Have you been told you donʼt need a turbo timer for your turbo diesel?

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Many new car dealers will tell customers who are buying a turbo diesel vehicle that they donʼt need a turbo timer. They will claim that advances in engine and turbo design, water cooling and other features have done away with the need for turbo cooling before engine shut down.

This is not so. Any turbocharged diesel engine which has been running with a load will have high temperatures in the turbocharger. When the engine is turned off, lubrication of the turbo bearings stops immediately and the heat can cause distortions, burning of the oil onto the turbo shaft or other problems which can result in failure of the turbocharger.

This is more likely to happen in the latest model vehicles with the trend to using smaller turbo diesel engines than previously, resulting in the engines working harder and generating more heat.

And contrary to what the salesmen may say, the vehicle manufacturers do recommend that the engine be idled before it is turned off. They include this recommendation in their Ownerʼs Manuals. The following are extracts from the manuals of several late model turbo diesel vehicles:

“ ... to prevent damage to the turbocharger, allow the engine to idle immediately after high-speed driving or hill climbing.”

“ ... if the engine temperature is very high, e.g. after driving in mountainous terrain or after a long hard run, allow the engine to idle for approximately two minutes so as to prevent a build up of heat.”

“ ... if the engine has been operating at high rpm for an extended period of time, let it idle for a few minutes prior to shutdown.”

Using a turbo timer is a reliable and foolproof method of ensuring that the vehicle manufacturers written recommendations are carried out every time.

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