I just recently bought a 2000 volvo s40 and I was wondering if anyone knows how the turbo works. It doesn't seem to be THAT fast of a car, but it seems to go faster at higher RPMs. I also read somewhere that it is a low pressure turbo. Might that have something to do with it? Also, if the turbo on one of these cars does not work, does it affect the rest of the engine?
2006-11-21 09:51:02 · 5 answers · asked by sarrey29 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Volvo
Engines work by combusting fuel - the two elements to that are oxygen and gasoline. Oxygen is the limiting factor in the reaction. This has the effect of both robbing the engine of potential power and emitting more polutants (CO, for instance).
A turbocharger is a fan that forces more air, and consequently more oxygen into the cylinder. The fan is turned by exhaust gases; at low engine speeds, exhaust gas flow is low and fan interia is high, so the fan turns slowly, and the turbocharger does little, if anything at all. This is what is referred to as turbo lag, and is perfectly normal. Some manufacturers use 2 smaller fans which are easier to get turning to reduce this lag. What you are describing - a seemingly exponential increase in power as RPM climb - is perfectly normal.
One downside to turbocharging is that the entire engine is under pressure. This takes a toll on all the seals and hoses. The more air that is forced into the engine, the greater power that can be achieved. Turbo engines that run closer to the edge of blowing out hoses, etc are high pressure turbos. Typically a low pressure turbo, like yours will run around 7 psi over atmostpheric pressure.
Typically, you'll hear an increasingly loud whining sound from the turbos before they go kaput. If the fans do seize, you're basically back to running a normally aspirated engine, albeit with a somewhat restricted air intake. Your biggest problem will be that the fuel injection system is programmed for the turbos, so you're going to be running rich and emitting a lot more incompletely combusted fuel, and you may wind up ruining your cats (which are expensive to replace).
2006-11-29 03:59:26 · answer #1 · answered by M3Owner 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
2001 Volvo S40 Turbo
2016-11-14 19:30:37 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a volvo tech I've seen very few volvo turbos fail. When they do fail it is usually the oil seal. When that fails it'll smoke at idle after it is warm. The best way to test if it is making pressure short of a pressure gauge is put it in second at a lower rpm around 1500. Then put the gas to the floor. Between 2000 and 4000 you'll feel the car noticable gain power. If the turbo isn't making pressure it won't hurt anything.
2006-11-21 11:48:35 · answer #3 · answered by alexjs1985 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
turbos work from the exhaust gasses.
i have limited experience with bad turbos, but all sound like the engine is trying to come apart when going out.
usually it is the bearings that fail because of the hi temp and revs they work under.
2006-11-28 10:42:26 · answer #4 · answered by elmo o 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually if there is something wrong with the turbo the engine won't run or runs poorly. they are controlled by a computer and waste gate that limits the boost :(
there is a lot of info in this group
2006-11-21 10:08:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