Thread: turbo timers?

You have got it in 1, to let the turbo cool down a bit before it shuts down.

They dont do a huge amount unless youve been working it really hard and working the turbo on boost.

This is likely when you are climbing hills in lowrange or plugging through mud and then as soon as you stop you shut it down is where you want one so it doesnt shut down straight away.

I have an old ARB 1 that I fitted a couple of years ago which generally I just over ride unless Ive just come off the freeway or Im 4wding.

Hi McDisco, for many years I use to manufacture and supply Turbo Timers to the trade, originally for trucks but as more and more diesel 4x4s came on the market, the majority of my gear went into 4x4s.

This is going back over 20 years ago but I manufactured my last Turbo Timer about 7 years ago as there is no rear need for them these days as the new turbos are made of more suitable materials and oils are much better designed to meet the needs of the higher temps turbos run at.

So with the occasional exception, as pointed out by mcrover, there really is no need for them today.

If you ever have a rare situation where you have been running the motor hard for a while and you are about to stop, simply run the engine at idle for a minute or two, but even if you forget and just switch the motor off, it is highly unlikely that you will ever do any damage to a new vehicle ( 10 years old or less ).

Cheers

Hydraulic accumulators, like the Nical Turbo-saver are much better than a timer. With these you can stop the engine and a flow of oil is directed into the turbo bearing housing whilst the turbo is still hot and spinning. Any competent fitter/machinist can m,ake one from a small hydraulic ram, a check valve, and some plumbing.

You're much better to fit an EGT gauge and not shut the engine down until the EGT's are at your normal idle temps.

If you do, you'll realise how little you have to idle them down. Unless you live at the top of hill which you drive up with the foot to the floor.

An oil accumulator won't help much, as the main reason to idle it down is the cooling from the exhaust. A small cylinder full of oil won't do much to cool down a red hot turbo, the falso sense of security and extra seals in the oil line are IMO a bad thing.

I beleive they are a waste of money as nine times out of ten the engine will have been running below boost levels for a minute or two b4 you shut down anyway. Even when you come of the freeway into the services you are most likely to be below boost as you slow down on the exit ramp and with at least 2-3 minutes of time to have elapsed by the time you shut off. Also as drivesafe has stated modern turbo's have been designed so that the cooling down period is not as crucial. Even if you have been slogging out on the beach in the soft sand for an hour common sense should dictate that you would let it idle for a few minutes whilst you set yourself up for your day on the beach, or whilst you reinflated your tyres after coming off.

If you fit one (I wouldn't) then you need to be aware that some insurance companies class them as an engine modification and I even had to change insurers (from AAMI) because they didn't want to cover me. They had safety & security issues with them because of the fact that you walk away from the vehicle with the engine still running.

In my opinion, if you are that aware of your engine condition to fit one, then you could probably just train yourself to let it idle for a bit after you stop the car, if you have been working it hard.

I let mine idle down until EGT's are below 190deg.(upstream) This doesen't take long, and I can't fit a TT to mine anyway, as I have to pull a cable to shut it off anyway. The TT would have to have a 3 phase motor installed to pull that fuel stop!!

JC

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Hydraulic accumulators, like the Nical Turbo-saver are much better than a timer. With these you can stop the engine and a flow of oil is directed into the turbo bearing housing whilst the turbo is still hot and spinning. Any competent fitter/machinist can m,ake one from a small hydraulic ram, a check valve, and some plumbing.

I think oil accumulators are evil. I have seen so many eng bay fires caused by oil accumulators. Eng bay heat causes a the hosing to become brittle and whammo you have a litre of two of pressurised oil just waiting to spay onto a hot eng in a nicely atmoised mist and theres nothing you can do to stop it.

As the other guys have said as long as you egt's are down and your running a quality diesel oil, you'l be okay.