Im buing a 1998 s70 t5 with 138000 miles on it and was wondering how long a turbo in this type of car usually lasts? Is it limitless?....My 1994 850 Turbo's turbo with 216000 still works but definetly runs at about 1/2 the pressure it used too.

-seth

Depends on the driver and if mods were done.

Normal driver no mods. It should still be good.

Bad driver and mods it might be a different story.

most definatly, that is a grey area with the whole turbo life expectancy.

i also have a question about that. since the S40 has a "low boost" turbo, wouldn't that lengthen the life some? I mean, you're not dealing with the typical high pressures of a high performance car's turbo. And how is it that the turbo is "low boost" in the first place?

Alot of people say the turbo's go out pretty fast on these cars.
But as long as they are serviced correctly they will last a long time.
I have seen alot of cars with atleast 100k on the original turbo.

Not sure why Volvo has the boost low. I really never checked how much but would have to guess about 7 PSI or so.
It is all controlled by the ECU.

in an s80t6 01, is it possible to ask for a boost to be set to the max setting, or is it already set to the max?

My car just passed 100K, and my turbo is still within spec

ORIGINAL: gordon368

in an s80t6 01, is it possible to ask for a boost to be set to the max setting, or is it already set to the max?


You would have to up it by aftermarket means.

just from my limited experience. the average turbo needs to be replaced or rebuilt every 60-90k miles. depending on the pressure it has running. Some will go twice that long with no problem. but still wont work as well.

Take toyota supras for example. just like on this board where at 60,000 miles change the timming belt, they are the same for do something with the turbo. see everything has its little quarks.

Mine went 157K miles until a lack of oil changes clogged the feed line and ate the shaft up....

Previous owner was a female...drove it nice and easy, but didnt maintain it worth a Darn!

I drive an s40...its low pressured because the 12t turbo is tiny and is made to take high pressure for too long. Stock the 12t comes around 7-8 psi. I bought a boost controller and have it running 11 right now and its a world of a difference. These 12t's can last as long as the car as long as they are treated respectfully. It's usually the drivers that kill these turbos.

Anyway, Seth, if the car was maintained and boost kept below 12psi or so, stock Volvo turbos can readily exceed 150k miles. Of course that lifespan is affected by boost level to a great degree. Turbo shaft speed and RPM tends to increase proportionately with boost level, and turbos that are seriously overspooled will tend to require exorbitant RPM to eek out the last pound or two of boost that the driver wants.

To inspect your turbo, you can always stick your hand in the compressor inlet and cop a feel for play and excess oil near the inlet. Those will give you telltale signs of its impending future.

As far as your personal experience goes, if your turbo puts out half the boost it used to, it's either seriously messed up, the wastegate actuator's return spring has weakened significantly, or you have a massive boost leak. If it's a boost leak, your turbo could very well be spinning twice as many revs as the boost level you're receiving would dictate, but since half the boost it's putting out is just going through a crack in a boost hose, you think it's only pushing out the amount of boost on the guage. That can kill a turbo very quickly.

Turbos don't typically just slow down and eventually stop. They usually go from working fine to failing catastrophically, if severe oil blowby doesn't kill them first.

lol if something goes wrong with the turbo lets say in the s80 t6, will it still drive ok?

it will drive but will drive like crap, especially when your rpms go up. Wouldnt recommned it.

ORIGINAL: gordon368

lol if something goes wrong with the turbo lets say in the s80 t6, will it still drive ok?


If the turbo seizes before the oil seals blow out, it might be ok if you drive with a very light pedal. If the oil seals blow out, it'll start dumping unburned or partially burned oil into both your catalytic convertors and into the intake of the engine, which will lead to rapid failure of the cats, and a whole lot of gunk in everything associated with the intake, not to mention you'd lose oil pretty quickly.

In summation: Don't drive with a blown turbo unless you're stuck in the desert or something.

The previous owner of our 1990 740 Turbo rarely changed the oil, and it clogged the inlet and return lines, the turbo finally broke in half, The compressor turbine was sitting loose in the inlet side, and the impeller was turning independent. She finally parked it when this happened, due to the smoke.

The entire exhaust system was full of oil, as was the intake.

It took a new turbo, and alot of driving, but it finally has stopped smoking.

one thing i must say after reading this thread...for all you guys who want to play with your boost, do some homework first so that you know what exactly you're doing...this willhelp tremendously with problems down the line...

Mhm

A Stock S70 T5 runs anywhere from 8-10 psi stock.

what about does an S60 T5 run at stock? my car has 85,000 miles on it .. also what kinds of things besides using good oil and changing it often can i do to make it last a long time?

ORIGINAL: D_Jack

what about does an S60 T5 run at stock? my car has 85,000 miles on it .. also what kinds of things besides using good oil and changing it often can i do to make it last a long time?


You are running ~10psi stock.
Just keep doing what you are doing with a little TLC (Time Love and Care),and you should be fine.
On my 745t, my 13c(stock turbo)has gone 256,000miles and 6000 of those miles where are 11psi (which is what I am running now) :D.