LUBRICATION - OIL
OIL's AIN'T OIL's Oil is the life blood of any engine, but
more so for an early turbo car without water cooling to the turbo centre
bearing housing. The later turbo's tend to have water recirculated thorough
them as part of the normal engine cooling system. On early turbo's, the oil
is expected to do the job of lubricating and suspending the centre bearings
as well as cooling the whole turbo before draining back under gravity into
the motor sump.
The oil is fed usually to the top of the turbo centre housing from the back
of the motor oil pump at high pressure. On water cooled turbo's the oil has
an easier job as some heat is dissipated into the water flowing through the
jacket and this prolongs the life of the turbo generally. The main benefit
is to prevent heat soak back coaking of the oil sitting in the stationary
turbo after turning off the motor. Under normal driving the oil is pumped
into the top of the centre bearing housing already hot from circulating
through the engine and then flows down into the sump hotter than before the
turbo.
This is why the STARION has a large oil cooler mounted at the front of the
radiator in the air stream. When the engine is turned off, the turbo spins
down and the oil sits there and cooks from the heat that soaks back from the
turbo exhaust housing as the oil has now stopped transporting a lot of the
heat away into the sump. The oil then begins to turn into a thick cooked
sludge that can seize the turbine bearings and shaft.
OIL TIPS Check your oil, is it turbo quality, can it handle high
temperatures. Do you change it every 5000 Klm's or sooner. Have you
considered synthetic oils such as Mobil 1, etc. Do you have an efficient oil
cooler or an extra one fitted. ( writing this I have just thought that it
may be good value to have one on the oil line to the turbo or even after it,
making sure there is no restriction as its a gravity drain back into the
sump.)
Detonation is to be avoided at
any cost.
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