Maintenance and Care of Turbochargers
Recommendations for Unlimited Durability of Turbochargers
It's not always the turbocharger! Many workshops simplify the search. The engine doesn't perform or burns oil? It must be the turbocharger. The answer is simple, but not always the solution. We want to briefly list some diagnostic points that should be considered before suspecting the turbocharger. You will also learn here what is good and bad for the turbocharger, and why it is important to find and eliminate the cause of failure after a turbocharger change or overhaul.
What is good for the turbocharger?
The turbocharger is designed to typically reach the engine's lifespan. It does not require special maintenance and care, monitoring is limited to a few periodic checks. To ensure the turbocharger lasts as long as the engine, the following service instructions from the engine manufacturer must be followed exactly:
- Oil change intervals
- Maintenance of the oil filter system
- Oil pressure check
- Cleaning of the air filter system
What is bad for the turbocharger?
90% of all turbocharger damage is caused by the following reasons:
- Ingress of foreign objects into the turbine or compressor
- Dirt in the oil
- Inadequate oil supply (oil pressure/filter system)
- Excessive exhaust gas temperatures (ignition systems/fuel injection systems)
These damages can be avoided through regular maintenance. During maintenance work, such as on the air filter system, care must be taken to prevent foreign objects from entering the turbocharger.
Error Diagnosis
When the engine does not run properly, troubleshooting should not start with the turbocharger. Often fully functional turbochargers are replaced, although the fault is not here, but at another point in the engine. Before starting the troubleshooting on the turbocharger, the following points should be checked:
In case of loss of power or black smoke:
- Is the air filter system dirty?
- Is the engine compression too low?
- Is the fuel injection system okay?
In case of blue smoke:
- Is the crankcase ventilation functioning normally?
- Are the compression ratios normal?
- Is the spark plug condition normal?
- Is the oil return okay?
Only after checking all these points should the cause of the malfunction be sought at the turbocharger.
Since turbocharger parts are manufactured with precision machines to the thousandth of a millimeter accuracy and the impellers rotate at up to 300,000 revolutions per minute, work on the turbocharger should only be performed by trained specialists.
Source: BorgWarner Turbo Systems / Link to Source
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