth and those turbos lasted over 180,000 miles each. And these were the old turbos that didn't have the benefit of water cooled bearings like ours.

I believe in synth. It's cheap insurance.

[PTGT Redman]

The manual says give it about 3 minutes to idle after hard driving.
I use my EGT as a reference. Usually it'll run b/n 900-1000 when I first pull into the garage. I will let the car idle to a temp of about 700-800 depending on how much time and how hard I was driving. Even tho the probe is post turbo, I find that it takes about 2 minutes for the temp to drop to about 700.(I usu tack on about 200 degrees for correction for probe location). Other thing is to vent excess engine heat, if you have a garage, just pop the hood for the night. The bay otherwise maintains a lot of residual heat.
Just my .02.