Some years ago, turbochargers seemed to be considered service items, that may or may not last the engine life of the vehicle. We're thinking of getting a new midsize SUV, that will be able to do light towing (2000-2500 lbs.)that will use either a small V6 or 4 cylinder gas engine, with a turbocharger. We haven't figured out the make yet, we need to go out check them out, test them, evaluate, etc. At one time I would not of considered any turbocharged gas engine, due to concerns about durability and expensive replacement if needed. Are the turbos and related engine parts generally good for the life of the engine...or can you expect to have a lot of work done of them to keep them working ?Any additional maintenance / service or parts required for the turbo charger on a gas engine ?Am I missing anything else ?Also, it seemed awhile ago that before you shut the turbo engine down, it was always wise to sit in the vehicle and let the engine idle for a couple of minutes so the turbo could slow down in rpm and dissipate heat from the bearings, other components in the turbocharger. Do you still have to this ?I don't know if any of that is still the case anymore. Most of the guys on that have turbo gas engines on this forum have the 3.5 liter turbo Ford truck engine (F 150, Expedition, Explorer)...some have the 2.7 liter Ford Turbo V6, etc. These Ford turbo engines seem to be durable, reliable and able to rack up significant miles and I haven't been aware of any issues with them. But are there ? Now one turbo vehicle we might consider is the Ford Explorer with the 3.5 turbo V6...or other manufacturers...like other American domestic vehicles or some of the Japanese vehicles. We plan to get an extended factory warranty no matter what. We've never had any vehicles with a turbocharger before. Is it safe to dip your toe in the water ? :D

Soon all gas and Diesel engines will be turbocharged. Get an alarm that has a turbo timer, walk away, arm the alarm and the vehicle will run for a few minutes to allow the turbo to cool down then **** the engine down automatically.

I have designed and owned and driven turbo cars since the late 70's.So to answer your question; it depends. For instance the 6.4 and early 6.7 Ford diesel turbo's are junk. They were a twin wheel design and they could never get them balanced correctly. They tried and tried and tried and finally gave up in 2015 and never looked back. All of their turbo problems ended when they went to a new design.I haven't heard much turbo problems with the Ecoboost. The ones I have heard about where people trying to clean their intake tracts and they dump a bunch of chemicals in the engine and blow up their turbo's.As far as cool down goes. I almost NEVER cooled my turbo's down. I drove it like an ordinary N/A engine. Never blew one up ever. And these were old oil cooled turbo's and not the new oil/liquid cooled turbo's. Now before anybody loses there minds I didn't go out and thrash on the engine and then shut it off red hot. Common sense needs to rule.As far as maintenance goes I like to change the oil in a turbo engine a little sooner because the turbo tends to beat up the oil a little faster.All and all today's turbo's are very reliable but like anything they are another part to go wrong.

Turbocharger technology has come a long way in the past few decades. Most older turbos were oil cooled only and many turbos nowadays like the one on the 3.5L EB are oil and water cooled utilizing thermal siphoning to cool down the turbo housing when the engine shuts down. This dramatically increased longevity and durability while not requiring you to idle down after running it hard.Another thing that increased turbo life and durability is the bearings themselves. Ball bearings have replaced the old journal bearing making today's turbos much more responsive. Ball bearings require less lubrication which decreases failure on cold starts where lubrication is low. They also hold the shaft in place better than journal bearing allowing for much higher turbo speeds and eliminates the need for a thrust bearing which is a common weak point on journal bearing turbos. Lastly, the forged and billet internals used in many of today's turbos are also much stronger, can handle hotter temps, and can reliably run at higher speeds than turbos of a few decades ago.

The old school turbo guys will tell you to idle the engine for X minutes prior to shut down, because the turbine needs lubrication as it spins down. but think about it, aren't most turbo'ed engines at idle long before they are shut down?Over the road trucks get great milage out of the turbine simply because they run the turbine for long periods of time between shut downs, which results in even temperature operation. the short hop guys don't do as well.

If I'm just driving around town, or on a normal hwy run, not towing, and not having just worked the engine, I just idle enough to get parked and shut it down..There are a couple of rest stops along I-90 in WA state going over the pass and if I'm towing, it's hot, and I've just pulled the grade to get to the rest stop, I idle into the rest stop, but I'll also let the engine idle for a few minutes while I do a quick walk a round the rig before shutting it down...No big deal.. I would do the walk a round anyway, so doing it while the engine idles after a hard pull just makes me feel better... Whether it makes any difference at all for my Eco??? Dunno, but I feel better about it..I'm an old guy that remembers the carbs, points, dwell, vacuum advance, etc, so there you go... :)Just what I do and works for me..Don't fear the new turbos because of old school thinking... As has been said, a lot has been done to resolve most, if not all of the old turbo tech.Good luck!Mitch

Turbochargers... durability, reliability ? | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

ShinerBock
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
hone eagle wrote:
I know the eco boost engines are siphon cooled ..... after shut down ,never read their manual but i bet there is no mention of " cool down before shut down"

You are correct! The Ecoboost turbos use thermal siphoning after shut down and do not require you to idle for a short time to prevent oil coking on the bearings.

For those that don't know what thermal siphoning is, here is a great article about it.

