How do I service the turbo?

 

Nothing special. Just keep Synthetic oil in it and change it based on the dash % reading. I do mine at 25% just to not run it too close.

Drain the oil change the filter and refill the oil and that is it.

Just because it is a Turbo doses not mean it needs much special. THings have changed since the old days.

Synthetic oil is needed just because of the high temps and is harder to break down. No carbon in the oil line due to the better oil and water cooled housings.

 

Also, a good idea to use premium gasoline. 91 octane or higher. You're engine will love you for it.

 

The truth is you can use any fuel with the stock 2.0 Turbo. Some will argue all sorts of things , there are a lot of opinions and then there is what GM states.

When the car says Premium recomended you can use regular or premium. Note the only thing that happens with the lesser fuel is you lose about 20 HP. It will not damage the engine nor hurt it in anyway. The GM warranty is fully backing this up.

Now if you have say the Turbo Upgrade kit from GM added the car becomes a Premium required vehicle and you must run premium or you will run the risk of possible damage.

The same system was used on the Series III 3800 SC engines too and they never have had any issues either.

To be honest if you really figure up the difference in the cost of fuel it is very little so it should not be an issue. But GM does this for two reasons. One if you get caught out in an area with no premium [there are such places around] it will protect the engine. The other reason is marketing. Many people will not buy a car that requires premium fuel as they consider it a greater expense and will keep away from some of these engines in lower cost cars. Giving the option lets the buyer choose what he wants more a extra buck in his pocket or 20 more HP under the hood.

I always opt for the extra 20 HP.

 

I appreciate the help, but I was asking about the turbo itself. Most turbo units need oil changed periodically and I just wanted to know what the maintenance on it consisted of


I only run premium fuel, and I have run synthetic oil (Royal Purple) in all of my cars for years now

 

The turbocharger draws its oil supply from the engine, so changing the engine oil is all you need to do, I think you're thinking of a supercharger rather then a turbocharger.

Superchargers(such as those used on the Solstice etc.)have their own oil supply in most cases, so they do require service in addition to the normal service required for the engine.

One thing you can do to lengthen the life of your turbo is to get in the habit of letting it have a "cool down cycle" before you shut the engine off. After a long run or some aggressive driving, let the engine idle for 3 or 4 minutes once you reach your destination.

That lets the engine oil circulate through the turbo bearings cooling them off a bit, if you just shut down with a hot turbo you can "coke" the oil in the bearings due to a lack of circulation. Coked oil is basically oil that has been heated to the point of evaporation/burning, it leaves carbon deposits in the bearings which can, over time, take them out.

 

Good to know! I knew it was necessary in superchargers. I have seen some aftermarket turbos that require their own oil aswell. Great to know that these don't!

 

And where have you seen aftermarket turbos that need their own oil??

You mean an oil tap line from the oilpan?

 

I think you are confusing superchagers. For example a Votec Superchager used the engines oil to the unit. While the Paxton or OE Eaton like on my GTP used it own internal oil.

Turbos have to have outside oil as it would carbon up if it were internal. They use a flow from the engine to keep the oil cooler. Also they water cool the housing to keep the beaing and oil cooler.

The original T Type Buicks did not have water cooled housings and the bearings would cook around 30K-35K miles. The GN came and it got a water cooled housing and rock solid reliablility. GM learned the hard way you can't cheap out on a Turbo.

Most OE systems anymore no longer need the cooling shut down. The housings and berings have been improved with better cooling and materials that it is rare to see a failed bearing anymore.