Hey y'all I've been hearing all kinds of POV on letting your CTD idle. It's in the teens and twenties here in the morning and it would nice to have some heat on the way to work. My understanding is that cold weather idling at stock idle will plug the Cat and carbon the injectors. I have heard some folks installing hand throttles to rev up to 1000 or so. Does the higher RPM setting prevent the soot problem? What's up?<br>Thanks,<br>Chris 8)

 

Durning long idle times its best to raise RPM's up to 1000-1200 to prevent cyl wash down and to mantain engine temp...cummins also says to leave the block heater pluged in durning warm up (within reason)<br><br>I use a stick proped against the pedal and my electric seat and adjust the RPM's by moving the seat :

 

Good tip pappy. Since some yahoo already buzzed some holes in the dash for an alarm light and then took the alarm out &gt;, I think I'll get one of those big rig throttles with the release button. : That'll look trick and work too. What's the longest you feel safe idling? Would 5-10 minutes be too much? Thanks.<br>Chris

 

Big Rigs Idle all nite with their RPM's raised to 1200 I guess it depends on how much fuel you have in your tank :

 

Once the truck is warm is it bed to let it idle for say 10 minutes?

 

[quote author=98ramtough link=board=16;threadid=8429;start=0#81463 date=1040163601]<br>Once the truck is warm is it bed to let it idle for say 10 minutes? <br>[/quote]<br><br>Short answer YES.<br><br>Long answer. The engine doesn't fully burn the fuel at idle, thus not producing enough heat, leading to oil dilution, etc. I wouldn't let it idle any longer than it takes to cool the turbocharger. There is a ECM flash (not sure what years it's for maybe someone else can help there) that raises idle speed, alternates turning off injectors, etc to increase the load on the engine. But this is only active during the first startup when the coolant temp and intake air temp are cold.

 

[quote author=athompson link=board=16;threadid=8429;start=0#81544 date=1040172578]<br>[quote author=98ramtough link=board=16;threadid=8429;start=0#81463 date=1040163601]<br>Once the truck is warm is it bed to let it idle for say 10 minutes? <br>[/quote]<br><br>Short answer YES.<br><br>Long answer. The engine doesn't fully burn the fuel at idle, thus not producing enough heat, leading to oil dilution, etc. I wouldn't let it idle any longer than it takes to cool the turbocharger. There is a ECM flash (not sure what years it's for maybe someone else can help there) that raises idle speed, alternates turning off injectors, etc to increase the load on the engine. But this is only active during the first startup when the coolant temp and intake air temp are cold.<br>[/quote] <br><br>He doesnt have the electric engine so the Flash trick dont work

 

Idleing is a bad idea. Cummins has a bulletin that says, Diesel engines should never be allowed to warm up (idle) for more then 7 minutes. The reason being, as your engine sits there idleing away, not all of the fuel is being burned and there is not enough combustion gas circulation to rid the cylinder of all the soot, there for it makes its way into the crankcase and into the oil [undecided]. The newer &quot;big trucks&quot; automatically shutdown after a preset time. The only way to change the autoshutdown time is to hook a computer up to the truck. There are ways around that though. Back to the point... Idleing wastes fuel, install's soot into your oil, wears out the bottom end (soot), plugs the cat, and pollutes the air (not that I am really concerned about that considering the black smoke I make now and then but it why pollute when you can't actually see it . It is also a bad idea to leave the block heater plugged in while idleing. The coil needs to be fully submerged in order to avoid meltdown. When the engine is running there is enough cavitation to let the coil get red hot and melt. I have seen it before. Just my .02<br><br>DJ

 

There is also a Cummins bulletin about bent valves or pushrods from cold idling.

I think Cummins was the push behind the &quot;cold idle reflash&quot; for the 24valvers.

I also remember something about it being a more of a concern on the 24 valve engines, not the 12 valve.


phox

 

When I start mine I let it run 10 - 15 min. doing like pappyman does - a stick against the seat. I do get the rpms up to about 1200 or so and see temp on the gauge. If you let it idle cold the fuel doesn't burn completely and it can and does build up around the exhaust valve stems which leads to burnt valves and bent push rods (extreme case). It also does wash the cylinder and piston leading to early wear and blow-by. It can dilute the oil too. The reason big trucks can &quot;get away&quot; with idling all night is that they do keep the rpms up to keep it warm. One night in so. Mn I had to keep the engine running at about 1500 rpm just to maintain 160 degres. Da*n cold that night!!<br>Tom

 

[quote author=MnTom link=board=16;threadid=8429;start=0#81663 date=1040183386]<br>When I start mine I let it run 10 - 15 min. doing like pappyman does - a stick against the seat. I do get the rpms up to about 1200 or so and see temp on the gauge. If you let it idle cold the fuel doesn't burn completely and it can and does build up around the exhaust valve stems which leads to burnt valves and bent push rods (extreme case). It also does wash the cylinder and piston leading to early wear and blow-by. It can dilute the oil too. The reason big trucks can &quot;get away&quot; with idling all night is that they do keep the rpms up to keep it warm. One night in so. Mn I had to keep the engine running at about 1500 rpm just to maintain 160 degres. Da*n cold that night!!<br>Tom<br>[/quote]<br><br>THank you MnTom like I said raise the idle speed up I mean big rigs have been doing this forever because they live in the truck and its home for them...its all about maintaining engine temp in cold weather...duh

 

if the fuel is a lubricatant in the pump, how does it wash the cylinders? I thought that was the beauty of diesel, it DOESN'T wash them like gas does?

 

Prolonged idling of the Cummins ISB diesel can be damaging to the engine because of low combustion chamber temperatures, especially in cold weather. The combustion process can be incomplete and cylinder wash down is imminent

 

[quote author=furious70 link=board=16;threadid=8429;start=0#82021 date=1040250962]<br>if the fuel is a lubricatant in the pump, how does it wash the cylinders? I thought that was the beauty of diesel, it DOESN'T wash them like gas does?<br>[/quote].<br><br>Diesel fuel is too thin to actually lube the rings and will take the oil off with it.. Diesel is oil, just not enough lube in it to take the wear and tear of ring to liner contact. Also you may gum up the rings with excess soot etc from the cold run. <br><br>All in all, just idle enough to get/keep warm and long runs when you can. Short trips are what gets you trouble.<br><br>J-eh

 

Steelsoldiers<br>I don't know if youv'e ever been behind a diesel that is smoking kinda white when it is working and the exhaust REALLY stinks. That is what the diesels smell like when the cylinder temp is too low. That is unburned fuel with a little oil mixed in. Once the cylinder temp is coming up to normal operating temp the smell and smoke go away. That unburned fuel is what collects around the valve stems and collects in the manifold, turbo, muffler, etc. That is the stuff that you need to avoid. If you are going to keep your truck running for any period of time KEEP IT WARM. Period. If you don't you can and eventually will cost yourself some big bucks.<br>Tom