On Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 4:10 PM, Andrew Grebneff
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> wrote:
> >Heat is definitely the enemy of diesel engine longevity. I have emphasized in
>  >the past that engine oil temperatures are a critical issue and to that end
>
>  From what I've heard/seen, head temperature and differential cooling
>  within the head (mostly after shutdown) is the critical issue with
>  turbodiesels, with cracking being the problem. apart from fitting a
>  turbo-timer to slow cooling on shutdown, there's no way to compensate
>  for this. I haven't heard of bearing failures or premature wear being
>  a problem.

I've read in many places that you should let the engine idle for a
minute or two before shutting down to reduce the chances of problems
like these.  I drive an '82 Westy with AAZ and DK tranny, and this is
what I do.  It may or may not be as effective as an electric coolant
pump that runs after shutdown, but it is certainly better at cooling
the turbo unless you are using on of the old Audi water-cooled units.

Michael Snow