Water-Cooled Turbochargers
naturist
Nomad
Sep 28, 2017
Turbochargers are by far the simplest part of any engine. While they have to be machined and built to very precise specs, there's essentially only one moving part. The latest designs with variable vanes to control boost make that three moving parts. They have figured out how to do the machining and building, so modern turbos are one of the most reliable parts of the drive train.

As for the need to allow cool down, that still applies in that screaming into a rest area off the interstate you'll want to give it cool down time, but how often do you do that? Almost every time you drive anywhere, even if you take the freeway, you spend at least a couple minutes toodling down city streets and jockeying into a parking place, all of which puts no demand on the turbo and allows it to cool, so you will almost never encounter a need to do that cool down thing.

I've had three turbocharged vehicles since 2001, all with variable vane turbos. My bride and I have put over 400,000 miles on those cars and had exactly one issue: the oil line lubing the turbo bearings sprang a leak. In that time we've had our share of other issues. The turbos however have never posed any problem.

We have never done a several minute cool down except after the interstate rest area thing, and frankly that has never been inconvenient. Think about that a bit and you'll understand why.

I can highly recommend buying a turbo car or truck. The increased power and much higher fuel economy turbos bring to the table, in a nearly bulletproof part makes it no-brainer decision.
sch911
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
If the turbo truly needed a cool down idle period the vehicle would be programmed that way from the factory. Issue closed...
hone_eagle
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
I know the eco boost engines are siphon cooled ..... after shut down ,never read their manual but i bet there is no mention of " cool down before shut down"
Dadoffourgirls
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
I can not provide feedback on non-GM vehicles, but on the GM vehicles that come with the 3.6 V6 and the 2.0 Turbo, I have gotten the same fuel economy over thousands of miles. I have driven vehicles that only offer the 2.0 Turbo, and the mpg is consistent with the mpg of the other vehicles with 2.0.

The vehicles that I purchased, have V6 and V8 engines, the vehicles that I leased have turbos.
MitchF150
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2017
If I'm just driving around town, or on a normal hwy run, not towing, and not having just worked the engine, I just idle enough to get parked and shut it down..

There are a couple of rest stops along I-90 in WA state going over the pass and if I'm towing, it's hot, and I've just pulled the grade to get to the rest stop, I idle into the rest stop, but I'll also let the engine idle for a few minutes while I do a quick walk a round the rig before shutting it down...

No big deal.. I would do the walk a round anyway, so doing it while the engine idles after a hard pull just makes me feel better... Whether it makes any difference at all for my Eco??? Dunno, but I feel better about it..

I'm an old guy that remembers the carbs, points, dwell, vacuum advance, etc, so there you go... :)

Just what I do and works for me..

Don't fear the new turbos because of old school thinking... As has been said, a lot has been done to resolve most, if not all of the old turbo tech.

Good luck!

Mitch
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
The old school turbo guys will tell you to idle the engine for X minutes prior to shut down, because the turbine needs lubrication as it spins down. but think about it, aren't most turbo'ed engines at idle long before they are shut down?

Over the road trucks get great milage out of the turbine simply because they run the turbine for long periods of time between shut downs, which results in even temperature operation.

the short hop guys don't do as well.
ShinerBock
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
Turbocharger technology has come a long way in the past few decades. Most older turbos were oil cooled only and many turbos nowadays like the one on the 3.5L EB are oil and water cooled utilizing thermal siphoning to cool down the turbo housing when the engine shuts down. This dramatically increased longevity and durability while not requiring you to idle down after running it hard.

Another thing that increased turbo life and durability is the bearings themselves. Ball bearings have replaced the old journal bearing making today's turbos much more responsive. Ball bearings require less lubrication which decreases failure on cold starts where lubrication is low. They also hold the shaft in place better than journal bearing allowing for much higher turbo speeds and eliminates the need for a thrust bearing which is a common weak point on journal bearing turbos.

Lastly, the forged and billet internals used in many of today's turbos are also much stronger, can handle hotter temps, and can reliably run at higher speeds than turbos of a few decades ago.
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
I have designed and owned and driven turbo cars since the late 70's.

So to answer your question; it depends. For instance the 6.4 and early 6.7 Ford diesel turbo's are junk. They were a twin wheel design and they could never get them balanced correctly. They tried and tried and tried and finally gave up in 2015 and never looked back. All of their turbo problems ended when they went to a new design.

I haven't heard much turbo problems with the Ecoboost. The ones I have heard about where people trying to clean their intake tracts and they dump a bunch of chemicals in the engine and blow up their turbo's.

As far as cool down goes. I almost NEVER cooled my turbo's down. I drove it like an ordinary N/A engine. Never blew one up ever. And these were old oil cooled turbo's and not the new oil/liquid cooled turbo's. Now before anybody loses there minds I didn't go out and thrash on the engine and then shut it off red hot. Common sense needs to rule.

As far as maintenance goes I like to change the oil in a turbo engine a little sooner because the turbo tends to beat up the oil a little faster.

All and all today's turbo's are very reliable but like anything they are another part to go wrong.
marcsbigfoot20b
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
Soon all gas and Diesel engines will be turbocharged. Get an alarm that has a turbo timer, walk away, arm the alarm and the vehicle will run for a few minutes to allow the turbo to cool down then **** the engine down automatically.

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Turbochargers... durability, reliability ?

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