Should you tow etc. in a diesel intercooled turbo?

[Laney760]

Somewhere on the net I read of someone who had a Volvo 940 estate with
D24TIC engine which has an intercooled turbo and blamed the failure of their turbo on the fact that they did a fast motorway run with a sofa on their roof immediately prior to it's failure? Is there any logic in this or is it nonsense? Should I tow or carry high heavy loads on motorways in my D24TIC (that is once she has a new cylinder head and head gasket)? I have wondered if this is why you see more turbo diesel 7 and 9 series without towbars than petrol models? Or just coincidence? Thanks

[Peter Milnes]

Pet, you shouldn't listen to these killjoys. I have towed for several years with both an automatic 760GLE Turbodiesel and my present manual 945 with no problems whatsoever. I have not heard of any diesel Volvo having trouble because it was used for towing. Not even among the non-turbo 240s and early 700s. He was probably doing something wrong like not keeping oil levels correct or allowing the coolant to leak out without checking it. I am sure that you are level-headed enough not to listen to those who try to be sensational about their probable third-hand experiences. They will never give the truth as it would show them up.

All the best, Peter.

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Total tripe, my 740 has towed many's a mile with cars and everything hooked to her. Volvo's are designed to tow, its nearly a sin not put put a towbar on one

[dodgyken]

Hook a trailer onto the back of a Volvo and looks right. Pretty much all Volvos tow well - even the 340 was pretty bloody effective.

I had an awful engine for towing in the 740 (B200E) - but even then it was absolutely brilliant. I miss my Gold Freak - E246FRK.

Just realised that both 700s I have had were Gold.

Must get another one

[ovlov25]

I'd imagine any engine failure during towing would be down to poor maintenance. Common failures would be related to the (failure of) cooling system

[S60D5NI]

Every 40Te truck you likely to see is a turbo-diesel-intercooler!

The torque characteristics of diesels make them ideal for towing - it would seem inconceivable that any manufacturer, and especially Volvo, would market a diesel that wasn't designed for load lugging.

Therefore I agree with other posts - nothing to do with engine being a T-D-I, just poor maintenance / bad luck

[30yearvolvoman]

....no brainer, diesel either, turboed, intercooled or normally aspirated, doesn't matter their low end torque is absolutely ideal for towing.

[Laney760]

Thanks everybody, I did wonder where 'he was coming from'