I've been led to believe that the turbos in Lebaron 2.2's tend to go after about 100K miles. I was wondering if this was true even if one drove in a way that rarely caused the turbo to engage.
Thanks in advance for your informed responses.
Robert
On Sat, 27 Dec 2003, it was written:
In the first place, no it is not. The life expectancy of a turbocharger is a factor of the robustness of the installation -- how well the turbo is cooled, in particular, whether the owner changes the engine oil using the correct oil at appropriate intervals, whether the owner abuses the turbo by blasting in off the highway and immediately shutting down the engine
*or* cares for it by letting the engine idle for a minute or so before shutting down after a hard run, and some amount of just plain luck. There are plenty of Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 litre turbocharged engines running around on the original turbocharger with considerably more than 100K miles.In the second place, there's no such thing as driving "so the turbo doesn't engage". The turbocharger is always "engaged".
DS
I had a 85 Chrysler Laser XT with a 2.2 Turbo and I had 170,000+ miles on it when I sold it and it went another 40,000+ afterwards and NEVER any turbo problems. I also had a 88 Chrysler LeBaron 2.2 Turbo that had 150,000+ miles on it when I sold it and again, NO PROBLEMS.
Regular oil changes and letting it cool down properly is definitely the key. The turbo is ALWAYS energized, because the exhaust goes thru the turbo to get out of the engine.
PROPER MAINTENANCE IS THE KEY. Chrysler make MORE PRODUCTION TURBO VEHICLES then anyone else and still alot out there.
If you have a Lebaron 2.2 then chances are you have the Garrett TB0378. The keys are maintenance maintenance and maintenance. The life span of the turbo is limited to how you treat it. Too thin an oil, not letting the turbo spool / cool down after a spirited drive all leads to heatsoak on the bearings
My 87 Shelby has ~89 000 miles on the T03 Garrett Turbo. Knowing that the car gets hot when sitting in weekend traffic, I changed the oil out to Mobil 1's 5W30 Synthetic, upgraded the radiator / water pump, and muscled in a Volvo Intercooler. The temp needle never gets past cool now.
Unfortunately every> I've been led to believe that the turbos in Lebaron 2.2's tend to go
My '85 Daytona Turbo is going strong at 198,000 miles
Who says they were designed to last 100,000 miles?
Matt
When I bought my 1988 Lancer Shelby new, I went back and talked with the dealership's service manager. He said that Chrysler had 'confidence' in the turbo and even the headgasket to last beyond the 5/50 warranty they offered at that time. When I asked what he meant about 'beyond', he claimed that with 'normal' maintainence, 70K miles was probably headgasket time, and 100K miles was probably turbo time. He also added that with maticulous maintainence, these cars could last a lifetime.
Although not an 'apples to apples' comparison, my brothers 1984 Colt GT Turbo went a long, hard 200K miles before the turbine broke loose and flew into the engine during one of his high rev runs, and my ol'Lancer Shelby is still doing fine without any isses at 89K miles. Bill
88 Lancer Shelby 91 LeBaron Convertible 01 Chevy Impala LS
A dealership service manager is hardly qualified to discuss the design targets of a turbocharger ... especially when it isn't even made by Chrysler.
Which suggests that the design life is likely much longer than 100K miles.
Matt
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