Turbo lifespan?

[Zamiel]

Currently checking out a 2002 1.8 Turbo and my father's good friend said the turbo only has a lifespan of about 80-100k miles before needing replaced. I haven't been able to correlate this anywhere else and was hoping someone here could shine some definitive light on this subject for us.

[turbos03]

he's wrong...

if it's been beat on then yeah it might be on the way out by then, but if the car was taken care of the turbo could last for the life of the car... is the car smoking..?? does it still spool up and pull without issue..??? any oil spotted on the turbo/seals..?? have you checked for shaft play..??

if you realy want to know take the car to a VW tech and have them look the car over...

[miffmole]

What maintenence should be done for a turbo? I know that you're supposed to let it cool off before shutting down if you've been driving hard for a while.

[Zamiel]

Originally Posted by turbos03

he's wrong...

if it's been beat on then yeah it might be on the way out by then, but if the car was taken care of the turbo could last for the life of the car... is the car smoking..?? does it still spool up and pull without issue..??? any oil spotted on the turbo/seals..?? have you checked for shaft play..??

if you realy want to know take the car to a VW tech and have them look the car over...

Everything looked fine on a visual inspection before and during my test drive. We didn't check for shaft play since I wasn't aware of it until your post. How would we check for that and just how much is too much? Thanks for your help

[turbos03]

Originally Posted by miffmole

I know that you're supposed to let it cool off before shutting down if you've been driving hard for a while.

you got it... and keep up with your oil changes, remember synthetic oil always...

[turbos03]

Originally Posted by Zamiel

Everything looked fine on a visual inspection before and during my test drive. We didn't check for shaft play since I wasn't aware of it until your post. How would we check for that and just how much is too much? Thanks for your help

really if you have any doubt about the condition of the motor you'd be better off taking it in to a tech to have the car looked over...

to check for shaft play you'd have to get the car up on a lift, take the intake pipe off the turbo and move the shaft by hand... is this car coming from a dealer or private party..??

[mloeks76]

Forgive me for eavesdropping...but why do you need to let it cool off before shutting down after driving hard? And what constitutes "driving hard?"
Sorry, just trying to be an "informed" Beetle lover.

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by mloeks76

Forgive me for eavesdropping...but why do you need to let it cool off before shutting down after driving hard? And what constitutes "driving hard?"
Sorry, just trying to be an "informed" Beetle lover.

Nothing wrong with that! I've not heard that before either. It was to my knowledge that that buzzing/humming sound that you hear when you turn the car off was the turbo cooling down. I could be wrong though

But i've NEVER heard of replacing the Turbo. Its the WATERPUMP that is know to break before the 80k mile range because Vw made them out of plastic. So when you change your timingbelt, make sure you're going to get a METAL waterpump as a replacement. That should be done at 80k miles too. Its STRONGLY recommended to change them together.

[2004NBTURBOS]

Originally Posted by mloeks76

Forgive me for eavesdropping...but why do you need to let it cool off before shutting down after driving hard? And what constitutes "driving hard?"
Sorry, just trying to be an "informed" Beetle lover.

It is best to drive the car easy before shutting down. Meaning stay out of the boost. Turbos generate a lot of heat. The more your in the boost the hotter the turbo gets. If you regularly shut off the car with a hot turbo the oil passages tend to cook the oil, and get clogged with sludge. This happens over time, so to avoid this problem it is best to take it easy for a few miles before shutting down.

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by 2004NBTURBOS

It is best to drive the car easy before shutting down. Meaning stay out of the boost. Turbos generate a lot of heat. The more your in the boost the hotter the turbo gets. If you regularly shut off the car with a hot turbo the oil passages tend to cook the oil, and get clogged with sludge. This happens over time, so to avoid this problem it is best to take it easy for a few miles before shutting down.

Just to add--yes, if you are on the boost hard the turbo can get very hot--compressing air creates lots of heat and shutting down the engine at such a time will "cook the oil"--it's commonly called "coking", or essentially the oil is broken down by the heat creating some nasty gunk. Even synthetics can be broken down depending on the temperature--have you heard the term "turbo timer"? Essentially, a turbo timer is a device that keeps the engine running after you reach your destination, stop and turn off the ignition and leave your car. Personally, I try to avoid hammering on the boost when I know I'm about to stop and/or I open the door, while letting the engine idle, the door chime is a good timer of about one minute of idling for oil to circulate and cool the turbo to a temperature that should be oil safe.

[mloeks76]

interesting...now i know. thanks for the info. sorry if i hijacked someone else's thread.

[turbos03]

yup and the more you know the happier you and your car will be...

[yoga129]

sorry to interrupt....
i just change my dv, and i when i look at the hose and put my finger there, i get some oil on my finger, do you think its normal?

[turbos03]

Originally Posted by yoga129

sorry to interrupt....
i just change my dv, and i when i look at the hose and put my finger there, i get some oil on my finger, do you think its normal?

it's normal...

[digitalputty]

Sister needs a new turbo on her 2002 SNAP! Where can we find one ... mechanic wants $2,000 to refurbish (?) hers???!!!! :O

Thanks.

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by digitalputty

Sister needs a new turbo on her 2002 SNAP! Where can we find one ... mechanic wants $2,000 to refurbish (?) hers???!!!! :O

Thanks.

"VW Parts" - "Volkswagen Parts" - Parts and Accessories Catalog. $972.56 w/ a $300.00 core charge that's OEM

Better deal Volkswagen New Beetle 1.8T > Engine > Turbo > ES#1892047 K03 Sport Turbocharger With ECS Installation Kit - 06A145713DKT

[cep]

Do you know anyone who is a Honeywell employee? They can get turbos at cost from Garrett. Or, cruise the junkyards. Or, the net: Turbochargers.com | Advanced Performance Specialests There are a lot of places to get turbos on the internet. ex: http://www.turbo-power.com/

[cep]

On the general topic of turbo lifespan--turbos are not particularly delicate. About the only thing that none of them can survive is inhaling foreign material--that damages or demolishes the intake rotor instantaneously. The oil coking issue is largely overblown. There are hundreds of thousands of turbo vehicles which never get any kind of a deliberate cooldown period and make it all the way thru their expected lifetime without failure, and that is with conventional oil. Virtually every diesel truck on the road has a turbo that is flogged harder every day than the VW turbo will be in a year. About the only time we ever gave them a cooldown period was if we stopped at an interstate rest stop on the crest of a hill. Any other time, maneuvering around to get parked was enough time to cool the turbo off and we never had one fail due to coking and that was with dino oil.

Before one says, "yes, but, the VW turbo is different"--yeah, they are, but the only real difference is size. They all have an intake and exhaust turbines on a common shaft, either bushing or ball bearings and intake and exhaust scroll housings. They're really a simple machine but built to very close tolerances.

[digitalputty]

Originally Posted by wawalker

"VW Parts" - "Volkswagen Parts" - Parts and Accessories Catalog. $972.56 w/ a $300.00 core charge that's OEM

Better deal Volkswagen New Beetle 1.8T > Engine > Turbo > ES#1892047 K03 Sport Turbocharger With ECS Installation Kit - 06A145713DKT

I suppose with labor their quote isn't that far off. :O Also, I wasn't aware of the fact that she needed other stuff too - serpentine belt, new water pump and timing belt. :O Which is weird ... she just had it done maybe 30,000 miles ago. 0_o

I trust this mechanic like crazy so .... maybe there is something else wrong with her car that they do not know about that is causing constant failures....

Ugh.