Turbocharged Engine Advice - tips or tricks for maintenance?

[Spooled]

From my experience, oil coking is a thing of the past now that turbochargers are water-cooled. Coolant likes to circulate, even after the engine is shut off, and helps with the heat in turbos after shutdown. Plus modern oils are designed for turbocharged engines now, as opposed to the sludge we were using in the decades before when coking was actually a widespread issue.

However, oil still deteriorates, and it gets dirty. It's the dirt that gets in the oil that I worry about. Filters do a great job of getting the big stuff, but it's almost impossible to effectively trap the particulate matter that's gets in the oil from blowby. That is the reason, even with modern synthetics, that I run 5k mile oil changes. And it's not even my turbos, pistons, etc. that I'm worried about, it's the thing chain and then plastic guides. Timing chains HATE dirty oil, and it's one of the biggest reasons why they stretch. Every carmaker has issues with timing chains, even Honda and Ford.

Modern turbo engines are designed to be as dummy-proof as possible. No, you don't need a catch can. No, you don't HAVE to use premium. No, you don't have to let the turbo cool down after normal driving. Drive it normally, give it the occasional Italian tune-up, and maintain it normally. You'll be fine.

From one diesel tech to another, this is a great post that pretty much sums it up.

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[Rick Astley]

From my experience, oil coking is a thing of the past now that turbochargers are water-cooled. Coolant likes to circulate, even after the engine is shut off, and helps with the heat in turbos after shutdown. Plus modern oils are designed for turbocharged engines now, as opposed to the sludge we were using in the decades before when coking was actually a widespread issue.

However, oil still deteriorates, and it gets dirty. It's the dirt that gets in the oil that I worry about. Filters do a great job of getting the big stuff, but it's almost impossible to effectively trap the particulate matter that's gets in the oil from blowby. That is the reason, even with modern synthetics, that I run 5k mile oil changes. And it's not even my turbos, pistons, etc. that I'm worried about, it's the timing chain and the plastic guides. Timing chains HATE dirty oil, and it's one of the biggest reasons why they stretch. Every carmaker has issues with timing chains, even Honda and Ford.

Modern turbo engines are designed to be as dummy-proof as possible. No, you don't need a catch can. No, you don't HAVE to use premium fuel. No, you don't have to let the turbo cool down after normal driving. Drive it normally, give it the occasional Italian tune-up, and maintain it normally. You'll be fine.

Solid information!

Speaking for the 2.3 only (direct injection instead of the dual-port injection like the 2.7), I don't like having to walnut blast the intake manifold by 70K miles as mandatory maintenance. If you run the catch can you can stretch that maintenance out to at least 100K miles, and it's still not as bad of a job as the non-catch-can-70K job which sometimes has to break out the chemical cleaners.

I had a few turbos and never had any problems at all. Number one thing is to change your oil often. "Often" may vary between people. My opinion is 4K between changes. My 2011 Mazdaspeed 3 with a 2.3L turbo I changed it at around 3500 miles and the oil was always pretty dirty.

Interesting you mention the MS3, that was my track car before trading in on the Evo (2006 MS3), I was regularly getting 5K miles before even the fuel dilution would negatively impact the oil (based on Blackstone Labs oil analysis, not conjecture). And the early MS3's were notorious for fuel dilution at the seal to the High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP).

I went through 3 HPFP's in the first year under warranty before their TSB part solved most of the issue.

Great info, and thanks. What is your opinion on running mid-grade? That’s 89 octane where I live. As much as I drive, the price diff between regular 87 and premium 91 is about $80-$90/month. Does mid grade make a difference v regular?

Modern cars use a RON meter to determine octane level present in the fuel and will adjust the mapping. There's certainly a difference between each major brand's fuel additives, and i'd suggest avoiding the 7-11 or ARCO fuel as it tends to be quite dirty.

There was an interesting testing performed by C&D around fuel economy by RON:

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a28565486/honda-cr-v-vs-bmw-m5-ford-f-150-dodge-charger/

 

[KABQ]

Great info, and thanks. What is your opinion on running mid-grade? That’s 89 octane where I live. As much as I drive, the price diff between regular 87 and premium 91 is about $80-$90/month. Does mid grade make a difference v regular?

Run the highest octane you're willing/able to afford. It's not as big a deal at sea level in cool conditions while not towing anything, but here in New Mexico a typical fishing trip will take me from ~5600 ft to over 8000 ft in 95-105F temps while climbing mountain passes at 50 mph, often with a small camper in tow. These conditions are essentially worst case scenario for a turbo motor (high, hot, and heavy). If my Bronco ever gets built, I will be running premium.

