alltork

I purchased my first diesel after a dozen gassers, I drive less than 2 miles to work at 40mph. Truck is driven 90% in town 10% on highway. Just need some reassurance that these driving habits are okay for motor and trans. Truck stays in heated garage till morning then is parked outside at work. I live in Wisconsin winters. Thanks much.

SBishop

I can not give you the reassurance you are looking for. That is the worst type of driving for a diesel. It will never get up to proper operating temps. It won't hurt the trans. but the diesel engine is made to run long, hard, and hot. In you type of driving there will be fuel wash down the cyl. walls and into the crankcase. This will pollute your oil. I think your only hope of trying to keep that engine running is changing the oil and filter every 1000 miles!

My .02 cents worth

Dr. Evil

This is generally BAD for a diesel.....you will want to change oil very often, and maybe use synthetic....a diesel is generally not designed to be used this way....

Make sure that you plug in at home and at work.
And get it out on the highway as MUCH as possible.

mymaur

I'm afraid I don't agree. It is true that short trips are hard on an engine. Nothing gets hot, various bad things happen to the oil, cooling system and exhaust. However, it's the same for a gasser.

You will find no where in DC's literature that it tells you, only drive your new CTD long and hard. If they produced a vehicle that had to be driven till it reached operating temp 90% of the time, they would be selling very few of them. ALso, there are an awful lot of people out there doing the same thing, driving a few miles each way to work and only getting it good and hot on the weekend. They do this for years and years and guess what, the engine survives.

Just change your oil more often than normal. Perhaps every 3 or 4 thousand miles and enjoy your truck.

It's not a living being, it's a machine. It does not need mothers milk, nor any synthetic anything.

All it really needs is for you to do what you bought for.

ENJOY IT!!!!!

Dr. Evil

mymaur. I dont necessarily agree about the synthetic oil - he lives in Wisconsin and YOU live in South Carolina......there is a bit of a climate difference... In a cold climate synthetic oil is important for its cold weather properties. When it is cold out, it extremely important to get that oil circulating as fast as possible. Leaving a jug of 15W40 outside at night where I live, literally turns it to goop...15W40 is way too thick to pump....therefore, the engine is starved for oil for much longer - not good....

phox_mulder

If it were me, I'd just leave for work 10 minutes early and take the scenic route.


My work location just moved.
Now, instead of driving the freeway for 20 minutes to get there, I have to take public transportation.

Parking downtown is incredibly expensive, not to mention they all have clearance signs saying 6'9" (see sig)
Or, park at a meter and run out and feed it every 2 hours
(not an option, as I can't leave my station except for potty breaks)

So, light rail it is, the stop is right in front of the building I now work in.

Now, do I drive my truck 8 blocks to the trax station by home and run the risk of damaging my $40,000 investment?
(30,000 for truck, 10,000 in BOMB's)

Or, do I drive 20 minutes on the freeway and park at the light rail station 5 blocks from work?

Secondary benefit for the 2nd scenario is that my truck is closer if I want to get it during lunch, as parking at the meters is free after 6pm, if I can find one close to the building.


phox

Jeff in TD

Alltork,

I'm not the world's formost expert, but I would not switch to synthetic until the engine is broken in (like the book says).

I also feel that constant runs that never come close to operating temp are hard on the engine. Extended idling/short low load runs on a cold engine in cold weather can lead to buildup on the exhaust valves and so forth, but I would still bet the engine outlives the rest of the truck.

I sometimes drive my truck in similar circumstances, so I
-Change the oil more often,
-Plug the thing in (on a timer) whenever possible,
-Run a winter front,
-Go for a scenic drive (or grocery run) before or after work once or twice a week, enough to maintain normal water temp for a few minutes.

I also try to take it on a highway run on my days off, if I can come up with an excuse. Heck, like me, you probably paid a bunch of money for a truck that's a blast to drive. May as well go out and drive it.

Lastly, when weather permits I often bicycle or walk the mile or two to work. The short trip may be tough on the diesel, but it's good for the blood pump. Obviously not everyone will do this, but it's something I enjoy and did before I had the diesel anyway.

Go enjoy the nice truck.

alltork

Thanks for all the advice. You guys are outstanding. I've learned more in one month on this site than I possibly could have anywhere else. Maybe I'll ride my bike to work. Tried to talk my wife into swapping vehicles, she drives 20 minutes to work. She won't part with her turbo ptcruiser . Am going to wait till service interval before putting in synthetic oil. Hoping that helps startup.

Dr. Evil

FYI, the synthetic will help with startup but its not going to change the fact that you will be running the truck and NOT getting it up to operating temperature....other things that would help (but are quite expensive) are an Espar heater and/or an exhaust brake.

I just read your signature - have you already converted to Amsoil???

mymaur

Have to agree with Dr. Evil on the syn oil. In the extreme cold climates that stuff does not get thick and will make starting easier. However, it still needs to be changed regularly, still gets dirty like any other oil.

Peterbilt

alltork
Where in Souther WI did you buy your truck. I have a family member that works for Wilde Doge in Waukasha and that's where I bought mine although I live in Tx. Anyway they have a great service manager there who will gladly help you with your questions. Enjoy.

Pete

BB6Wheeler

Alltork,
I've got the same problem. Truck is 6 months old and only has 2500 miles on it. I bought it to tow my 36' 5er (which I haven't had the chance to do). Maybe someone can tell me if I'm messing this up.. I drive 5 miles each way and normally take it out of od to keep the RPMs up (some stretches are 50mph). This seems to help warm it up, but not all the way to "normal". Am I doing it more harm than good? I'll be taking it in for the 1st Oil Change next week, should I get them to change the pumpkin fluid also?
BTW, you are correct, I have learned alot on this board!

DF5152

as was stated above short trips are no good for any vehicle diesel or other. if you primarily drive in these conditions change your oil more frequently one of the jobs of oil is to clean the fuel off the cylinder walls and there will be more unburned fuel for short trips than longer ones. When u have the chance on your days off take your truck for a ride just because you like too. Everything needs to be brought up to operating temps to burn off any condensation that forms due to changes in temp. everything else mentioned sounds good to me.......I wouldn't change the diff fluids yet dont think its necessary.

alltork

In reply to Dr. Evil, all of the fluids have been replaced except for motor oil. I did install bypass oil system . Bought 2 extra filters for when the synthetic goes in. Hopefully 2 more trips up north snowmobiling and I'll have enough miles to do so. In reply to Peterbilt, I bought truck from Palmen Motors in Kenosha Wi where I live. Thanks I'll keep Wilde Dodge in mind if I have any Questions, Palmen is not that keen on the diesel motor problems for a 5 star dealership.

ssteve

I glad you have a bypass filter that will help a lot wit5h short trips

Ssteve