hey guys, i am having an issue with treating this engine with care
and just enjoying it. this is my first diesel and up until now i have really taken great care when it comes to warming engines and not tromping on it until they are good and warm.
The problem,which is probably in my mind, is that 95% of my driving is to work which is approx 9 miles away from home. these engines do not warm up when they idle so everyone says that you have to drive them to get temp out of them. i live in the country and i am expected to blend in with highway speeds just about
right after startup. some guys say as long as you have oil pressure and dont "load her up" you will be fine
whats the def of loading up? is it rpm or the amount of fuel and turbo spool? 65mph empty and 65mph towing 7000lbs is obviously different. other guys say to wait until the heaters have finished their cycle, and then go. i have tried all of this and it still
pains me to accelerate to highway speeds when the engine is cold, but the darn thing wont warm up unless you drive it!!!!!
kind of a dog chasing the tail thing. as it is iam probably taking about 2 miles to accelerate to 60 mph [not pleasing drivers behind me] very much babying this engine, i only have about 2500 miles on it. the thing just sound so terrible when you accelerate with a cold engine.
anyway,most people have told me that these engines are so overbuilt that you cant hurt them, and that they know how i drive
and what i am doing is fine, bottom line is: if i warm up for lets say a minute or two, than slowly accelerate to highway speeds,
is that ok? manual says to not drive under load until its warm
so if you have a load on, and it wont warm up at idle, WHAT DO YOU DO!!!!!! so should i just forget it, use some common sense
and enjoy this truck, or is there a secret trick to operating a diesel
until it warms up. is speeding up to highway speeds with a cold engine and no heavy load ok.

 

I have the same sort of situation as you, I pull out of my neighborhood onto a 55 mph highway. Part of what sounds terrible to you is the more advanced injection timing that's used to prevent white smoke from a cold engine, nothing to worry about. Just drive it gently until it warms up, but you don't have to baby it. If the traffic is doing 60, blend with the traffic, just don't floor it. If you're obsessing about this, you're taking better care of the truck than 95% of other diesel pickup truck owners. It sounds to me like your plan is fine.

 

Wait till winter....It will really take awhile! I have the same issues with the short qwick hop to work....I plug in my heater when the weather turns cold with a timer on it. It gets a 2-3 hour warm up before I head out. I tied the plug so it just sticks out from under the grill and plug it in when I get home. It comes on around 2-3am. (earlier when it really gets cold) I have the extension cord tied to the wall. I can just back out and it unplugs, and away I go with a enough warmth to kill the chill.

 

I just wait til the grid heaters stop cycling and keep the RPM's under 2k until the temp needle starts to rise, then drive like normal. Never a problem, even in -26 degree weather. You'll definately hear your "quiet diesel" when shes cold! Lots of white smoke.-Steve