Turbo maintenance

Submitted: Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 09:20
ThreadID: 108310 Views:2461 Replies:5 FollowUps:13
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Gooday, I have a 2003 Toyota with factory turbo charger. My question:- Is there any maintenance to be done to Turbo's . Oils and filters are changed every ten thousand. Thank you.


Mike
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Reply By: Member - KBAD - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:07

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:07
Hi Mike depends on the amount of work done by the turbo, they can be rebuilt most have kits available for them, they do wear out over time because they spin at such high revolutions to much play will cause catastrophic failure, and worse case cause bits of the turbo to be ingested into the motor and result in a full motor rebuild or replacement. As part of regular maintenance they should be checked at 150 k intervals IMO.
Cheers Karl
AnswerID: 534618

Follow Up By: Member - KBAD - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:11

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:11
Sorry meant to say checked at 150k and then at 50k intervals after that unless rebuilt.
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Reply By: pop2jocem - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:10

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:10
Mike,
Other than maybe reducing your oil change periods to 5000 k's if you do heavy towing, allowing the engine to idle for a minute or two after heavy pulling such as beach work, hill climbing, there is not much else you can do with the turbo other than remove and overhaul. Not sure of your mechanical ability but removing the inlet hose and the exhaust manifold and checking the end float and radial clearance of the bearings. Not trying to be a smart arse but you do need to know a little bit about turbos to make a judgement. Ideally putting a dial indicator through the oil drain and onto the turbine/compressor shaft is the way to check axial clearance, not rocking the rotating assembly by just one end.
If your ear is quick enough to pick it up a noise when the bearings get a bit worn and the turbine or compressor wheel touches their respective housings may save a more expensive rebuild but you would need to be quick.
You don't say how many k's the vehicle has done.
In case you are wondering, yes I have rebuilt the odd turbo in days gone by.

Cheers
Pop
AnswerID: 534619

Reply By: Ross M - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:27

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:27
Like engines, turbo's like "clean" oil as lubrication. If the oil gets dirty, to the critical mass level, it can destroy engine bearings because of loss of lubricity and cooling flows.
A turbo spinning fast is less tolerant of poor oil quality, so keeping it clean is the best preventative maintenance.
If you find ANY deposits of grime inside the engine ie, not clean surfaces, then use an oil which cleans and that will ensure the best possible life of engine and turbo..
AnswerID: 534621

Follow Up By: Member - Mike and Lyn R2 - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:43

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 10:43
To all the replies, Thank, my mechanical knowledge does not extend to Turbo's The vehicle has 230 thousand kilometres on the dial and does not do any towing, it only carries our slide on camper which all up would be 8oo kilos plus or minus 50 kilo depends on the amount of liquid of varying colours. I use Penrite 15-50 oil. Once again thank you..

Mike
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Follow Up By: Ross M - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 11:19

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 11:19
Is the oil you are using keeping the internals "clean"? that is the important bit for everything inside which is lubricated.
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Follow Up By: Member - Mike and Lyn R2 - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 12:44

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 12:44
Ross , when you mean clean, is that indicated by the fact that there are no particles etc in the discarded oil after changing or is there a more efficient measure to test the cleaness of the internals. Hope this doesn't appear to dopey.......

Mike
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Follow Up By: Ross M - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 15:32

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 15:32
Mike and Lyn
You want all contaminant created inside the engine to be in the oil which you drain out of it. So it should contain those particles of carbon or anything else which is wise to remove.

If the engine oil is working for you it will carry away contaminants, ie, any build up of soot or gummy deposits.
If you look in the oil filler and see the valve gear it should be clean, maybe slightly discoloured but not black and dirty with a visible build up of rubbish on the surface of everything.
Probably at over 200,000km the oiil will discolour and become darker more quickly than when at 50,000km but even if it does, the oil should still be performing and cleaning the internals, so no build up remains deposited inside.

When changing oil, a good strong LED focussed torch can be used to inspect strainer gauze (if visible) to see any gumming on the strainer ie, Like some Hilux and Prado get. Any parts you see in there through the sump hole should be relatively clean and not scummy or heavily dirty.

Many oils don't do a real good job at cleaning. Only by looking and being discerning will you notice the build up.
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Follow Up By: Member - Mike and Lyn R2 - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 15:49

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 15:49
Once again thanks Ross I now know what to look for. Do you have any comments about Penrite Oil, I have been using it for sometime now after it being recommended, seems to be OK,

Regards

Mike
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FollowupID: 818354

Follow Up By: Member - KBAD - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 16:54

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 16:54
Mike different oils have different values for different engines, the 4.2 six is classed as a dirty engine as such it allows blow by which contaminates the oil with soot and carbon. Different to some of the yank engines that are "cleaner" engines and the newer 4.5 diesels from Japan. One of the reasons the 4.5 came about is to "clean up" the engine.
So different oils have different properties such as detergents and high levels of other minerals to aid in the removal and suspension of these deposits.
Penrite is an american oil designed for american engines having said that it is still a high quality oil whether it meets you vehicles needs is your design. When i had the 4.2 in my vehicle i used Caltex Delo, with the yank v8 in it now i was surprised to see the installer using the same oil and recommending it's use.
http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_advice/car_fact_sheets/understanding_engine_oil_designations
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 18:09

Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 18:09
Sorry mate Penrite is a small Australian oil blender.

