I was wondering what most of you do regarding letting the turbo cool before shutting down-Example; Towing 10K down the freeway and you need to stop for fuel. I know guys who pull in and shut down immediately and I know guys who pull in and never shut off at all, they lock up their truck and leave it running at fuel stops rest areas etc. Any opinions? Thanks in advance.

 

I always leave mine running when I am towing....when I just stop somewhere to fill up with no trailer, I almost always shut her down.

 

I wait for my pyrometer to get below 300 degrees. Then I shut off the truck. I love to see the people get mad when I'm sitting there hazing out smoke at idle, straightpiped, under an awning. It makes a lot of people very very upset hahaha!

 

The best way to burn out a turbo, is to shut it off immediately, towing or not. Even if you were not towing, you need to let it idle even for 1/2 minute or so(without gauges to monitor), to ensure it has cooled sufficiently. If you do this all the time, you will probably NEVER have to replace a turbo. Failing this, get gauges and go by the egt gauge, and shut down at 300f.

When I tow in the summer, I may let it idle for 4-5 minutes or more, before shutting her down, even when fueling up. I've replaced lots of different turbo's(gaspots included), from people shutting it down immediately, either because they didn't know or didn't care.

 

i just added mods and gauges. my truck never reaches less than 400F even when i start it up cold in the morning. something wrong?

 

Towing or not I always let mine cool down till the pyro reads 300 then shut it off.

 

Yup!
When I start mine up in the morning...even plugged in. My EGT's start at about 230*. Slowly ease up to 275* at Idle. I would recheck wiring and connections.

Last yr, I started getting sloppy about cool downs. I once hopped off the Interstate (gross weight) and shut it down immediately for 3 min to get a cup of Coffee. EGT's were about 375*. When I turned the key back on....my EGT gauge read 495*. That's above the Flash Point of most engine oils. Not good for the oil sitting in the Turbo!

Will not doing a cool down fry your turbo that day... No. But for continued trouble free service at 150,000 or 200,000 miles , I think it's important.

RJ

 

The UPS guys around here come wheeling up and shut the engine right down immediately. Wonder how many turbo's they go thru in a year??

 

I would think they would have something to keep the oil moving while shut down. But just a guess...

 

^^ What he said.

That and I managed to toast a PDR HX35 with less than 10K on it by not doing so.

 

Towing cooldown is even more critical, as engine oil, and cooling system are heat saturated to the max with the high internal, underhood and outside temps. Daily driving will still give you high egt's but they will cool off faster, than when towing for long stretches.

Even a few times of not letting it cool down can destroy turbo seal and bearing(I've seen it), and it won't take 100,000 miles for it to show up, it will be very soon depending on damage done. Although you may think it is fine it deteriorates rapidly, when it is called to spin to 100,000rpms, and starts burning oil and/or gouging housing up.

Either way let it cool down sufficiently to either 300f or so, if not sure leave it for 5 minutes, by then it will be sufficiently cooled down enough. BTW as soon as I start mine it will show about 250-275f.

 

This is why all diesels should have standard EGT gauges.

 

That should have read, ^^What she said.

 

I do the same

if i have towed a good couple of hours or so i let my pyro get as low as it can. I let the truck cool for two songs on the cd player, or about 10 minutes or so, whatever works, till i see my pyro at about 150-200 (post turbo) then i turn it off..

Rick