Coolant lines - Are they REALLY needed.

[85_600]

Post up if you do or don't use them...My car is a 85 600, all stock, if that helps.

Thanks,
Paul

[MiniMopar]

They do their deed when the engine is shut down to keep the bearings from cooking and oil from coking as the heat soaks into the cartridge. When it is running, the oil does most of the cooling.

[85_600]

I've heard that a few people on here don't use them. They just let the engine idle a few extra minutes before shutting down. Is there some truth to this? I guess it would be like a poor man's version of a turbo timer..

Thanks,
Paul

[tryingbe]

Yes, use them.

[cordes]

So long as you let the car idle down before sutting it off, it should not be too much of a problem. I know that I have run a couple of cars over the past 3-4 years with the coolant lines eliminated.

The problem with this method is that few people will actually let it idle down, which is were your problems will occur.

[turbovanman²]

A few OE cars used to come without them. I personally would keep them, Dodge put them on for a reason.

[BadAssPerformance]

I would definitely run them on a street car or road race car. Drag only car, it is your choice, most of teh people you hear that do not run them are probably drag only.

[TurboJerry]

Bearing housing runs 300 deg F cooler with coolant. I would agree *not* to use them on a drag only car...... Anything that gets driven on the street or any type of road / circle track racing should have the coolant hooked up. Buicks seem to go through turbos more often because of no coolant, and a friend who worked at a dealer said lots of turbo warranty claims from coked bearing housings / inlet oil lines on them.

[tryingbe]

Turbocharger-

Garrett model number: TB0335 was selected with several unique revisions for use in Chryslers 2.2 engine. Specs are as follows: 50 trim compressor in .42 A/R housing, 69 trim turbine with .48 housing. With this combination they were nearly able to deliver full boost by 2000 rpm. (7.2 psi)

Extensive time was spent on turbocharger durability testing and several methods were tried including an air cooled housing before water cooling was selected. While the finned housing was good for a modest 90F temperature drop the water cooled center section was good for 351F! Another item that was changed to increase durability was the adoption of aluminum turbo bearings. One side benefit of using the engine coolant to cool the turbo housing was a modest reduction in oil crankcase temperatures which allowed the elimination of a planned oil cooler saving money, weight & complexity.

http://www.thedodgegarage.com/turbo/sae_22_graph.gif

[WVRampage]

use them

[TurboJerry]

I found this out with my temperature gun. A non-water bearing housing runs at like 450 degrees, a water housing runs at engine temperature. The coolant does circulate quite well through the housing, and the steam in the cooling system from turning the car off actually creates a vacuum, so it flows for a few minutes afterwards. Purdy cool how it works anyways........ Synthetic oil is a must for a street car W/O water cooled bearing housing!

[Tony Hanna]

I'd go for a turbo timer on a street car without coolant lines too.
The way I see it, the coolant lines are a really nice feature. If you have the opportunity to use them, then do. On the other hand, if you get a good deal on a turbo with an oil cooled center section, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Just run synthetic oil, and allow time for it to cool before shutdown either manually or with a timer. Oil cooler wouldn't be a bad idea either.
My .02

[DeckSetter]

My friend's brother has a '95 Eclipse GS-T. Their dad had a '95 Cummins Ram. The guy swears up and down neither one has a water cooled turbo. Actually, he didn't know any turbos were water cooled until I told him mine was.

Lots of turbos are oil only. If they're running in their target effeciency range, it probably won't be a problem. If you're running 20psi out of a stock Garrett...... you dang well better water cool it.

Also, I've heard Cummins recommends 5 minutes idle cool down time after heavy towing.

Be nice to your turbo and it will be nice to you.

[85_600]

These replies have been VERY helpful :) , plus the ones in my other thread. I was only considering NOT using them due to them being so difficult to remove. So, on the advice in my other thread, I'm just going to remove the old hose from the steel lines and replace it with silicone hose and use fuel injector "clamps".

Thanks again!
Paul

[TurboJerry]

The diesel's don't run high EGT's like gas engines, so they cheese out by not having the coolant lines. And they still recomend to let it idle before shutdown.

[nomadman2001]

What harm does it do? If they were never there to begin with I would have think about adding them but they'er already there - it's not like you're going to go faster by removing them like dumping the balance shafts in a 2.5. I say use them, they're only going to help your turbo live longer.