Hey, I've just bought a 1.9TDI and was wondering if any of you allow the turbo to cool down after use, or spool down depending on who you talk to?! Basically should I be sitting in my driveway with the engine running?? And if so for how long?

Bout 20 mins should do it. Get the wife to bring you your dinner while you're there.

She won't bring me dinner on the sofa let alone the car!!

You have a Skoda, not a brand new production Lambourgini. I would not worry about it. Skoda dont yet make the finely oiled machine that a turbo let down time is applicable. Sleep easy and save fuel...............

It depends how hard you've been driving it, but about 2-3 minutes after a hard blast and less after a gentle drive.

Use a good quality oil, don't thrash your car for the final mile home and let the revs settle when home for 20 sec then engine off. Idling for minutes for turbo "cool down" is a complete waste of time and fuel and will succeed only in glazing your cylinder walls.

Yeah, I've heard the oil to lubricate the turbo is cut off when engine switched off. The turbo is still spinning, therefore resulting in the bearings being destroyed prematurely. I do some towing so it may be a good idea after engine has had to do a bit of hard work!

How does this work for Petrol turbos?

We're not talking perpetual motion here - the turbo will stop spinning fairly quickley when you stop driving and when you switch the engine off the oil doesn't suddenly dissapear from the bearings, just the flow stops, oil remains clinging to the bearings.

If you rag the car home, rev the nuts off it then switch off when at 5k then yes, not good. But a bit of mechanical sysmpathy goes a long way. Sensible last mile, parkup and let the revs settle for say 20 sec and engine off - thats all it needs.

Exactly the same for petrol or diesel

Bout 20 mins should do it.

I run mine for 12 hours after a run, just in case, you cant be too careful.

It makes sense to top up with fuel before going home so you dont run out whilst sat in the drive idling. The only problem is what to do in the petrol station, as I dont want to turn the engine off there either, and they wont let me top up with the engine running. So I keep a 500 gallon tank at home.

However its not safe to top up there either with the engine running so I have fitted a 100 gallon tank to the car.

I have found that by the time I can switch off the engine safely its actually time to go back to work, so I have saved loads by selling the house and living in the car. The crucial problem is at work where they dont really appreciate me sitting in the car park for 12 hours before starting work. I have solved this by living in the car in the work car park and not driving it anywhere. This has kept my turbo in pristine condition! The cars interior smells a bit though.

Good idea better safe than sorry

2-3 mins is all i do.

What a lot of toffee

What a lot of toffee

I could not agree more!

We're not talking perpetual motion here - the turbo will stop spinning fairly quickley when you stop driving and when you switch the engine off the oil doesn't suddenly dissapear from the bearings, just the flow stops, oil remains clinging to the bearings.

I was told there is an auxiliary oil pump for the turbo - it continues to feed oil to the turbo for a short period even after you switch the ignition off. Presumably stops the oil cooking off in the bearings whilst they are still hot. Not a Lamborghini but still quite a clever engine.

If you really want to know, fit an exhaust gas temp gauge (EGT) with the probe in the exhaust manifold. Don't shut it off until you are at or below 200C.

For my 4wd if I've just climbed a hill at speed then it needs a bit to cool down. Otherwise it's good for immediate shut-down.

Meh if you live in a 30mph limit that'll probably sort out the issue for you.

You don't have to do much with a modern turbo, I've been driving turbo'd vehicles for over 25 years and touch wood haven't had a turbo let me down yet, even in hard worked agricultural vehicles. Remember that at full boost a turbo will be spinning in the region of 150,000 to 200,000 rpm, they will stop but at that speed take quite a while, they also work in temperatures exceeding 400 C. If I have been working the vehicle hard then I will make sure that I take it easy for the last mile or so and allow a few seconds for the turbo to slow and cool when I have parked up.

Ian

2-3 mins is all i do.

+1 this is ideal.

Queeg & Country boy are "on the money", having taken 250,000 out of a turbo on a 1.9TDI turbo mostly run on tractor oil all I ever did was back off the throttle the last couple of miles, perhaps took a quick check on the engine oil temp if I had really been pushing her, then a few seconds extra at tickover if in doubt, maximum probably one or two minutes after a proper "fleecing" that had her crackling, as soon as the engine oil temp started to drop as opposed to still increasing...........then pull the strangler.

Pure un-common sense,( apparently).

You don't have to do much with a modern turbo, I've been driving turbo'd vehicles for over 25 years and touch wood haven't had a turbo let me down yet, even in hard worked agricultural vehicles. Remember that at full boost a turbo will be spinning in the region of 150,000 to 200,000 rpm, they will stop but at that speed take quite a while, they also work in temperatures exceeding 400 C. If I have been working the vehicle hard then I will make sure that I take it easy for the last mile or so and allow a few seconds for the turbo to slow and cool when I have parked up.

Ian

Peak temps into a turbo are around 750C. Higher if you have a car with DPF during regen.

Normal to fun drivesused to take it gentle for the last couple of mile ie coming through the town and give it 30seconds. This used to have the oil temp back down around 95.

After a real hard blast a it could take a few mins for the oil temp to come back down

Thats was on the old 1.8t

I run mine for 12 hours after a run, just in case, you cant be too careful.

It makes sense to top up with fuel before going home so you dont run out whilst sat in the drive idling. The only problem is what to do in the petrol station, as I dont want to turn the engine off there either, and they wont let me top up with the engine running. So I keep a 500 gallon tank at home.

However its not safe to top up there either with the engine running so I have fitted a 100 gallon tank to the car.

I have found that by the time I can switch off the engine safely its actually time to go back to work, so I have saved loads by selling the house and living in the car. The crucial problem is at work where they dont really appreciate me sitting in the car park for 12 hours before starting work. I have solved this by living in the car in the work car park and not driving it anywhere. This has kept my turbo in pristine condition! The cars interior smells a bit though.

Not very helpful, but well funny!

Hey, I've just bought a 1.9TDI and was wondering if any of you allow the turbo to cool down after use, or spool down depending on who you talk to?! Basically should I be sitting in my driveway with the engine running?? And if so for how long?

It's a diesel, so no you don't have to worry.

Just drive the last mile normally and not ragging it and make sure you use the correct oil at the correct intervals.