The turbo on your diesel pickup is a precision-engineered component. As a result, proper maintenance is essential to keeping it going strong. At tens or even hundreds of thousands of RPM, keeping everything in good shape is absolutely necessary. Fortunately, turbos don’t really require any special maintenance - they just make the maintenance you do all the more important.
Oil Maintenance
Keeping your oil maintained is an imperative part of turbo upkeep. You want to make sure your oil is at the right level, and free of debris or contamination. Consult your technician on how often your oil needs to be changed - it depends heavily on what you use your truck for, and how often, as well as what sort of condition it’s in mechanically. If dirty oil builds up in the small passageways to the turbo, or the oil level gets too low, it’ll starve the turbo of oil and destroy it in short order. Dirty oil also causes extreme wear on the bearings.
Carbon Buildup
Be sure to keep your emissions components in good working order. While the truck may run fine, a check engine light or malfunctioning emissions component means more carbon buildup. If carbon is allowed to build up in passageways and inside of the turbo, it’ll dramatically decrease the efficiency and lifespan of your turbocharger.
Coolant
Turbos aren’t very forgiving - tight tolerances have to be maintained to keep it operational. If the components in your turbo expand too much as a result of overheating, it’ll catastrophically fail; plus it’s only designed to withstand certain temperatures. The same coolant that runs through your engine flows through the turbo to keep it cool. Make sure your coolant levels are where they should be, and have your cooling system regularly flushed of debris and contamination. Otherwise, coolant passageways could become blocked, and cooling efficiency compromised.
Whether you need a new turbo, or just want to keep yours going strong, our professional technicians have you covered. For the best diesel service shop in Collierville, TN and Olive Branch, MS, call or stop by Cecil's Automotive today.
