The discussion is regarding "idling" and it's affect/benefit (if any) on cooling the turbo. You may want to re-read this thread from the begining.

 

I've read everything on this forum about how the Subi's cooling system vaporizes coolant to cool the turbo. I've noticed on my relatively new 05 Baja that I smell what I believe is vaporized coolant and I wonder if the cool-down process is the cause of it or if it is something else.

I don't have any drops under the car when it's been parked of any length of time, so I don't believe I'm leaking (well, I do leak but let's not talk about that) coolant.

Still, the fluid in the reservoir has gone down substantially (previously it was lower than the lower limit). I've topped if off but I see it is going down again. Any thoughts?

 

I've noticed the same, occasional "maple syrup" smell from my '03 WRX. It's very slight and (like you) there are no signs of leaks (but I don't have an appreciable loss of coolant either). I doubt the vaporization process has anything to do with the smell since it's a closed system. You could have a pinhole leak somewhere that is not easily seen. Personally, I would go ahead and mention it to your dealer (especially since you're losing fluid).

 

The oil circulating through the turbo is what cools the engine / turbo down. The hotter the engine is the longer you should let it idle, 5-8 minutes max should bring the oil/ turbo’s internals close to ambient temperature. Letting the car idle longer will actually make the engine / oil temperature go up. If you don’t cool down the car you are not only slowly destroying the turbo’s internals but also the oil starts to clog up the lines in the engine and will eventually block oil lines. This dose not happen over night this takes years of abuse before you will see the effects.

 

Well, that's not Subaru says...

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/sh...=&threadid=2388

 

So if your going to the gas station, you should wait a minute before turning off your car, but its okay to start it up and take off whenever your done getting gas??

What I have always done was warm up the car to where the temp hits the first (middle) line a little less than half way on the temp meter. And the harder I have been driving in the longer I wait to turn it off.. That's okay right?

If I do get a turbo timer what should I set it to?

 

.....I'm not sure how we got back to square one again. I'd suggest re-reading this thread from the beginning and check out all of the links provided in regards to a "cool down procedure".

As for warming up the engine, you shouldn't have to wait until the coolant temperature is up to it's operating range before driving away. Besides, it doesn't do much for warming up the other components if the vehicle is parked. Just use some common sense and don't push the car until it's had time to fully warm up.

 

I'll tell you how: I resurrected this thread because I had a question about the evaporation of coolant as part of the turbo cool down. What I should have done is start a new thread...

 

You might want to have your radiator caps pressure tested. It might not be workig at the right pressure and letting the coolant flash off. Just a thought. I think the coolant will flash around the bearing area but as the gas bubble rises it could cool down and go back into solution before it reaches the tank above.

 

Subaru turbo's are both coolant and oil cooled, this is the reason you don't need a turbo timer:

 

^^ thanks peaty!
its not necessary in a stock setup-- if it makes you feel better but a TT.
when i "get on it" before i shut off my engine i turn my radio off, dim my dash lights, turn off my a/c, make sure my ebrake is up- then 30 seconds later- i'm done! engine off.(its just a mental block that i have) i have an alarm, and i'm probably gonna get a turbo timer just because i think its awesome that a car shuts itself off after a "pre-subscribed" time.






aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*