TURBO or not TURBO ? that is the question.

I was talking to someone recently who had been doing some outback travelling....he said he had seen several turbo powered 4WD that had "spat the dummy".....(very expensive to repair)......apparently, because the vehicles were being run erratically
He explained that turbo's need constant high speed, and because these vehicles were in the bush...doing a constant mixture of: stopping, slow speed, high speed and everything in between, the turbo's could'nt handle it !
Has anyone else heard similar reports?

the thing with turbos they don't like to run hot they lose power, they are better in the winter when the temps are cool. so in away it is right as you need the cooler air to be passing into the turbo to keep it cool... the new 4 wd turbos mighjt be another story as they might have a better water cooling set up i'm not to sure..
cheers
stoppsy

Turbo's need good constant oil pressure and flow, maybe at low gear speeds the engine is not driving the oil pressure up enough for the turbine and if you reduce oil flow to a turbine for even short lengths of time will do damage to the turbine bearings. Those babies realy motor up to a hundred thousand rpm. So it is more likely to be low OP for extended periods of time rather than high oil temp.

This why turbo,s blow up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRtymuRMZiE&feature=related



On a serious note this is how a turbo works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGhlgphrBxA

Regards Johnny

HOBO'S Gold wrote:This why turbo,s blow up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRtymuRMZiE&feature=related



On a serious note this is how a turbo works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGhlgphrBxA

Regards Johnny

GOOD ONE mate!!!

Turbos, teats or tyres = trouble.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCsSVLZ6wCI&playnext=1&list=PL7CD532CE66DEF75B&index=21

.

stoppsy wrote:the thing with turbos they don't like to run hot they lose power, they are better in the winter when the temps are cool. so in away it is right as you need the cooler air to be passing into the turbo to keep it cool... the new 4 wd turbos mighjt be another story as they might have a better water cooling set up i'm not to sure..
cheers
stoppsy

Thanks for that info Stoppsy, I have a Nissan Navara 2.5L CR STR diesel Turbo and it has a very noticeable power loss when the weather is hot, when the weather is cool it's fine, the vehicle was bought new last year and I asked the dealer why this happens and they said they didn't know and all there tests servicing show no problems. It has a bonnet scoop and inter cooler but now I have a better idea what the problem is I will push them again next service.
The way they were talking to me it was like they never heard of that problem before and I was starting to question myself as I would have thought hot air would have been better for combustion.
Cheers Mark

.

I,ve got a Toyota Hilux 3.0 turbo Intercooled diesel, and love it and yes I've got HOBO number plates I have never had any power lose, but I don't push the beast ether, I find that I seem to better fuel economy in warmer weather, maybe the diesel is warmer and may burn better, it has got a snorkel which helps keep cool air to get to the motor and helps with power and economy. any way I love turbo diesels I always will buy one, I would rather be stuck in the bush with no diesel than petrol as its more likerly that a cocky would have diesel then petrol. TURBO YES YES YES.

Regards Johnny

after market turbo`s have been around for donkeys yrs ... do ya oil changes and they last ... on OR off road .. I have an after market turbo, and would pay the money again ... and again .... 45deg days...to minus 10 degrees, towing and not ... gonna always have a turbo now

Gday


I have had previous 4wds with factory turbo's fitted and have had no issues with them in the bush, but it was always on my mind that if I was to have a turbo failure you could bet that it would be when I was 600 klms north of Meeka or somewhere else equally distant, and to have it fixed to get the vehicle home even if you could find someone to do it, if you couldnt get the parts and do it yourself, would be a nightmare and a very costly experience, it would be cheaper to truck the thing back home to have it done than up in the bush.

To my way of thinking if you dont have an actual need for a turbo, apart from your engine being slightly cheaper to run, or if you are not towing a heavy van I would much prefer to stay with the KISS principle, in other words it is just something else that can give you issues, and also is an extra cost when you are looking at servicing and maintainence as it will at some stage need some work.

A stock standard engine is simply more reliable than a engine that has been modified to produce more power, if you have an engine that has got quite a few klms on it already I wouldnt bother with a turbo, if the engine is low klms then you would be ok, but if I had to have one for the sake of towing a heavy van or whatever I would be doing a fair bit of research on available products to make sure that I got the most trouble free one available.

