New 06 3500 auto , When picking kids up from school I have to idle in line for 15 to 20 min 5 days a week , is there a best way to do this , I change oil every 5000 reg. N Ga. area 90 + deg or should I not worry about it , temp stays under 200 on guage , and how soon to bomb mileage wise , Thanks to all.

 

Don't think the ideling will hurt anything, but fuel mileage will suffer.

Do you have any sort of lift on your truck? If not, do those 305/65 work well for you? Any problems rubbing, rough ride etc...etc...

Thanks.

 

tbr473 the tires fit with 1 1/2 spacers installed , I did them at time of install but i dont think they would fit without them , no rough ride a little noisier than most all terrains but not as loud as a mud tire , rotated every 5000 and are wearing good 25000 so far and more than 1/2 tread left, I would def. buy again. and on idleing I fig. mileage would suffer , 1st tank 16.898 mpg hand calc. not bad for a motor that is still tight. Thanks.

 

Is there any way you can turn it off while you wait? If I recall the owners manual said to not idle over 10 min. Also I do not think it is good for the turbo as the oil does not flow well to it at idle and the bearings need cool oil to them so that they don't burn up. I burned up a turbo one time on a 350 cummins by letting it idle for 20 min. The boss was pi**ed off at me for a month.

Just my $0.02 worth

 

There was a recent post here about someone being denied a warranty claim for clogged injectors because the PCM recorded “excessive idle time”. As I recall, Cummins does NOT recommend idling for more than 5 minutes or so. If you must idle, keep it to a minimum and on your auto trans you need to keep it in neutral, not park to keep the fluid circulating.

All in all, you’d be better off if you can park it and turn it off while waiting (IMHO).

 

It's not good to idle for long periods when it's below freezing AND the engine is cold.

If the engine's up to temp and it's warm out there's no problem, idle as long as you want.

If the engine's up to temp and it's cold out that's OK too because the engine's hot.

When the engine's too cold a small amount of fuel goes un-burnt and over time this residue can gum up your engine.

Hot engine means all the fuel pumped into the engine is consumed.

Some guys (and gals) on this board who live up in Alaska never shut off their trucks in the winter.

They idle them 24 hours a day.

They just idle them high to keep the engine nice and hot.

 

I cant imagine Idleing would hurt anything
I see guys in big hghway haulers idleing thier trucks 24/7. and these vehicles log Millions of miles!
Like stated above me. I think the only problem that could occur is if it freezing and ur motor is freezing then problems could happen cause of buildup in the in jectors.

 

I idle mine a lot as well sometimes for 30min or so. Should I be worried? Should I go and get the dealer to activate the high idle feature?

 

Have the fast idle activated at the dealer....It only works with autos...It uses the cruse control to bump up the idle to what you want in rpm.......

 

Per many other posts, it is not good for the third generations to sit and idle for long periods of time It fouls the injectors and causes other problems. As far as the semi's doing it, most companys try to discourage it due to fuel costs and on the newer engines same as our 3rd generations it fouls injectors and causes other problems. When I am forced to sit and idle I do raise the rpm's to compensate for it. Also get the high idle feature enabled to assist you in this.