TD04L turbo question- Liquid cooled turbo for a Type 4?

[kpick]

TD04L turbo question- Liquid cooled turbo for a Type 4?

Hi All,

A friend offered me a rather clean TD04L turbo from a WRX. I'd like to use it, but realized it's off a water cooled car.

Can this still be used with a air cooled VW? If so, how do you handle to extra ports for the water?

Would it be wiser to just get another turbo or is this one ok.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all,
K.

[petew]

I'm putting a subaru turbo on my car at the mo. It's watercooled, but I'm not connecting up the water channels. As long as you run the motor and let the turbo cool down for a few minutes after a hard run, it should be fine.

If you're really worried (because of a very hot local climate), and you using a water to air intercooler, you could connect it into that system AFTER the intercooler. I'll do that down the track if I have dramas with mine, but I'm not expecting any.

P.s. it's probably around the right size for a 2litre type 4 too.

[Dan Dryden]

I use a TD04L turbo on my type 1 1776cc engine in a hideaway set up under the rear apron.
It's a great turbo and suits my street engine perfectly with its quick spool and high boost capabilities (21 psi ).

I've run it without the liquid cooling but plan to fit a dedicated cooling system for it as I have now broken it twice under the exact same circumstances and don't want to break it for a 3rd time!

If you plan to use the turbo purely for street use, it will be fine. It is only ever boosting for very short bursts and the heat it generates is pretty insignificant and can be managed by allowing the engine to idle and cool before shut down.

Both times my turbo has failed after taking my car around a race circuit. Both times the damage has been a warped turbine shaft which I think has been triggered by excessive heat.
The turbo has never actually ceased and I have put this down to the fact that I let it cool down before shutdown. (Oil temp always 90*C or below before shutdown). In fact, the last time it happened, I didn't switch the engine off at all after I'd finished my track session. I took it for a nice steady drive home (average speed 40mph for around 45 mins) and shut it down with oil temps reading around 85*C. The next day, the turbo was producing no boost and the compressor wheel was touching the housing. No play in the bearings and no scorch marks on the rotating surfaces.

The damage doesn't occur during operation, I think it happens (ironically) after shutdown, caused by heat in the exhaust. The position of the turbo under the apron does not give the best air flow (to the degree my paintwork blisters) and the engine cooling tin doesn't let the heat rise away into the engine bay (As it quite rightly shouldn't).
The heat from the turbo and exhaust just builds up under the apron and seems to concentrate itself enough to warp the turbine shaft but not show the typical scorch marks you would get it it was starved of oil.

Based on my experience, I would recommend you try fitting a cooling system as a belt and braces approach.

Theses turbo's are relatively cheap to replace if you do break them though.

[petew]

21 psi is a LOT of boosts... On a factory turbo too.

[Clonebug]

I'm using the WRX TD04L-13T on my engine at 22 lbs. boost while on the street and have no liquid cooling hooked up.
So far in almost 3000 miles I have seen no problems.

[Dan Dryden]

Hey Clone, I think yours is fine because it is out in the open air & able to shed its heat pretty well.
For street use, mine was fine too.
It was the 25 mins thrashing around a race track that killed it.

Good to hear you're running nice high boost!

[Clonebug]

Hey Clone, I think yours is fine because it is out in the open air & able to shed its heat pretty well.
For street use, mine was fine too.
It was the 25 mins thrashing around a race track that killed it.

Good to hear you're running nice high boost!

It's working really good so far and the nice thing is it will hold that pressure all the way to the shift point.

[woodsbuggy1]

Based on all of the great feedback that I have heard on these turbos, I will be running one on my 1776 in my street buggy next year. If your cooling system is up to the task, I don't know why you could not circulate oil through the coolant passages (after a good cleaning) if this is a concern for you.
Good Luck
Kenric

[kpick]

Thank you all.

Looks like I'm going with the TD04L!

K.

[Udo Airbus]

Yup.. I will use no water for my td04.. it's an aircooled car

[Wally]

To add to everybody before me, I have run several factory WRX/STi turbo's all without additional water cooling of the central cartridge.
Never had any turbo fail and I put them through their paces quite a bit.

Warped shafts I think will probably have been caused by oil starvation of some sort... Track driving (long corners without dry-sump) could cause that.

As said many times, the water cooling of the central cartridge is ONLY for excessive/extreme shutting down situations. I have never thought about letting the engine idle or anything. I just shutted it down when I wanted it atm. I would have forgotten to letting her idle before shutting down at some point in time surely anyways

[Dan Dryden]

To add to everybody before me, I have run several factory WRX/STi turbo's all without additional water cooling of the central cartridge.
Never had any turbo fail and I put them through their paces quite a bit.

Warped shafts I think will probably have been caused by oil starvation of some sort... Track driving (long corners without dry-sump) could cause that.

As said many times, the water cooling of the central cartridge is ONLY for excessive/extreme shutting down situations. I have never thought about letting the engine idle or anything. I just shutted it down when I wanted it atm. I would have forgotten to letting her idle before shutting down at some point in time surely anyways

Hmmm. Maybe I need to invest in a dry sump setup rather than a coolant circuit then.

Just need to find a pump which clears the hideaway header......