Turbo Maintenance?

[okeetee]

I have a turbo on my 940 1995 Volvo. It's working fine! However, is there anything I can do to keep it that way? Are there any "maintenance" tips I need to be aware of or perform?

[DeRail]

I'm not sure how much more maintenance a turbo is than a NA engine. I would think that it would be similar to the normal 4 cylinder engine maintenance: change timing belt at required interval, spark plugs/wires, distributor rotors/caps, are just a few of the big ones I can think of. Keep up with oil and filter changes as usual.

Darrell

[okeetee]

Thanks Darrell! I had heard that sometimes the seals on a turbo go bad and start to leak....and was just wondering if there is any thing special I can do to prevent that, or at least postpone it from happening. But with regular oil changes, which I do, I guess I'm doing all I can.

[billofdurham]

These tips can be found on several sites which specialize in worshipping turbo powered cars. I don't wholly agree with all of them.

Basic tips to maintaining a healthy turbo.

Oil is the life blood of your turbo. It helps cool and lubricate your turbo and its bearings. With out proper lubrication a turbo will overheat and seize.

With that in mind, here are some basic tips to maintaining a healthy turbo.

1.) Use only synthetic oil.

It is recommended to use only synthetic oil in a turbo application because synthetic oils are better at resisting thermal breakdown than non-synthetic oil, and we all know that turbos run at extremely high temperatures.

2.) Change your oil every 2,500-3,000 miles.

When run through an extremely hot turbo, oil breaks down and becomes dirty very fast. It is very important to change your oil every 3,000 miles.

3.) Check your oil level often.

You want to check your oil at least once a week. Due to various, strenuous conditions of positive manifold pressure and excess heat caused by a turbo you want to check your oil levels at least once a week.

4.) Let your oil cool down before you shut off your car.

It is very important to let your car idle for an extended period of time after driving. (The amount of time really depends on how hard you drive the car). This allows the turbo and ultimately your oil to cool down which prevents coking of your turbo bearings and oil lines.

5.) Make sure you put oil in the turbo before starting the car after an oil change.

It is important to make sure that the turbo bearings are lubricated before you start your car after an oil change, to do this, pull your ecu fuse and crank your car until your oil pressure light turns off. This will ensure the turbo has oil in it before you start the car.

Follow these 5 simple steps and your turbo will thank you.

Point 1 - I used semi-synthetic oil in my 940 turbo due to the exorbitant cost of full synthetic in the UK. At present it is £31.80 ($48.63) for 5 litres.

Point 2. Follow the car manufacturer's intervals.

Point 3. A good driver will do that with any car. An advanced driver will check the oil every day.

Point 4. Is very good advice. When our local ambulance service first started using turbo powered Renaults the drivers were blowing turbos on a regular basis by switching off the engine as soon as they arrived at the scene of an incident, arriving in double fast time of course. The turbo takes a little time to stop spinning so needs oil until it does. After a hard, fast run I allow at least a minute before switching off.

Point 5. I have never heard of this one and can't see any value in it.

Whenever you start a turbo engine you should allow at least 30 seconds to elapse before increasing the revs. This allows the oil to circulate to the turbo.

Obviously opinions differ but I have driven many turbo cars over countless thousands of miles and have never lost a turbo yet.

Bill.

[okeetee]

...excellent, Bill! I don't drive the volvo very hard at all, on many occasions I don't think the turbo ever kicks in! But I will implement you suggestions!

[bhapper]

their are up-grades to the turbo system ,in the 700 seres,
their fac up grades,do by a dealer,Brad