Turbo life? How long do they last?

spannah

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Guys, how long does a turbo last for before replacement? lets say a 1.8t with 90k miles and more. Do they die after or around 100k or do they never die?
 
spence_star said:
Guys, how long does a turbo last for before replacement? lets say a 1.8t with 90k miles and more. Do they die after or around 100k or do they never die?

How long is a piece of string?

I think it depends on how the turbo has been treated.

When Dave and I removed his turbo it was still funtioning but looked nice and worn compared to the new one. I think his car has done over 100k, correct me if I'm wrong Dave.

From what I have learnt it is important to warm them up before raggin it also letting it cool down is important too.

If any of this is incorrect then please correct me, which I know you will!!!

Hope this helps.
 
How long is a piece of string? lol


Dammit beaten to it!
 
yeh i kno what you guys mean, but in general terms of being on this forum, has the topic ever come up often, i have been searching for turbo issues and i have not come across any. But then i dont think people on here have an A3 with over 100k. But then i may be wrong.

If they do go, is it like gold dust, hard to find and expensive to buy. sorry for all the questions i have just never owned a turbo before, i have come from a BMW E30 325i which lasted me forever due to being a 6potter. So i am curious on the audi engine.
 
The transverse engine turbos seem to be pretty solid, however if they've had a hard life I would expect them to start giving up at anything over 70k. If they've had a good life then 150k is entirely possible providing they've been run with good quality oil.
 
I have a 132K A3 and I took the turbo off 2 weeks ago, it was fine and functioning perfectly. I have a receipt from it being remapped at 60K and its ran 100% since then. It did have signs of running lean inside the turbo but the operation of the turbo was unaffected in terms of longevity.

Prawn on here has a K03 running fine at 140K too.

Turbos rarely go wrong.
 
Yep the life of the turbo depends how well its been looked after.
Proper cooling from thrashes etc and proper servicng and maitenance.
Normal driving dosent require proper warming/cooling.
Also if mods have been done provided the car is again looked after then there shouldnt be any problems.
 
my 99 A3 is coming up to 140k, just been in for service, and everything is fine. i have had new gasket etc at around 120 k.

as prev posters said if you constantly thrashing it, expect more wear and tear.
 
exellent feedback guys, thats standard anyway, let the engine tick over for about 2 to 3 mins before setting off and before switching off. When u go for a service at a specialist i am sure they service the turbo anyway.

Im definatly after one now, just need to find a well looked after one, preferbly owned by a granny. Fat chance.
 
spence_star said:
exellent feedback guys, thats standard anyway, let the engine tick over for about 2 to 3 mins before setting off and before switching off. When u go for a service at a specialist i am sure they service the turbo anyway.

Im definatly after one now, just need to find a well looked after one, preferbly owned by a granny. Fat chance.


Turbo isn't a sreviceable part, it's either healthy or not, no need to idle for a few minutes before setting off, just cool down after a hard thrash, even a slow drive 'off boost' for the last couple of miles before you get home is sufficient to cool a turbo.
 
jojo said:
Turbo isn't a sreviceable part, it's either healthy or not, no need to idle for a few minutes before setting off, just cool down after a hard thrash, even a slow drive 'off boost' for the last couple of miles before you get home is sufficient to cool a turbo.

I always thought warming it up was important?
 
Warming up is extremely important for the engines sake, let alone the turbo. My other car has LED's around the rev counter and these go out as temp goes up and subsequently the rev ceiling increases until its fully warm - this was implemented at the factory to prevent prematue engine damage!

For cooling down, driving off boost for the last mile or so will be fine, and more convinient than letting it idle before shutdown.
 
Sounds like u drive an M3 stewart, i thought only M3s have that?
 
Nope. The oil needs to be warm and up to pressure, which flows into the turbo, so that'll be where the confusion comes from. It kinda goes hand in hand. But its oil and not turbo that needs to be warm.
 
Yeh i noticed that on the M3 thats why i use that guide on all cars i have, i dont take my revs upto 3000 when changing gear especially when cold. i usually change at around 2000 to 2500.

How do u know when the turbo is gone is it white smoke from the exhaust?
 
A few things:

1) Smoke on the overrun
2) Smoke when accelerating after the engine has been idling for some time
3) The Turbo will be more audible than normal, and will give more of a screeching noise

The above symptoms are for the turbo itself. Worn actuators usually give erratic boost, and fail to hold peak boost - sometimes even creating spikes.
 
Thats the one fault i've found with the s3 is there is no temp gauge for the oil. My 306 gti 6 had an oil temp gauge which i used to see weather it was ripe for a ragging . i may try and fit one to the s3, I just don't like those silly gauges everywhere