Thread: Turbo Timer

Hi,
Just spotted this post.
I have one on my Td5 Defender and it works a treat. I got mine from ARB.
The one thing I would suggest if you are not an atuo sparkie is get it fitted properly. The main ignition wires you need to tap into are a heavy guage and thoese cheap electro-tap jiggers will not do a good job. You need to get it soldered in.

On the other side, you do need to have a ready answer to the " Hey buddy you left you car running !" question every time you walk away from you car after you lock it and the engine is wstill running.
My most popular is "yeah it's a Landrover mate, can't make it stop. It will when it's ready"

Originally posted by Goblin
you do need to have a ready answer to the " Hey buddy you left you car running !" question every time you walk away from you car

True, True.

I have a "don't know what brand" brand turbo timer on my 200Tdi fender. It was there when I bought the vehicle (2nd hand). Interestingly it has 3 options 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes.

Now I reckon that 60 seconds is long enough for a turbo to spin down and shouldn't need oil supply to it longer than that. How long do others have theirs set to, and why :?:

5 minutes - I use this when I'm getting out to pop into a shop and can't be bothered restarting the vehicle [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] (Don't forget to reinsert the key and turn it back to ON though. Awfully embarassing progressing and then realising tyhe steering is locked... ops: ).

My dad's Holden Jackarooted turbodiesel doesn't have a turbo timer at all. He says the dealer told him it "didn't need one" :?: :?

Hi folks, no modern turbo powered diesel engine needs an idle timer on them.
The new engines are a completely different animal to the old ones plus there is also the problem that installing a turbo timer may void you warranty.
I use to manufacture turbo timers for the trade and even had one on my first Disco, a TDi.
There are few occasions where a turbo timer is now genuinely needed.
Away, just my opinion, cheers.

Originally posted by drivesafe

The new engines are a completely different animal to the old ones plus there is also the problem that installing a turbo timer may void you warranty.

And I believe, now illegal to leave a car unattended and running.


Bushie

That's interesting, Bushie. Are you sure it applies to a vehicle which is locked-up and has the engine running on 'timer', as well as to a vehicle which had been left running with the keys in the ignition?

And I have to disagree with Drivesafe:

Originally posted by drivesafe
The new engines are a completely different animal to the old ones plus there is also the problem that installing a turbo timer may void you warranty.

Sorry, but what is so fundamentally different between old and "modern new" turbo-diesels is this regard? Surely the problem of the lubricating oil being 'cooked' in an overly hot turbo bearing housing is exactly the same as it even was?

Perhaps turbos with a water-cooled bearing housing might get a bit of natural thermosyphon coolant circulation after shutdown but these, AFAIK, are relatively rare on diesels.

When left to idle for a couple of minutes after gentle driving, the exhaust gas temp of my 300Tdi stabilises at about 200 C. Presumably this is close to the 'true' gas temp at idle. After hard, fast highway driving, the EGT, even after having coasted down and pulled over, is often still well above 300 C. Again presumably, this is because the cool 'idle' exhaust gases are picking up heat from the still very hot manifold and turbo housing. It can take 3 to 4 minutes of idling before they drop back to the 'normal' 200-odd C levels. In these couple of minutes, while the 'cool' idle gasses are cooling the manifold and turbine housing, the lube oil is also removing heat from the bearing housing.

Without a cooldown period, I believe it is inevitable that the bearing, and the oil remaining in it, will be heated to well above the normal running temp of the bearing by the large reservour of residual heat in the turbine housing.

If turbo cooldown is not necessary, why is it you never see a heavy truck/road train engine shutdown immediately after pulling in off the highway??

On a similar subject what are the possible consequences on a turbo diesel of performing a stall recovery on a steep hill i.e.if you can't make the climb, stalling the vehicle, selecting reverse and then starting the vehicle. As far as I know that is the recommended procedure for a manual vehicle (bit more involved than I've mentioned but along those lines). Would this be potentialy damaging to the turbo considering that it is likely that it would have been working hard on the climb and then had the engine shut straight down. I'd be interested in any thoughts.

Iain

Hi Leo 109, modern diesel engines and turbos are dramatically different.
There operation is basically the same but both are now designed to operate at much higher RPMs, they are also designed to tolerate higher operating temps so the cooling down factor is not as important as it was only 10 years ago. But more to the point, in just the last 5 years there have been more diesel powered 4WDs put on the road and fewer have turbo timers installed, yet when was the last time you heard of anyone having a turbo failure. Again, 10 years ago you would hear of the occasional turbo failure. Things have changed and engines and turbos have advanced technologically as well as physically.
Don’t take my word, talk to someone how services them. You will get a better and more actuate idea.
Cheers

Ian

Re the legality of a turbo timer in Queensland section 213 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management - Road Rules) Regulation 1999 says that if you leave the vehicle unattended you must switch off the engine, apply parking brake, remove the ignition key and lock the vehicle. That's the short version anyway.

I don't know if the engine would be considered to be switched off if it still running on the turbo timer.

You can find the relevant legislation at this site.

http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN...antOpRURR99.pdf

Iain