Lebaron Turbo Life Expectancy Question

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

 

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 everyone drives a car differently, and that's going to
affect what components fail first. Last pricing I saw for a rebuilt
Garrett was $500.00, you may want to keep in mind.

 

My '85 Daytona Turbo is going strong at 198,000 miles

 

My 84 Laser has over 260,000 miles on the original turbo and is still
running.
They were designed to last 100,000 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