Recommendations for Servicing and Care
What is good for a turbocharger?
The turbocharger is designed such that it will usually last as long as the engine.
It does not require any special maintenance; and inspection is limited to a few
periodic checks.
To ensure that the turbocharger's lifetime corresponds to that of the engine, the
following engine manufacturer's service instructions must be strictly observed:
- Oil change intervals
- Oil filter system maintenance
- Oil pressure control
- Air filter system maintenance
What is bad for a turbocharger?
90 % of all turbocharger failures are due to the following causes:
- Penetration of foreign bodies into the turbine or the compressor
- Dirt in the oil
- Inadequate oil supply (oil pressure/filter system)
- High exhaust gas temperatures (ignition system/injection system)
These failures can be avoided by regular maintenance. When maintaining the air
filter system, for example, care should be taken that no tramp material gets into
the turbocharger.
Failure diagnosis
If the engine does not operate properly, one should not assume that the turbocharger
is the cause of failure. It often happens that fully functioning turbochargers are
replaced even though the failure does not lie here, but with the engine.
Only after all these points have been checked should one check the turbocharger
for faults. Since the turbocharger components are manufactured on high-precision
machines to close tolerances and the wheels rotate up to 300,000 rpm, turbochargers
should be inspected by qualified specialists only.