My thoughts only

cheers

stayyerAU

what about an older 4x4 say a nissan patrol 1990 model or earlier that has a good engine block with 4.2 ltrs?
uncle bob

MS wrote:Thanks for that info Stoppsy, I have a Nissan Navara 2.5L CR STR diesel Turbo and it has a very noticeable power loss when the weather is hot, when the weather is cool it's fine, the vehicle was bought new last year and I asked the dealer why this happens and they said they didn't know and all there tests servicing show no problems. It has a bonnet scoop and inter cooler but now I have a better idea what the problem is I will push them again next service.
The way they were talking to me it was like they never heard of that problem before and I was starting to question myself as I would have thought hot air would have been better for combustion.
Cheers Mark

Mark, With an intercooler fitted you should not have power loss in hot weather. Take it to someone else for a second opinion.

***********************

Bob,

That Nissan motor is a pretty good one.

The older Nissan and Toyota motors like the 1HZ are good options for retro turbos.

I believe though-I'm not a mechanic- that the earlier factory turbo motors had larger bottom ends to compensate for the extra power.

Join this forum and you'll get all the info you need

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/index.php

Robert

Hi Goldnomad, thanks for that but I have a good Mechanic here and I just wanted to get other opinions here as well. I will be looking at getting a Nissan Patrol 1990 or similar in the next six months or so, hope to get one at a good price as well.
Thanks,
uncle bob.

years ago an old bush cockie told me the way to go with naturally aspirated diesels was to fit extractors. i have spoken to a guy that has extractors on his naturally aspirated diesel and he recons he has heaps more power and better fuel economy. i always figured i would get extractors if my exhaust sys packed up
dave

My previous landcruiser was naturally aspirated but with extractors. Yes they do give you more power. Then I changed the whole motor for a factory turbo model and wow what a difference. Essentially same motor but with the factory turbo. This was a 2h standard naturally aspirated to a 12ht turbo motor. These motors look almost the same and fit exactly into the same positions. The factory turbo 12ht has larger big end crank shaft, larger big end bearings lots more oil lines up and down the pistons and different piston head and head shape. The 12ht has no glow plugs. It just starts every time first time.

From all reports there are issues of overheating putting a turbo onto these earlier toyota motors. Later ones like hzj can be after market turbo but it depends on who does it and sets up the turbo whether you end up with problems.

Most all engines will have more power in the cold as they can add more air when the molecules are closer together. Increased piston compression ratio. That is why an effective intercooler is so important to turbo motors and how the newer water cooled turbos can keep the air cooler and get more power. The older turbo motors where only oil cooled.

Cheers

David

hey, my advice would be never turbo an engine that is not designed to have one. I had after market turbo in my 80 series 1hz,after 100 000 it cracked the head and i had it set for low boost. intercooling would of helped but at end of the day there is a lot of other things in this engine that are not designed for it like crank, conrods,pistons ect..
sure you can upgrade these parts,install intercoolers ,do up fuel pumps but for what??? the money spent doing all this to have it half reliable you could put in a factory turbo motor. they are much more reliable and heaps more powerful than after market turboed engine.
I have put a 100 series 1hd fte into my 80 series for a cost of about $13 000 including fitting after I sold all the old motor and turbo ect. and would do it all over again. to rebuild my 1hz and turbo was going to be over the 10 k mark and by the time I intercooled it would have been dearer than going the factory option. just my 2cents worth Steve

My GQ is a 97 non turbo 4.2 diesel model with an after market turbo (turbo glide) non intercooled and I change my oil every 5000k and filters - 3 weeks ago my wife and I went from nth coast to Jindabyne to Caan River Vic to Albury back to home - 650ks a day sitting on 115 - 140 never missed a beat - so you might have had a bad experience with yours - over the years I have toyotas FJ swb - lwb ute- non turbo and now my GQ with ... I will always have a snail on the motor now!!

there are 2 GQ 4.2 diesel donks - early one with black tappet cover - silver cover for the later models - black is supposed to be the best to turbo
have a look on the Nissan patrol forum - join and any questions will be answered and you can post too

BB

Hi Byronbinalong, You could be right about bad experience and I am no turbo expert. The only reason I took the option I did was because it wasn't too much more to go factory turbo (3-4k). Also I needed more power/reliability to tow my 26ft van around Australia for the next 2 years. I think it just pays to research the hell out of anything and then decide whats best option for your needs. Steve.

quadangle wrote:Hi Byronbinalong, You could be right about bad experience and I am no turbo expert. The only reason I took the option I did was because it wasn't too much more to go factory turbo (3-4k). Also I needed more power/reliability to tow my 26ft van around Australia for the next 2 years. I think it just pays to research the hell out of anything and then decide whats best option for your needs. Steve.

Thats ok
I tow a 1.9t van or camper trailer, this is the first turbo diesel and all I can say is .... its the only way to go now ... used to be a toyota man, but this nissan is the pick of the bunch ...
Cheers
BB