I have always been told to let a "turbo'd" engine idle before you shut the engine off. I can not locate any info on this subject in the Forums. I did read on one website selling a larger turbo that if their turbo is added you will have to let the truck idle before shutting the engine. I think it mentioned something about liquid cooled turbos , oil, and ball bearings. I am assuming ( I hate doing that ) you DO NOT need to idle the engine with the stock turbo on the sy and ty. Is this true? Thanks.
Turbo ... after engine is shut down?
- Thread starter Davidwm71
- Start date
TheObiJuan
Active member
here is how it works. your turbo circulates hot air through it. this inturn heats the oil that is lubricating the moving parts. the shaft, ball bearings, thrust bearing, etc. when you turn the car off there is still oil in the turbocharger that is exposed to the immense heat. this causes the oil to coke and dry up, thus leaving nast deposits on your turbo and in your oil return line. to avoid this, and to increase the performance and longetivity of the turbo you want to let your car run while not being under a load for a few minutes. rather than leaving the keys in the car and waiting you can purchase a turbo timer. a device that allows the vehicle to remain on and circulate the oil while the turbo and engine cool down properly. they can cost from 95-150 dollars. depends on what you want. some have adjusable settings that you have to manually enter. like 1 min for program 1 and 5 min for program 2. the harder you run it, the more time to cool. or you can have an auto timer. one that automatically sets an amount of time based on various sensors. some companies are greddy, apexi, and hks. they make these and are available on the net. hope this helps.
Ian Turgeon
Cascading Inspiration
Then theres our turbos.
This coking issue is a big deal for oil "cooled" (preferable reffered to as non water-cooled) turbos. Turbos (like the stock syty one) with a water cooled center section are much less prone to failures related to oil coking.
Now that doesnt necissarily mean you cant ruin a watercooled turbo, but it does greatly reduce the need to cool the turbo.
The only condition I would be concerned, is if you've been under load for a long period of time (boosted or not). In other words, dont do a WOT run to 100mph, pull over and shut the truck off. Same with climbing a long hill or steep grade.
I tend to let the truck sit with the hood open after highway trips, idling for a few minutes, then shut down. But that may even be excessive.
Agree on the turbo timer.. you could use one.. but its not necissary to leave it running at every shut down.
This coking issue is a big deal for oil "cooled" (preferable reffered to as non water-cooled) turbos. Turbos (like the stock syty one) with a water cooled center section are much less prone to failures related to oil coking.
Now that doesnt necissarily mean you cant ruin a watercooled turbo, but it does greatly reduce the need to cool the turbo.
The only condition I would be concerned, is if you've been under load for a long period of time (boosted or not). In other words, dont do a WOT run to 100mph, pull over and shut the truck off. Same with climbing a long hill or steep grade.
I tend to let the truck sit with the hood open after highway trips, idling for a few minutes, then shut down. But that may even be excessive.
Agree on the turbo timer.. you could use one.. but its not necissary to leave it running at every shut down.
V6 Kompressor
New member
And another big issue... You should be running Mobile One synthetic oils in the engine which will not coke/ carbon up like the standard types will.... Remeber the ads with the oils cooking in the frypan ??
