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Oil Cooled Turbo?

3691 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  xrattiracer
I was wondering if you could run an oil cooled turbo rather then the water cooled turbo. I know that the oil cooled is almost everywhere on eBay, but I didn't know if you had to run an oil cooler before you put it through the turbo. Or what you would have to do. Thanks.
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most oil cooled turbos on ebay are knock offs and won't last very long
but what does it take to use a oil cooled turbo, that is what I am wanting to know
*I* would run an oil cooler before the turbo if *I* were going to use an oil cooled only turbo. Cap off the coolant lines or join the two together and call it a day.
Thanks, I was just kinda wondering what it would take. I would expect them not to last as long since I would be running hot oil through it to cool it down.
oil cooled turbos are just fine, search is your friend.

If you use synthetic oil and/or let your motor cool down a little before shutting it off you should have zero issues. The water cooled turbos are mainly for cooling the oil by convection when the motor is shut off hot, so it helps "normal" people have no issues with coking of the oil. Meaning all of the people who dont understand this that bought a factory turbo car and dont wish to change there driving habits.

You will read about people that use only oil on "water cooled" turbos w/o issue
Wow, I guess that really explains it. I never knew why there was a difference. I always thought the water was ran through the turbo to cool the turbo down, not to cool the oil. So by those standards, you could actually remove the water lines to the turbo on the turbo's that are stock on TD's and as long as you let the engine cool prior to shut down. But I was wondering, what temp would be the best to shut the car down at then? Just regular running temp or how low?
i run my oil cooled holset at 30+psi just fine, if big trucks can make 30psi all day with no coolent, youll be fine
Thanks, I really feel dumb when it comes to the turbo's. I have been raised around N/A engines, and I am the only one in my family that even looks at the use of turbos. Thanks for all of the help.
Be careful though, some turbos ARE made to have water cooling. I know with the IHI's like in my turbo coupe, they tend to fail when run without water.
I would still spend the money to get a name brand turbo. They can be had fairly cheap, my friend bought a rebuilt turbo from a GN for $200 or so and it was a true Garrett.
Usually 140F to 160F is a good shut down temp. That's all mine see atleast.
so normal running temp when it isn't ran hard. Tat is the main thing I was worried about. Thanks for all of the help.
its not the coolant temperature that is the problem, but the turbo temperature. they usually dont have alot to do with each other. the main problems is people that run crappy oil, and pull right off the interstate into a gas station and shut it down. if you drive even just a few blocks in stop and go traffic after getting off the interstate, thats enough to cool it down.
of course this doesnt even really apply if you use a good synthetic oil.
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