Does a 16g really need coolant?

[Wheels-a-turnin]

I'm having an issue with my 16g, it seems to be leaking coolant out of somewhere. Now my old 60trim didnt need any coolant, and well neither do many others. Honestly I just want the car to run so I can sell it, Also the oil is running through an external oil cooler.

Basically does it really need the coolant?

 

[Steve93Talon]

Mitsu does have dry center versions of their housings, but they have more oil capacity than the coolant filled versions. I know a few people who have run 14b/16g/20g turbos without coolant just fine, if you're worried about long term effects use synthetic oil and let the car idle for at least a minute before shut down.

 

[cc4ever]

Be a good seller, either fix the problem or leave the leak the way it is. Do not try and cover up a problem so you can pass it on to someone else.

 

[siceclipse]

^^^^^^
agreed

 

[cc4ever]

And also the turbo was engineered to be cooled by oil and coolant. By removing the coolant, the turbo will not cool the way it was designed to cool. Even with an oil cooler, the oil is more for lubrication purposes.

 

[wvturbo2]

Are there any problems with running the mitsu turbos with dry center sections ? Which is better?

 

[cc4ever]

A dry center section means that there is no coolant. Most aftermarket turbos have dry center sections. I would want dry because that is 2 less coolant lines to worry about.

 

[siceclipse]

That sounded like a 4th grade book report!

 

[cc4ever]

I was just being direct and answering the questions, but yes it did.

 

[Quasimondo]

The oil that goes through a 'dry' turbo serves as both a coolant and lubricant, and the oil passages in these turbos are designed with that in mind. The oil that goes through a water-cooled turbo is there for lubrication only. Running a water cooled turbo with no coolant increases your chances of coking, a condition where excess heat generated by the turbo causes the oil to break down, leaving deposits in the passages that could block oil flow.

Blocking off these lines may leave you with two less lines to worry about, but you'll end up worrying about whether you've let your engine idle long enough for the oil to cool the turbo down.

If you're leaking coolant from the turbo, try replacing the copper crush washers on both banjo bolts that go in and out of the turbo.