To answer your question more directly, it is unlikely you will have problems running regular gas at sea level in normal conditions without prolonged periods of in-boost driving (long grades, towing, etc). Mid-grade fuel will offer more protection against pre-ignition than regular, and may be a good idea in hot and humid weather since temperature and humidity both decrease air density, adversely affecting cooling of both the intercooler and radiator. Use premium for towing ALWAYS.

 

[Thed]

Solid information!

Speaking for the 2.3 only (direct injection instead of the dual-port injection like the 2.7), I don't like having to walnut blast the intake manifold by 70K miles as mandatory maintenance. If you run the catch can you can stretch that maintenance out to at least 100K miles, and it's still not as bad of a job as the non-catch-can-70K job which sometimes has to break out the chemical cleaners.

Carbon buildup varies so heavily based on drive cycle, that I'd need hundreds of cars, with and without catch cans, over a long period, to be convinced that they're necessary. The 2.3L already has an oil separator built in, and it drains right back in to the oil pan. Keep your drives longer than 10 minutes and give the engine a few good romps here and there to keep the carbon at bay. Just stating from personal experience.

 

[PowerTools]

have you selected a catch can for the Bronco?

I have not. It used to be easy when I had a friend that worked at Mishimoto. Now he works somewhere that is far less useful for my hobbies.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

The 3.5 eco has water cooled turbos that continue to siphon once you shut it off. Since the 2.7 eco is now auto start/stop it more than likely has water siphoning as well.
Having said that we have used diesels on the farm for years so it's just a habit to let it idle for a little bit after stopping.
I also keep the auto start/stop shut off on my F150. Too much wear on the starter and battery

 

[buzpro]

I have not. It used to be easy when I had a friend that worked at Mishimoto. Now he works somewhere that is far less useful for my hobbies.

I've been in contact with "Elite Engineering" for 2 reasons, I believe they make a superior product and the "MADE IN THE USA" stamp ..... but they are soooo fkng SLOOOOOW to respond, its getting frustrating dealing with them.

 

[redone17]

@Rick Astley - looks like UPR Products are making a heavy duty catch can.

 

[Rick Astley]

@Rick Astley - looks like UPR Products are making a heavy duty catch can.

I was educated that catch cans are not required for DI engines.

Interesting that there would be even a single application for them after being told otherwise (sarcasm).

Looking forward to seeing their setup!

 

[okbob]

Some folks here are trying to incorporate old style, oil cooled only turbos from diesel applications into your Ecoboost routines lol. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles in Powerstroke Fords for the last 30y on dirt roads and never replaced a turbo on a truck. 7.3psd, 6,0lpsd and 6.7lpsd and all had original turbos and all had over 300k when I sold them. Clean oil, Frequent oil changes, and clean air will save your turbos. Stay away from oil element air filters like K&N, stick with Motorcraft air and oil filters and change them by the book if not sooner. Change your coolant when recommended as well, it's cooling your turbo as well as the rest of your engine. Warm up/cool down is a thing of the past with water cooled turbos. Without a pyrometer and/or oil temp gauge and water temp gauge with actual numbers, you're guessing anyway. The only diesel/gas engines I let warm up and cool down are our farm tractors and combines.

 

[ELKS1]

@West1: It would have been helpful if you posted which of the engines you're going with as they have different needs for other things.


Actually, and i'm usually one of the more obnoxious people on here, your post is great!

The only thing I'd add is to augment your general statement about oil life of turbocharged applications with some further information since we, as a community, don't know the wear characteristics for this specific engine (i'm guessing similiar to Ranger, but there are engine changes on the 2.3)

Points to add:

• You don't know how your oil and engine is wearing unless you have a controlled environment ANDtesting.
  • This will mean planning on your first 3 oil changes using the same oil brand/line/weight plus the same filter (volume discount, stock up!)
  • There's no point in testing the oil that was in the engine upon delivery. Run that for 500 miles and do an oil change.
  • Excluding your factory oil, you're going to need to send each of those thee oil samples to Blackstone labs for independent testing as you "dial in" your oil change interval.
    • https://www.blackstone-labs.com/tests/standard-analysis/
      • Anecdotally speaking, it took 5 oil changes on my DD/short-track Evo9 to determine I could run my specific oil for approximately 8,000 miles (counting each track day as ~500 miles of those 8K) before it would chemically start to break down in wear characteristics.
• And on the topic of oil, @KABQ is absolutely right, plan on a full synthetic motor oil. What i'll add is that zinc is a very important part of any oil used in turbocharged applications. High-zinc content oil is certainly harder to find and generally a small price premium. You'll want to be targeting specifically high-zinc oils here.
  • Some people believe that turbocharged cars should follow the wisdom of flat-tappet rollers and push-rods, in that the shaft of the turbo is an "extreme wear" component and needs to be the focal point of your oil decision making.
    • Some examples of oil suitable for that, if you follow that logic:
      • https://www.valvoline.com/our-produ...MI09zhyd228gIVkR-tBh11lABOEAAYASAAEgK_cPD_BwE
      • https://www.amsoil.com/p/z-rod-10w-30-synthetic-motor-oil-zrt/
      • Personally I run this in our 2019 Ranger but we're still dialing in the change interval, it won't be 12K miles!
        • https://www.amsoil.com/p/xl-0w-20-synthetic-motor-oil-xlz/?code=XLZQT-EA

That's all I have to add that's different from what most posted.

