Turbo Chargers In Diesel Trucks

[GlastronGuy]

I know turbos only seem to last 60,000 - 80,000 miles in cars. How about trucks? The specific vehicle is a Ford Super Duty, 7.3 Turbo.

[77charger]

we have a cummins deisel dodge and it has the org turbo 200k miles+
also two others that have 70k+now about the auto trans thats another story!!

[Trash]

Glastron Guy,
I believe that issue is one of the past. I too had the same thoughts about turbo motors. My first was a 1990 Eagle Talon AWD (little 2.0L). I didn't expect the motor/turbo to last more than 70k. I was wrong, way wrong. I sold the car at 144,000 miles still running strong and NOT burning oil. I could spin that motor to 7500 rpm and it wouldn't even blink. Newer generation turbos have better bearing life due to various cooling methods. I now have a 2000 Excursion with the PSD and at 44k still runs like a champ. zero problems. I suspect most diesels with turbos made these days will last a LONG time. BTW, turbos and diesels go hand-in-hand. The Powerstroke (7.3) and Cummins are very good engines.

[little rowe boat]

The cummins and the powerstroke are both great motors. strong and durable. :cool:

[LCexplorer]

Actually the big reason why Gas turbo motors never lasted to long was because they usually run an EGT of 1500 degrees where a turbo diesel would be pushing high EGT at 1200 degrees (usually somewhere aroung 900 is where a diesel runs). The other difference is that the diesel motors have a lot stronger internals than their gas counterparts, because they needed it for the 21:1 compression ratio. The newer diesels like yours usually turned down the compression ratio to about to 18:1 and added boost so the engine would really never see any difference in internal cylinder pressures (well at least a neglible amount). The difference is the incoming charge pressure would give the diesel engine more air and with more fuel, would create more power. So all things being equal, you could expect almost (I stress ALMOST) the same life out of your diesel if it were naturally aspirated. If it makes you feel any better, my cummins has got about 250K miles and still running strong.
Oh yes and Gas turbos are more reliable nowadays as the seal designs and material have gotten a lot better. With those high Gas motor EGTs, the turbo could only take so much before the seals would melt or give out (usually the 60 to 80K like you mentioned). The other big additions were the water cooling that was mentioned earlier and change in driver attitude towards turbo motors. The attitude changed when one would let a turbo motor run at idle for 30 seconds before shutting it down. That lets the turbo bearings cool with some fresh oil and doesn't instantly fry the oil leving coke residue on the bearing. So if you are really worried about the turbo, just let the engine idle down for 30 seconds or a minute on long drives before shutting down.

[little rowe boat]

ONLY 30 SECONDS,WHEN I PURCHASED MY DIESEL,I WAS TOLD THAT AFTER A LONG HAUL I SHOULD IDLE DOWN FOR 5 MINUTES. MY FATHER INLAW HAS A CUMMINS WITH OVER 300K ON IT,STILL RUNNING STRONG. HE DRIVES THE THING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. :cool: