Turbocharger Cleaning

1 – Why do turbos get dirty ?

Compressed air is one of the principal aspects of a working engine. The turbocharger is a turbine-driven forced induction device that increases an engine’s efficiency and power by forcing extra air into the combustion chamber. This improvement results because the turbine can force more air, and proportionately more fuel, into the combustion chamber than atmospheric pressure alone. The power needed to spin the centrifugal compressor is derived from the kinetic energy of the engine’s exhaust gases, without consuming any power from the drive shaft.

Poor fuel atomization leads to the generation of soot, which can clog up the exhaust system. This puts negative pressure on the turbocharger, which inhibits the exhaust and reduces engine power. In addition to a less powerful engine, the main symptoms of this predicament are faulty engine starts, a noisy turbo, white exhaust smoke, and the over-consumption of oil.