The Rise Of The Turbocharger

A few years ago, the fitment of turbochargers was only seen on high-performance vehicles and in motorsport applications. These days, they are fitted on anything from your small city runabout to a double-cab bakkie.

- Reuben Van Niekerk

The fitment of turbochargers became popular as a solution to reducing the carbon footprint of motor manufacturers by downsizing the capacity of the engines fitted to their product range and ensuring similar performance with forced induction systems. But these high-tech components come with their own set of rules to ensure optimum running and a long life.

Normally, an engine failure sees the entire unit disassembled and checked in order to find the cause. This failure mechanism is resolved or replaced and the engine is reassembled. Most engine rebuilds include at a minimum, a new oil pump as this is one of the main causes of engine failure besides wear components like rings, pistons, valve seats or valve stem seals. The replacement of these components is relatively affordable.

Because it is situated outside the engine, when a turbocharger fails, it is normally treated as you would an alternator or starter motor and removed, replaced or repaired and re-installed. The vehicle owner thinks the newly replaced turbocharger has had its life renewed and expects to see another 150 000 to 200 000km of service from the new turbo. This is not always the case.