<VV> Turbo Cooling Question

[FrankCB at aol.com]

Grant,
    I'm not sure about the factory manual, but the  Turbocharging chapter 
(Chapter 33) of the Corvair Basics manual covers this in  detail on page 150 
under the section called "Care and Feeding of Corvair  Turbos".
    In your case with the PT Cruiser, the turbo sits  right on top of the 
exhaust manifold which completely ELIMINATES the long  piping run that the 
Corvair turbo has between the manifolds and the turbine  section.  This has the 
major advantage of significantly reducing the  dreaded "turbo lag" that the 
Corvair turbo has.  It does, however, tend to  put major heat into the PT turbo when 
the engine shuts down so the water cooling  is designed to actually carry 
heat away from the turbo bearing by thermal  updraft flow even when the water 
pump and engine have shut down.  But if it  were mine, I would still let the PT 
turbo idle a couple of minutes before  shutting off the engine especially if I 
were using non-synthetic oil.
    Incidentally, there are "turbo timers" available  (already built or in 
kit form) that you can add to keep the engine running a  predetermined length of 
time after you turn off the key and leave the car.
    If you are relatively new to Corvairs, especially  turbo Corvairs, I 
strongly recommend that you get a copy of the Corvair Basics  manual from CORSA 
(or one of the vendors).  Of course, I "may" be  prejudiced in that 
regard.<GGGGG>
    Frank "if it don't go, boost it"  Burkhard    
 
 
In a message dated 1/21/2007 8:39:53 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
gyoungwolf at earthlink.net writes:

HI all.  Thanks to many who provided insight on the PT Cruiser and HHR's. We 
purchased  a PT GT with the High Output 2.4 turbo engine, select shift 
transmission, 17"  wheels, leather, etc. I'm afraid that when the boost comes in, it 
puts our  cars to shame :-). But then, it doesn't have that great Corvair 
style and  engineering :-). My question is on the Corvair turbo, however. The PT 
owners  manual states that for normal driving, there is no need to let the 
engine idle  prior to shutdown, but if you have been driving "aggressively" for a 
short  period of time or driving with a heavy load (boy that one is open for  
interpretation :-), then you should let it idle for 3 minutes prior to shut  
down. If you have been driving aggressively for a long period of time, or  
towing a trailer, you should let the engine idle for 5 minutes, to allow the  
turbo to cool properly. I don't have a Corvair turbo owners manual handy, but  did 
it suggest such procedures? Thanks,
Grant