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How Does A Turbo Work?

Often misunderstood, always awesome, the turbo is one of the greatest gifts to the automotive world.

At its core, an engine is an air pump, which creates the byproduct of horsepower and torque. A turbo simply increases the engine’s ability and efficiency in regards to moving air in and out of the engine. Rather than relying on the engine’s vacuum to suck air into the engine, a turbo forces the air into the engine.

A turbo has a few basic parts. Two wheels, which resemble fans, are attached to each other with a rod. The fans sit inside housings. The center section resides between the two housings and holds the bearings, as well as the oil journals and the cooling jackets.

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Who made what for who?

Whatever your relationship with the automobile, it is important to understand who built it. The trouble with auto manufacturers is that they are always building stuff for each other. This post will help sort out who built what, for who, and why it matters.

First thing first, let’s get acquainted with the major automotive families. Automotive families are different makes that are all made by the same manufacture. Many times manufactures will want to produce a regular run of vehicles, and then a more luxurious run of models. They will produce what is essentially the same vehicle, but badge them differently and pack one with all the high end wonders people love.

The major automotive families include …

Toyota, Lexus, and Scion. Honda and Acura. Nissan and Infinity. Hyundai and Kia. BMW and Mini. Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat. Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Plymouth and Eagle (Here shortly, toss in Fiat). General Motors, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Pontiac, Buick, Hummer, Saturn, and GMC (As well as Opel, Vauxhall, Holden and Daewoo). You can always tell a terrible product, because they will have numerous names for the same bad product.
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Theories Of Automotive Repair

When it comes to automotive repair, there are several methods of approaching the problem. Let’s look at: known problems first, maintenance as pair, comprehensive versus fix just what is broken, as well as a few diagnostic approaches.

Known Problems First

Until we correct all the known problems in a system, we can not know if they are effecting the portion of the system we are concerned about. Often times tracking down the cause of one problem will reveal the cause of others. Use this method with a bit of common sense, replacing a gas cap for an evaporative leak will most likely not fix a misfire. However, often times vacuum leaks cause many, many problems. (For a specific example of fix know problems first, visit here )
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