How's going all, proud to say I'm a proud new owner of my own HHR SS. I was just think about a possible sticky thread for, "turbo maintenance and tips". I have never owned my own turbo car and know that they have some specific needs that need to be meet in order to operate properly . So any pro's on the matter I would really appreciate it if you could chime in, and help out me and anyone else that could use help on the matter. Thanks

Suggestions
-Oil type
-When to change oil, by cars in dash info or set miles i.e. 2500 or 4500?
-Allowed cool down period, is it necessary if the car will only be shut down for a certain amount of time, i.e. 5 minutes compared to 8 hours?
-Any other advice


Happy 4TH

 

Turbos get hot... and so after spirited driving, it's a good idea to idle the car for a few minutes (2-3) to allow the turbo to cool down while the oil is still cycling through the system. If you turn off hte engine while a turbo is ultra-hot, the oil inside the unit can boil into a gunky coke (not the soft drink, nor the drug) substance. That's not what you want in your tubo.

 

arent these turbos water cooled as well? XXL's advice is sound though, always a good idea to let the car's oil circulate on start up and cool down a bit before shutting it off.

 

I haven't actually bothered to peek under the hood yet (too busy with work, move, etc., since I got the car ), but I doubt it. I'm not aware of any turbo that uses water cooling. Most turbos are either self-contained oil-cooled or recirculating oil cooled. I'd expect that water just couldn't hold up to the heat.

 

I had one that had water and oil, obviously not mixed together. It took water into the housing via a small hose running from the water outlet.

 

Now that I think about it, you're right... the Mitsu 16g has a water inlet on it. Duh. I suck.

 

yeah, i pulled a turbo off a '89 LeBaron at a local junkyard a while back (hair-brained remote mount turbo thoughts for my Camaro...long since abandoned lol) and it was water and oil cooled.

 

Right on, any recommendations on oil to use?

 

Your KO4 Turbo is watercooled. It's pretty much standard these days on turbos.

The factory recommends 5w30 Mobil 1. Any of the name-brand synthetics are up to the task, but I'd stay away from the second-tier stuff...we've seen issues with oil coking with some of those brands. In any case, make sure what you choose meets the specs called out in your owner's manual.

 

[QUOTE=EcoBoost;285748]Your KO4 Turbo is watercooled. It's pretty much standard these days on turbos.

So a cool down period would still be necessary correct or no cool down?