Durability of the stock turbo

[brianseto]

Hi all

I was just curious...has anyone had to replace their MSP stock turbo yet? I owned an 86 Subaru GL-10 before, and I was constantly worried about having to change the turbo. Someone told me that turbos need to be replaced every 65K or so, and the subie was running at 105K without a replacement. However, it spooled up just fine. Unfortunately, my GF backed into the car and bent the frame, so alas...RIP the Subie. (Loved that car by the way.)

The dealer told me also that since the T25 is a ball bearing turbo, it's a bit more durable than the old school needle bearing turbos. Any truth to this? Or should I start worrying at 65K?

Regards,

Brian

 

[Fakhelek]

Mazda claims that the turbo should last at least 100,000 miles.

 

[BremertonMSP]

Hi all

I was just curious...has anyone had to replace their MSP stock turbo yet? I owned an 86 Subaru GL-10 before, and I was constantly worried about having to change the turbo. Someone told me that turbos need to be replaced every 65K or so, and the subie was running at 105K without a replacement. However, it spooled up just fine. Unfortunately, my GF backed into the car and bent the frame, so alas...RIP the Subie. (Loved that car by the way.)

The dealer told me also that since the T25 is a ball bearing turbo, it's a bit more durable than the old school needle bearing turbos. Any truth to this? Or should I start worrying at 65K?

Regards,

Brian

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as you do regular oil changes and don't abuse your car the turbo will last as long as the car itself. I've got a couple of old T-3 turbos that have well over 175k miles on them and are still running strong. It's all in how you treat your equipment.

 

[03MSP]

I had and old IHI VJ-11 from an MX-6 on my MX-6 and it had 140,000 miles on it with absolutley NO shaft play. It's all in the maintanence.

 

[Pmpkinhead]

My 88 323GT Turbo had 155K when I sold it and it was still fine.
1244 (msporange

PS: Just make sure you warm it up and cool it down.

 

[Leadfoot]

Re: Re: Durability of the stock turbo

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as you do regular oil changes and don't abuse your car the turbo will last as long as the car itself. I've got a couple of old T-3 turbos that have well over 175k miles on them and are still running strong. It's all in how you treat your equipment.

EXACTLY - If you change your oil every 3k and make sure you allow the turbo to cool down 30+ seconds, then it should outlast the life of the engine. Take care of your toys & they'll last forever.

 

[jred321]

changing the oil is all you really need, seals may go out after a while though. the water cooling helps to prevent coking as well, which older turbos didn't have and which is why they needed replacing more often. changing a turbo is real easy though so it won't cost more than the parts themselves if you ever need to do it.

 

[PaulMP3]

im not sure what subby you had, but my family use to have a 88(i think) awd turbo wagon. I have search the web many times for specs on this car, but came up blank. Do you know HP, torque, psi ratings for this car.

It blew a rod around 55k. My dad loved the speed, but he says he will never buy a turbo again.

 

[Cam]

I began to experience a high pitch whine at 3k-4k rpms. Dealer was not sure what was causing the noise, but it was from the turbo. They called Mazda and they didn't know either. They suggested the dealer remove the turbo and take it apart to diagnos the problem.

 

[jred321]

mine used to make that noise, but i have yet to make it happen since i changed my oil to synthetic. i would guess it was the bearings, but i wasn't planning on taking it in unless the turbo grenaded. keep us updated on what they figure out, if anything since most dealerships have no idea what the inside of a turbo looks like, let alone looking for signs of wear or rebuilding one.