It happens to us with any appliance or product of a certain value. It happens to us with car tires, with a mobile phone or a Photo camera. And although any of them represents a significant outlay for our pocket, none reaches the cost that a fault of a car.
Therefore, keeping our car in the best possible condition is essential to avoid having to spend hundreds (if not thousands) of euros to fix it. Sometimes it is as simple as keeping the checks up to date and changing the fluids when necessary, but on other occasions you have to pay a little attention to what is happening in our vehicle.
In this last group we can include the maintenance of the turbo. With the downsizing, the use of the turbo has been key so that many manufacturers have been able to reduce the displacement of the cars, limit emissions and maintain power. But a turbo failure can be very expensive. A simple trick to reduce risks is the “rule of the minute”.
The “rule of the minute” to always have the turbo ready
When a Turbo works collects part of the exhaust gases and uses them to introduce more air into the cylinder. In this way, there is a greater amount of air in the combustion chamber and when burning the fuel, greater power is achieved.
For all this to occur correctly, the turbo uses two turbines. The first is located before the exhaust system and is the one that, when the amount of gases is sufficient, is put into operation and diverts part of them to a second turbine, in charge of introducing them into the combustion chamber. The intermediate path is the so-called coaxial axis.
In the process, the exhaust gases that pass through the turbo do so at very high temperaturesTherefore, the use of oil as a lubricant is essential to guarantee the proper functioning of the parts and lower the engine temperature.
But for all the parts to be properly lubricated, it is necessary for the engine to warm up and its circuits to receive the appropriate liquids. In order for the parts to be at the optimum operating temperature, one piece of advice is not to demand too much from the engine in the early stages, until we verify that the oil is at the expected temperature.
To be sure that everything works correctly, there are those who use the “rule of the minute” before starting to circulate and just after arriving at the destination. Especially important is this last case, when it is interesting let the car idle one minute.
When we turn off the car, the systems stop working and part of the oil can remain “stuck” between the parts. If this oil burns because it has stopped circulating when the engine is stopped, a small amount of carbon is formed which, in the long run, will wear the parts faster and increase the risk of breakdown.
Regarding the cost of a turbo failure, prices vary depending on the vehicle used but Race figures its change in an average cost of almost 3,000 euros.
Photo | brenton pearce
