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Got into a heated debate at a diesel shop in Tulsa about pre-lubing turbos before startup
I was at All American Diesel in Tulsa last month and two old timers nearly came to blows over whether you should crank the engine without fuel to oil the turbo first, so which side are you on, pre-lube or just fire it up and let the oil catch up?
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shah.evan5d ago
Used to be all about just firing it up and letting the oil do its thing, figured the turbo would catch up quick enough. But then I watched a tear down of a Cummins that had scored bearings from dry starts, and that changed my whole view. Now I always give it a good 10 second crank with the fuel shut off, just lets everything get a drink before the real action starts. Those old timers might not agree on the method but the idea behind pre-lubing makes sense to me. Saves the turbo a ton of stress, especially on a cold start. Not worth risking a couple grand in parts over ten seconds.
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angela_wilson785d ago
Whoa, hold up, you mean there's actually a procedure that doesn't involve just praying to the diesel gods and hitting the key? Tbh @shah.evan, that dry start tear down video is basically the horror movie every turbo owner needs to see. Ngl, I still catch myself doing the old "fire it up and hope for the best" sometimes, but now I feel guilty about it. Honestly, ten seconds of cranking is way cheaper than explaining to your wallet why you need a new turbo.
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