FYI: I'm going with the 2.3 in Bronco and will have an oil catch can deliverer once I get my VIN, it will be installed before the engine hits 200 miles.

What brand oil filter are you running?

 

[GoTigersGoBronco]

From my experience, oil coking is a thing of the past now that turbochargers are water-cooled. Coolant likes to circulate, even after the engine is shut off, and helps with the heat in turbos after shutdown. Plus modern oils are designed for turbocharged engines now, as opposed to the sludge we were using in the decades before when coking was actually a widespread issue.

However, oil still deteriorates, and it gets dirty. It's the dirt that gets in the oil that I worry about. Filters do a great job of getting the big stuff, but it's almost impossible to effectively trap the particulate matter that's gets in the oil from blowby. That is the reason, even with modern synthetics, that I run 5k mile oil changes. And it's not even my turbos, pistons, etc. that I'm worried about, it's the timing chain and the plastic guides. Timing chains HATE dirty oil, and it's one of the biggest reasons why they stretch. Every carmaker has issues with timing chains, even Honda and Ford.

Modern turbo engines are designed to be as dummy-proof as possible. No, you don't need a catch can. No, you don't HAVE to use premium fuel. No, you don't have to let the turbo cool down after normal driving. Drive it normally, give it the occasional Italian tune-up, and maintain it normally. You'll be fine.

I think a lot of people thought I was joking about the Italian tune-up earlier. It scares me how easy my parents are to their turbocharged German cars.

On the note of filtration, this is the big issue on any engine. Media filters are a weak point, but there is no better method in an automobile. I'm sure that AMSOIL's highest quality oil would last 30-40k miles in the right setting. I just don't have faith in filtration to last a long time.

 

[Ig_bronco]

This dude is one bad day away from convincing a group of minors to steal the declaration of independence

 

[DesertMike680]

Some folks here are trying to incorporate old style, oil cooled only turbos from diesel applications into your Ecoboost routines lol. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles in Powerstroke Fords for the last 30y on dirt roads and never replaced a turbo on a truck. 7.3psd, 6,0lpsd and 6.7lpsd and all had original turbos and all had over 300k when I sold them. Clean oil, Frequent oil changes, and clean air will save your turbos. Stay away from oil element air filters like K&N, stick with Motorcraft air and oil filters and change them by the book if not sooner. Change your coolant when recommended as well, it's cooling your turbo as well as the rest of your engine. Warm up/cool down is a thing of the past with water cooled turbos. Without a pyrometer and/or oil temp gauge and water temp gauge with actual numbers, you're guessing anyway. The only diesel/gas engines I let warm up and cool down are our farm tractors and combines.

I'm experiencing an issue with my Bronco I just picked up a week ago, and I'm wondering if it's related to the engine/turbo needing to warm up on a cold start:

When I start up my Bronco the rpms jump to 1.2 and drop back down to 800, as it should. However, if I attempt to drive it while it's still warming up, the truck will "buck", aka the engine rpms shoot back up and immediately drop until I disengage the clutch, in which it immediately stops and drives like normal. I only have 340 miles on it, so it's obviously still being broken in.

I informed my sales rep about it, so he said to keep him informed. If need be the service dept can look at it.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[prospectfour]

So I have never owned a vehicle with a turbocharged engine, only vehicles with naturally aspirated engines. I would like to know any tips or tricks for maintenance, « do’s or don’t’s », or anything I should look out for or be aware of when the Bronco arrives?

Stick to 100 octane race fuel and change the oil every 500 miles. Make sure to get a Blackstone analysis every time too. Anything less will cause your engine to self destruct. /s

You're going to get a million differing opinions here. As a bare minimum, follow the owners manual and use genuine parts. If you want to go a little further, shorten those intervals if it makes you feel better.

My 2009 A4 has 205k miles with oil changes every 5-7k miles and the cheapest 91 octane I can find. Modern turbocharged engines have benefitted from decades of design improvements and this thing is going to be a lot more robust than some on B6G will tell you.

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