Overheating my turbo?

I know we're supposed to be careful about letting the turbo cool down after extended highway driving but, with that in mind, I wonder if I'm heading toward premature turbo failure because I run mine pretty hot every day.

Usually I get pretty good life out of an engine because of all the distance driving I do but in this case I am running my turbo at highway speeds for hours everyday. Despite letting it always cool down for a couple of minutes while I get my stuff together I still wonder if I'm wearing it out because of this.

In other words, is stop and go better for the turbo and worse for the engine?

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Jack from Anaheim
'70 Convertible VW Bug.
'00 Silver NB TDI Auto.

[This message has been edited by Jackmc (edited March 20, 2001).]

Stop and go driving is much harder on your turbo and engine than highway driving.

A prudent 20 second cooldown should be in order for both driving styles.

I often make this analogy and I hope it gives you some comfort: A TDI turbo racing up Pike's Peak full out while towing a 2,000# trailer will run 400-600 degrees cooler than a 1.8T turbo at 55mph with the cruise control set. NO SH1T!!!

Hope that helps clairfy the advantage of the diesel combustion cycle...

DB

That does set my mind at ease.

And--I will be towing a trailer soon. Not up Pike's Peak but I do have to go over some pretty steep grades from here to the desert.

Thanks

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Jack from Anaheim
'70 Convertible VW Bug.
'00 Silver NB TDI Auto.

Diesels run so much cooler than gassers. Todays materials are built to last forever. My 300ZX doesnt burn oil through the turbos with 140,000 miles and never getting a cooldown period. You have nothing to worry about.

Does anyone think that the TDI's can safely pull 2000 pounds? I'm skeptical since VW does not recommend any towing for our vehicles and will probably deny any warranty claim if they feel it's towing induced or related..

I have pulled 2600# (concrete bags including the trailer weight of 600#'s) but I suggest keeping the load at 2000# max (1400+the trailer) unless you have brakes on the trailer for any long distance highway driving. If you have electric brakes you should be able to take it up to 2600 safely, and carefully.

Just make sure you load the trailer correctly to ensure stability.

DB

I tow two thousand pounds, but I would not recommend it over mountain tops. Preferably 1,500 lbs is more within reason, especially with a trailer without added electric brakes.
I do have Heavy Duty Krupp Bilsteins all around on the TDI though, and I would not even consider towing without the added security of the nice shock setup to help keep the car under control at speed.

I've towed/carried @ least 2K lbs over mountains with 18% grades---no probems.
It is hard on the brakes and I had to 1st gear it on the 18% downs.

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