Long term maintenance expectations

[RSPDiver]

As an owner of all NA vehicles (cars and motorcycles), I've never had intimate experience with turbocharged vehicles. I have a decent working knowledge of the turbocharging stuff, but that leads me to wonder if there will come a day when extensive "normal" maintenance will be required. Specificly, things like turbos: will the stock unit need to be rebuilt at some point during normal use? With minor (stage I or II) mods, or upgraded turbos, I'm sure the liklihood rises, but at what point can you pretty much count on it? And when? How about top-end work after some time? Again, I'm sure modding and cranking the boost up to the sky will assist in shortnening the life, but normal use? I did read this thread [url=http://www.legacysti.com/viewtopic.php?t=625]about maintenance[/url], but it talked mainly about near-term and warranty coverage periods. Thanks for any input, turbo guys. Years of experience will be like gold on this subject, I suspect! Sorry, a little background: The reason I'm asking is mainly for us (until now) NA guys to get a feel for what we may be faced with later, and to weigh the ownership benefits against it.

[brady_bunch]

RSPDiver, you are not alone. I, too, have never owned a TC vehicle and am VERY interested in "words of wisdom" from those who have had one for many years. Details from folks with stock systems and also from others who have gone stage I and stage II would be appreciated. TIA!

[subey25rs777]

I too am in this catagory of never owning a TC vehicle. I'll take all the help I can get. :)

[Tide]

The first thing you should know about a turbo vehicle is how a turbo works: [url]http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm[/url] One major tip, turbos get hot, very very hot, enough that many people recommend a 'turbo timer'. But really good care just takes some common sense. Simply do not immediate shut off your engine just after you've been getting on it. What can happen is things get very hot, and you kill the engine, then the oil that was being pumped to keep things spiffy gets shut off. Well let that oil keep pumping just 30-60 seconds more.

[gtguy]

With the WRX, though I don't know how true this is of the Legacy, there is a system that indeed allows you to shut the car off. The system keeps cooling the turbo, even after shut off. Very slick. Still, I would make the last half-mile or so of any drive nice and gentle, to cool things down. Also, turbocharged cars like synthetic oil. I use Mobil 1, from the first recommended change onward. My WRX has been driven VERY hard, and has had no unscheduled maintenance, except for an ECU reflash by the factory, to the latest maps. The car came back smoother and faster so whatever they did, worked like a charm. A turbocharged car shouldn't involve much more maintenance than an n/a car, though I would be more careful about oil change intervals. Kevin

[outahere]

I have been driving a totally stock turbocharged Mitsubishi for the last 14 years (75,000 miles), and have never had a problem with the turbo. Did have a cracked exhaust manifold, replaced it and the alternator, the master cylinder, and an O2 sensor. Have been running 10W-30 Mobil 1 in it, changing oil around 4500 miles, and let it idle a bit before shutdown. I am not expecting any problems with the turbo on the Legacy. There may be some other initial problems, as there were with the WRX (CEL, trans, clutch) or the WRX STI (pinging). The 2003 Baja also had some initial problems.

[Drift Monkey]

[quote name='gtguy']With the WRX, though I don't know how true this is of the Legacy, there is a system that indeed allows you to shut the car off. The system keeps cooling the turbo, even after shut off. Very slick.[/quote] This also tru with the Legacy. All IHI turbos are water-cooled as well as oil cooled. So no turbo timer needed! :D

[RSPDiver]

Thanks for the input thus far. It appears that, if driven responsibly, the car will require no more maintenance than any other car in it's class, and at normal intervals. As with any car, I'm sure, modifying the base system will necessitate increased care and maintenance practices and periodicities. Again, thanks to all that have contributed thus far!

[brady_bunch]

[quote name='Drift Monkey']All IHI turbos are water-cooled as well as oil cooled.[/quote] IHI? Whazzat? I thought the turbos were sealed? The Legacy has oil and water channels for lubrication and cooling? Cool. Goes to show I still have much to learn about these vehicles.

[racerdave]

IHI is a brand of turbo. And yeah, there are internal passages for oil and water. If you didn't have oil on those turbo bearings, they would seize PDQ.

[Drift Monkey]

[quote name='brady_bunch'][quote name='Drift Monkey']All IHI turbos are water-cooled as well as oil cooled.[/quote] IHI? Whazzat? I thought the turbos were sealed? The Legacy has oil and water channels for lubrication and cooling? Cool. Goes to show I still have much to learn about these vehicles.[/quote] [url]http://www.ihi-turbo.com/[/url]