Replacing turbo

[heavyhaulerss]

Since I had my inframe, I am looking at other parts to replace, before they go out. my turbo has 1.4 mil miles, never had a problem from it yet. I am almost positive I will replace soon. everything has to go out sometime & moving parts go out sooner. the question. should I replace with the same that is on truck or can/should I, get a better/bigger one, more power & or better m.p.g. ? thank you.

[Windwalker]

First of all, if you got 1.4 million on a single turbo, you'd better find some "REAL WOOD AND BEAT THE HOLY HELL OUT OF IT".
You'll probably never find another one to go that far.
I've generally seen turbos go out after about 4 or 5 hundred thousand.

[GMAN]

Most turbo's are only warrantied for 150,000 miles. If I were you and wanted to replace the turbo I would go with the same thing that is currently on the engine. You don't find many turbo's that will go that many miles.

[heavyhaulerss]

yeah , I was thinking the same thing . everything on my truck seems to last more than double the life expectantcy. 1.1 mil before original clutch was replaced. I had in mind, based on past info of turbo's not lasting long, to buy a new one, but keep my old one in my side pocket in case new one went out sometime later. I know the turbo's on the 500 det were blowing like crazy about 5-6 years ago, but was told it was a defect by the turbo mfr, not the truck as people at that time were thinking, cause the 500 det was new on the scene. mine is a garrett. I have heard folks say get a high performance turbo, for more power & better m.p.g. some spool up faster, have less back pressure. though I have no idea what this means.

[Windwalker]

yeah , I was thinking the same thing . everything on my truck seems to last more than double the life expectantcy. 1.1 mil before original clutch was replaced. I had in mind, based on past info of turbo's not lasting long, to buy a new one, but keep my old one in my side pocket in case new one went out sometime later. I know the turbo's on the 500 det were blowing like crazy about 5-6 years ago, but was told it was a defect by the turbo mfr, not the truck as people at that time were thinking, cause the 500 det was new on the scene. mine is a garrett. I have heard folks say get a high performance turbo, for more power & better m.p.g. some spool up faster, have less back pressure. though I have no idea what this means.

Anything that moves/rotates has "inertia" to overcome. When you step on the throttle, there is a "lag time" before you actually have the turbo spinning at top speed, and building up max pressure. That "lag time" is when the turbo is "spooling up". As for the back pressure, the more back pressure you have, the less horsepower the engine is able to develope. One of the reasons so many guys go over to straight pipes. No baffles in the exhaust means less back pressure, and more horsepower. That translates into better fuel economy. So, a turbo that "spools up" faster, and gives you less back pressure means less fuel to go the mile.

[heavyhaulerss]

I think even I understand that. I just put on a new muffler with no baffles in it. no where near as loud as I would expect, but better m.p.g. I got a great price. if anyone is interested. $88.00 regular 5" in/out.

took about 1 week for delivery & cost 12.00 shipp. Donaldson Muffler M100463

[heavyhaulerss]

I got a price on a turbo. freightliner dealer wants $1030 for a detroit turbo. truck pro wants $607.00 for a switzer .no core needed. truck pro mentioned that for some unknown reason most of their prices on turbo's were quite a bit higher than mine, but did not know why. I figured cause mine was for a 95' model engine, that the turbo was a lot cheaper, most things I buy for my truck are no where near what I hear it cost for the same part on a newer one. does anyone here know anything about a switzer? at least with no core , I coud keep my old on as a spare.

[firebird_1252]

my dad had a switzer on his NTC14. he swore it pulled a lot better. it sure did sound diffrent. he put a million miles on the turbo with no issues.

[heavyhaulerss]

my dad had a switzer on his NTC14. he swore it pulled a lot better. it sure did sound diffrent. he put a million miles on the turbo with no issues.

Thanks for this info. the guy at truck pro said this turbo will put out about 10 more h.p. than mine.

[BoyNextDoor]

gosh you're lucky. I had the turbo blow on my series 60 detroit rated at 430 (full time) a couple weeks ago. part alone was 1300... plus core. and since it fell apart, and they had to fish out the blades from my exhaut, they took 300 for damaged core. man was i pissed. 2700 out the door. If it wasn't for an urgent load i probably could've shopped around... but oh well. btw this price included a $150 tow, and about $300 in other misc small repairs (A/C)

ps it had 542k miles on it, and i assume it was the original turbo by the ammount of rust on it...

[heavyhaulerss]

Thats what I mean about newer trucks. got another quote from diesel specialist on the net. $567.00 for a new one. 1 year warranty. guaranteed oem. will probably go with the switzer, since I can buy local. most all the parts I buy are quite a bit less than same part on newer models & the old parts that are on my truck are better quality made than replacement parts. I am hope the new turbo will increase my m.p.g too. kept rpm's at 1600 witch put me at 65 m.p.h. went 720 miles & got 6.8 m.p.g. that seems to be my sweet spot. I could probably do better, but it's hard to drive 55-60 m.p.h.

[GMAN]

Just be glad that you don't have a CAT. I had to pay over $1,500 for a turbo for a 3406E a couple of years ago. That didn't include the core charge or labor to put it on the truck. I think that I spent over $2,700 for everything. By the way, should you blow a turbo it would be a good idea to change the oil in case any of the metal got through. It doesn't take much to mess up a new turbo or engine. I know in your situation that you are talking about changing it before it actually goes out.

[Copperhead]

I have heard good things about Turbo Supply out of Joplin, MO. Google them up. New and remanned turbos from just about every manufacturer for just about any engine. Haven't tried them, but will in the near future for another vehicle I have.