The Turbo - Turbocharged #1

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our technicians dumb car questions so you don’t have to. 

One of the things we see in our shop are trucks with a turbo. As someone who’s never worked with cars I had to ask our Techs: “What  is  a turbo?”

In practice, some manly men with sloping foreheads might say, “Car go vroom. Turbo make car go VROOM vroom.” And they’re right.

Take a peek at this snail-looking thing.

This is an old turbo belonging to a Ford F-250. Don’t worry, it’s gone to a better place. I got some pics and asked my questions before it was taken to the Big Recycling Yard in the Sky, and I learned a LOT.

Since working with Sage Creek, I’ve learned a vehicle needs three things for the motor to run: a spark, some fuel, and air. The three of these make timed, controlled explosions that force the motor to turn every gear, pulley and belt under the hood. It just so happens that the turbo focuses on the air. 

You can see in the picture above that there’s two halves, two swirly snails sitting next to each other. The rusty, corroded snail on this old turbo is what’s nicknamed “the hot side,” and the aluminum, clean snail is referred to as “the cold side.” 

During its lifetime, the hot, rusty side of the turbo (God rest its soul) once took in the exhaust coming from your engine before it left the tailpipe. That same air gets funneled into a small fan in the center of our two snail shells. But that little fan does something really cool: it forces the cold side of the turbo to suck in outside air, then compresses it back into the engine. 

“Wait, what?” I can hear you say it. But no, really—that’s exactly what happens. 

The hot side sucks in the exhaust, which spins the compressor fan. The fan says “bet” and forces the cold side to suck in outside air, pushing the fresh air back through the motor. And if we remember that a motor needs a spark, some fuel and AIR to run, then more air forces the motor to run faster. 

If I remember correctly, the manly man once said it best— “VROOM vroom.” 

Thanks for reading! Be sure to share this with your motorheads, friends, family, enemies, awkward uncles—we all need to drive safer on the road, after all! 

#DumbCarQuestions #Turbo #Ford #Mechanic #Turbocharger #Motor #Compressor #CompressorFan