turbo diesel tractor or not???

[Doc_Bob]

If you research intercoolers on the internet for the primary purpose, the answers I have found are reliability and durability, am I missing something?

My Turbo on my old SAAB 900 had an aftermarket intercooler. It made the intake charge cooler, so I was able to squeeze more fule and air into the cylinders. That mean't more power! A lot more power on a very cold day in January when the outside temp was hovering around 10 degrees. This setup stressed the motor more than it should have and did nothing for reliability or durability, but it was fun.
Bob

 

[machmeter62]

My Turbo on my old SAAB 900 had an aftermarket intercooler. It made the intake charge cooler, so I was able to squeeze more fule and air into the cylinders. That mean't more power! A lot more power on a very cold day in January when the outside temp was hovering around 10 degrees. This setup stressed the motor more than it should have and did nothing for reliability or durability, but it was fun.
Bob

The racing circuit, drag strips, and other type of racing need all the power they can muster, at all times to win the coveted prize, with the throttle to the "firewall," and disreqarding the life of the engine. It is true, more molecules of cool air will enter the engine with intercoolers; providing more power!! However, a tractor operator stressing his tractor that way must have deep pockets? Intercoolers found their way to aviation first, and then migrated to autos, tractors, trucks, and etc. Until proven wrong, I will always believe any internal combustion engine will suffer a shorter life from too much heat! Anti-skid was also and aviation first, that we know enjoy on most vehicles!!

 

[machmeter62]

My Turbo on my old SAAB 900 had an aftermarket intercooler. It made the intake charge cooler, so I was able to squeeze more fule and air into the cylinders. That mean't more power! A lot more power on a very cold day in January when the outside temp was hovering around 10 degrees. This setup stressed the motor more than it should have and did nothing for reliability or durability, but it was fun.
Bob

DocBob, the original intent of the intercooler was for reliability and durability, but found it's way for other purposes. Some turbo a/c engines can destroy your bank account and retirement fund, if abused before their normal life cycle is up!

 

[Soundguy]

Explain how a cooler air charge effects reliability?

Soundguy

 

[IslandTractor]

Seems to me the intercooler is added to get more HP out of an engine but that it has nothing to do with making an engine more or less reliable/durable. More efficient maybe (more HP/liter) but minor if any direct effect on reliability etc. Indirectly I suppose if you consider you are getting more HP out of the same engine block then you're not going to be stressing the engine more but that is the trade off for the increased power not directly related to the intercooler. If you drove an intercooled engine at exactly the same HP as a non intercooled engine there would be no difference in engine life.

 

[machmeter62]

Seems to me the intercooler is added to get more HP out of an engine but that it has nothing to do with making an engine more or less reliable/durable. More efficient maybe (more HP/liter) but minor if any direct effect on reliability etc. Indirectly I suppose if you consider you are getting more HP out of the same engine block then you're not going to be stressing the engine more but that is the trade off for the increased power not directly related to the intercooler. If you drove an intercooled engine at exactly the same HP as a non intercooled engine there would be no difference in engine life.

Intercoolers, like a radiator, also reduce the air flow to the engine reducing some of their advantage; also check out the reason for twin turbo engines.

 

[machmeter62]

Explain how a cooler air charge effects reliability?

Soundguy

A high fuel/air ratio will cause detonation in the engine that will shorten the life and reliability. Just give your diesel a good strong shot of ether or starting fluid before starting on a cold morning, and listen to the valves "sing!!!" The intercoolers help that cause.

 

[whitetiger]

A high fuel/air ratio will cause detonation in the engine that will shorten the life and reliability. Just give your diesel a good strong shot of ether or starting fluid before starting on a cold morning, and listen to the valves "sing!!!" The intercoolers help that cause.

Ummmmmm, "Detonation" is what makes an engine start and run.
I have personaly never heard a " Valve Sing "
All an innercooler does is cool the air after the turbo charger has heated it so it is denser resulting in more air in the cyclinder. More air = More fuel can be injected and maintain proper Air/Fuel mixture. End result is more HP.

 

[markct]

Mechanics tell me that the average life expectancy of a diesel engine is between 4000 and 6000 hours. I guess it depends on how long you're gonna put up with some blow-by once the engine is worn. The biggest question to ask anyone on this forum is how many hours are you going to put on your tractor each year? The average homeowner is going to use their units around 100 hours per year. That's 40 years use. These compacts will last the average homeowner a lifetime.

well i dunno what mechanic told you that but i know that at the company i work for as a mechanic we have many trucks on the road, mostly garbage trucks so pretty severe service, and there are many with 15 thousand hours or more and still alot of life in them, infact two of the IH recycling trucks have around 25,000 hours and have never had a turbo, injection pump, injector or any internal engine work done to them. now they are an unusual case, and i would not expect that from any engine, i suppose we have just got lucky realy. but i will say the last engine failure we had was an 8.3 cummins in a garbage truck, it had 16,000 hours on it and the only reason it died was a blown head gasket and the driver thought he could finish the route, totaly cooked the motor. if the driver had stopped and called in it would have most likely been towed in, had a head gasket put in and then have been back on the road. maybe 20 or 30 years ago 4 to 6 thousand hours was the norm, but today thats nothing. heck thats only 2 or 3 years of fulltime use

 

[jcmseven]

I am by no means an engineer, but I have observed the following things in my personal use: first my 3720 (turbo) tractor on my terrain and in my particular circumstances burns no more fuel than did my 4310 (non-turbo)at WOT. It burns less fuel at 2000 RPM, which is where most of my work is done. This consumption has been consistent and was consistent with the last 3720 I had. My four cylinder 4520 turbo JD burned more than the 4310 and the 3720 but was a larger machine. It was not, however, that large a difference, and would have been comparable HP/gallon/hour. My F250 7.3L diesel Power Stroke does in fact burn less fuel in most circumstances than did the same engine stock with my Banks System on it. As one of the other posters noted, at WOT or under heavy load that taxes the engine I have no doubt that my truck would burn more fuel, but in all other cases including most towing instances I am getting about 15% better mileage currently modified. My layman's theory is that the engine is running cooler (has efficient intercooler and turbo setup) and is less taxed, and if the boost stays down, runs more efficiently on each gallon of fuel. But, if I get anxious and blow the boost to 30 psi, the fuel economy would definitely go down.

John M