78 series Landcruiser aftermarket turbo

Q. I have a naturally aspirated 2002, 78 series LandCruiser. I am looking at purchasing a substantial camper trailer and have started thinking about an aftermarket turbo. I have been told that the 1HZ motor is not particularly suited to an aftermarket turbo. I would appreciate any comments.

A. I have personally installed thousands of turbo systems over nearly 20 years. I haven’t seen an engine die directly from a turbo yet. That’s a BIG claim but true. Engines that I have seen through our workshop in that time that have blown ‘reportedly’ from a turbo have in the end shown signs of high combustion heat (cracks everywhere). Remember Fuel makes Heat and lots of Fuel makes lots of Heat. The only thing supplying Fuel to the engine is the injection system and over fuelled Turbo Diesels get hot and die. In summary the 1HZ is a great engine. It wasn’t made for turbo charging but “set up correctly and not over fuelled” it will last many hundreds of thousands of trouble free km. Make sure the system is set up correctly by an experienced professional and you are on a winner.