While they do make some oils that have a reputation for high quality........truth or perception, well that is another argument......their diesel spec oils however simply can not compete performance for performance, spec for spec and price for price with the diesel spec oils from the 4 major oil companies......very few oils can....this is a huge volume market and the big oil companies make damn sure their products in this market are very competitive...to such a point that there is very little to seperate them.

As for different oils for dfferent vehicles........the top 3 diesel spec oils..dello , rimular and devlac ( and rx super too).....are multi-fleet multi-spec oils..specifically designed to meet or exceed a long string of oil specs for a wide range of vehicles.

There is no point worrying about it being a clean or dirty engine....they are specifically designed to deal with whatever.

Select the oil bassed on what is speced..for most pre common rail jap engines ya best option is a JASO DH1 spec oil.

They have both good soot suspension properties as required by the dirty little oil burners and very long drain intervals as run by many of the cleaner diesels.

I run caltex dello 400 in my dirty little oil burner....it is the correct oil and the correct spec for the job...I also run it in my considerably cleaner running petrol motor...because it well and truly exceeds the spec required for that job too.

My brother has been running RX super in every 4 stroke engine he owns for over 20 years now....from his 4.2 liter nissan 6 right down to the rider mower...since he saw the light and switched from retail packaged oil.
THE biggest and most obvious difference that he found was the absence of sluge using the RX super,... that he had found problems with the fancy retail oils he used before.

cheers
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FollowupID: 818445

Follow Up By: Member - KBAD - Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 18:49

Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 18:49
I stand corrected on the Penrite. I think it may have been the original oils it was blended from that lead me down this path.
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 21:32

Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 21:32
Penrite buy their base oils from the same places everybody else does....the major oil companies.

cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - KBAD - Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 22:00

Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 22:00
Originally sourced from Pennsylvania.
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Follow Up By: fisho64 - Saturday, Jun 21, 2014 at 21:06

Saturday, Jun 21, 2014 at 21:06
Bantam speaks the truth :-)
The oils mentioned are the ones used by large companies in mining trucking etc, and get used in CRD, old school TDI and indirect injection and petrol vehicles, and can be bought direct for around $100 for a 20 litre.

They are used in engines both large and small (we use BP Multifleet in our 69 litre CR 3516 Cats putting out 1500kw) because its as good as anything else on the market.
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FollowupID: 818517

Reply By: Member - Peter G20 - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 14:41

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 14:41
Hi
I have a nissan patrol 1998 vintage with the 2.8 turbo diesel and it's now done 340,000 ks and the turbo has never been touched.
I religiously change the engine oil every 5000 ks and when driving on the highway at speed always idle down a few minutes prior to turning the engine off.
Use good oil and you shouldn't have any issues.
My advice is if it ain't broke just don't fiddle with it!
Cheers
Pete.
AnswerID: 534631

Reply By: The Bantam - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 22:24

Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 22:24
THE single biggest factor as mentioned is oil....frequent changes and the correct oil.

This 15w50 oil..is it a specific diesel spec oil, and is that the viscosity recommended in the manual.

Many find that certain toyotas object to running thicker oils.

Most of the older pre 05 toyotas specifiy 15w40..for good reason...thicker is not better.

now here is the cracked record warning.

the vast majority of the transport industry is turbo diesel.....the majority of the transport industry use diesel spec oils from one of the 4 major oil companies..for very good reason...and in huge volume...these oils are specifically designed for turbo diesels.

you can not go wrong with shell rimular, caltex dello or mobil devlac.....or if you must the appropraite caltex commercial product like rx super.

all these oils sell way cheaper than more heavily promoted retal packaged oils..even from the same manufacturers...and for the most part they spec up better.

you should get any of the above brands for $100 for a 20 liter if you are a moderate shopper....if you shop well, cheaper....may last 20 of dello400 cost me $85.

buy you oil where the truckies buy...the diesel spares shop or your local fuel company depot where the truckies buy their fuel and oil.

while you are at it buy your filters where the truckies shop...your local diesel spares shop...you will pay less for a better filter...look for sakura, fleet guard and donaldson filters....the last filter I baught for my petrol ute cost me under $5...the oil filter for my diesel costs me arround $16..(its the big one like the land cruiser)

buy where the truckies buy and running shorter oil change intervals will be far less expensive.

cheers
AnswerID: 534656

Follow Up By: The Bantam - Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 18:26

Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 18:26
sorry correction required due to typing error.
RX super is a Castrol product.....Castrol like Valvoline is owned by BP.

In my opinion BP no longer produce the top quality product that they once did.

In the past BP produced some excelent oils under their own brand..they no longer seem to, relying on Castrol as their premium brand and Valvoline as their second string brand.

In their day all three brands where carried on some top spec, highly competitive products.....back in time, "Coarse Pluss" was the racing oil of chioce.....in its day RX super was a hell of an oil and arguably the market leader.

RX super remains Castrols flag ship diesel spec oil....it may earn some of the similar oil acreditations that the other 3 do...but it can not claim the stricter JASO DH1 spec like dello 400 does......it is still no slouch of an oil..ad truckies still buy it by the barrel.

BP seem to be content to be one step behind the leaders....save cost on their product and sell at top dollar bassed on the past reputation of their brands.

Some will disagree...But I call em as I see em.

cheers
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