Modern Turbo Engine Reliability and Durability

[SubieRubyRoo]

Actually, it's true. My bimmer (B58 engine) idles at ~1100rpm for about 15 seconds before reverting to ~800rpm at every start, including warm starts. This insures that the turbo is getting proper oil and coolant flows.

Nope. As mentioned, it’s to ensure (not insure) that the cat(s) are brought up to temp quicker to reduce raw emissions.

Coolant has an extremely low viscosity and therefore as soon as the water pump begins turning (even during cranking) the coolant is flowing in the turbo(s).

If we take the data that somewhere around half of all wear occurs at startup, increasing RPM actually increases wear even if a small amount.

Manufacturers don’t care as much about keeping engine wear to a minimum as they do getting their emissions down quickly and remaining in compliance with the law. If you don’t believe that, just take a glance at VW’s DieselGate & the CumminsGate settlement payments. Billions of dollars for emission violations vs maybe 1% engine replacements under warranty.

 

[Marcozi]

Nope. As mentioned, it’s to ensure (not insure) that the cat(s) are brought up to temp quicker to reduce raw emissions.

Coolant has an extremely low viscosity and therefore as soon as the water pump begins turning (even during cranking) the coolant is flowing in the turbo(s).

If we take the data that somewhere around half of all wear occurs at startup, increasing RPM actually increases wear even if a small amount.

Manufacturers don’t care as much about keeping engine wear to a minimum as they do getting their emissions down quickly and remaining in compliance with the law. If you don’t believe that, just take a glance at VW’s DieselGate & the CumminsGate settlement payments. Billions of dollars for emission violations vs maybe 1% engine replacements under warranty.

I disagree with your statement. The engine acts exactly the same regardless of the engine and cats temps.

 

[Bighorn2500]

179,500 miles on my Cummins is in the shop for a turbo replacement. Actuator started to fail causing vanes to stick in place. In the shop now being replaced.

 

[edyvw]

I disagree with your statement. The engine acts exactly the same regardless of the engine and cats temps.

They always did.
The DME needs to run the test for a few seconds. It will adjust idle after few second after all data is computed.

 

[Carmudgeon]

I’m in the camp of engineering matters far more than configuration.

Care and feeding play a role as well.

Volvo B230FT had original turbo at 200k, before car was rear ended, and totalled. Oil-cooled turbo running nothing but dino GTX; and was run hard, but not put away wet. Having the discipline to commit to that was a bit of a pain, but probably paid off.

Only issue ever with the turbo was when the end of the vacuum line to the wastegate broke, causing engine to cut out like it was hitting a rev limiter. Cut off the end, reattached the line, and carried on.

Of course, 8.7 psi is modest compared to modern boost levels.

Ultimately, though, turbos are an additional wear item that will eventually need attention, for long term owners.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Only turbo I’m familiar with is when I had my 01 S60 T5.. was solid and reliable quick too. Gotten rid of before if any turbo related problems. Owner after me lost the car in flood waters of hurricane sandy such a shame but she also had no known turbo issues.

 

[Alex_V]

Inherent fear of turbochargers/engines with them is a 20+ year old mindset. There are plenty of N/A engines with chronic issues, and a good percentage of boosted designs that prove very reliable. It all depends on the specific design aka how much of a crap the manufacturer gave about it holding up.

 

[RAR]

I’ve been “testing” my newly completed Mini Cooper S 1.6 turbo this week, using it for routine errands.

I really do enjoy driving it with the new turbo and everything operating as it should. While it’s probably not necessary, I still do an idle after my drive to allow coolant and oil to circulate through the turbo.

This is the much hated Prince N14 engine, and I agree that it has a poor reputation. But this more about Mini’s attempt to make it minimal maintenance. This engine, and how they get wrung out by their owners, needs frequent oil changes to last. Even then, a replacement turbo (and annual walnut blasting of the intake due to direct injection) is probably in the future every 100k. Not a paragon of reliability. It’s not an easy turbo swap despite being front and center in the engine compartment. The radiator and AC condenser have to be moved, the front bumper comes off… a lot of work. I know because I’ve done it.

But for me, I will still prefer a turbo version over the NA one simply for the fun times you get with that exhaust “snail” boosting that little engine.

 

[wtd]

I prefer vehicles without turbos. We currently have three Ford Superdutys in the family that have turbos. One is a 2017 with only 36,000 miles so no turbo problems yet but has had several other electrical problems. A 2004 SD that was bought new and it lost the turbo early on in its life under warranty. Truck now has around 96,000 miles with the replacement turbo on it. The other truck is a 2007 with around 250,000 miles on it and it had its turbo replaced last year but it was bought used with around 150,000 miles on it, so we have no history from before that.