Hey guys,

Hope you can answer these (esp 1st one)

have 2 questions...

Can anyone here tell me exactly why a turbo would just die in my 07 s40 volvo only 55,000miles up on it...

Also, in cold weather should i wait few seconds before starting up my diesel engine or should I always wait for few seconds regardless of weather as its diesel?

 

Turbo's have a driving care procedure that should be followed. You can read up on it in the owners manual. The life of a turbo is a back lash of the motor care. Here are my top suspicions in order of wear danger.

• Never rev a cold motor, this would be a extreme killer for a turbo. A turbo needs to be warmed up and well lubed before you put a demand on it. I never rev my car before the temp is all the way up.
• Never rev a motor right before you shut it off. A turbo should be allowed to cool down before the motor turned off to avoid over heating and cooking of the oil in the turbo. I always drive or idle at least the last 2 miles of my drive, especially if I had been driving hard.
• Never exceed oil change recommendations. If I drive hard, I will likely change the oil sooner. This is why a lot of hard drivers change oil every 3,000 miles instead of the recommended 5,000 miles.
• Always use high quality oil, synthetic preferred. Note: Even with synthetic I do NOT exceed oil change recommendations.
• Always use good quality oil filters.
• Always fix oil leaks, especially those that involve the turbo.

Other than what is mentioned above, any part can go out on a car at any time. That's why we have warranties on new cars. A turbo should last 200,000 or longer. I don't know if they go much longer than that. It would be interesting to see if anyone has more miles than that on one without a rebuild or anything.

As for the diesel, just do what the owners manual recommends.

 

Thanks rspi! That was interesting. New turbo going okay so far...i think!!!

However One thing ive noticed since the turbo was fitted is when I start the car Im finding a strong smell of fuel coming into the car. I'm not sure where it is coming from but it is quite strong...what's the reason for this Im a bit clueless to when it comes to cars!

 

Usually a fuel smell is due to a loose or torn vacuum elbow. You can start the car and search for it with a lit match, but it's probably best to disconnect every vacuum elbow you can find and look it over.