Short engine runs...is it bad?
 

Just wondering if short engine runs (2 -3 minutes) will hurt the engine. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If you are talking about our Cummins engines, yes, a lot of short runs is not good for the engine. The engine won't get up to normal operating temps. and that's not a good thing. If you pull your truck in and out of the garage occasionally, that's not a problem, but if you consistantly run the engine for only 2-3 minutes at a time, well, diesels just weren't built for that.

Hope that this helps.

DeWain

As long as your truck has a chance to get up to full operating temp most times you start it, you won't have any problems. No engine is happy doing short trips, but it does take a little longer to warm up that big lump of iron under our hoods. 10 miles/20 minutes of driving seems to get mine all the way up to temp.

On a cold engine, that would be a bad thing to do to it. Short runs on a warm engine won't hurt it.

Good point, cp, I assumed a cold engine!:)

My 2001 I had I always did lots of short runs in the winter where the temp barely moved off the Cold peg before shutting down. When I did oil samples everything looked great and no noticeably increase in wear metals, soot, fuel in oil, moisture, etc.

Thermal cycling and running a lot in cold will definitely make an engine wear out faster than running a lot of "warmed up" miles. I don't think doing a lot of short trips "hurts" the engine but how you drive it cold is a lot more critical (revving, tromping throttle, aggresive starts are a bad idea).

Vaughn

Darn, I guess I just must have missed the part in the owners manual where it says, the diesel is special, treat it with care, change it's diaper regularly and feed it breast milk for the first year.

Come on guys!!!! Yes it's true that any internal combustion engine will suffer from years of short runs, 2 minutes as described in the original post. But for goodness sake, just drive your truck. If you only do 2 minute runs, don't worry about it.

I have put over a million miles on the CTD's I have owned. Have never babied them in any way. No synthetic nothin, just change the oil and filters on a regular basis and enjoy them.

All this nonsense about treating your baby with tender care is just that, nonsense. If the motor would be runined by short trips, just how long would DC keep using it. If anything, I'd suggest changing the oil and filter more regularly. Otherwise drive it as you see fit, and don't worry about the short trips.

Now opinions are like noses, ever body has one. That was mine.

Geeez, just venting my spleen!!!

While I certainly agree that everyone should just go enjoy his/her truck and drive it as seen fit, I do have to say that never getting the engine up to operating temperature at some point is really hard on the oil. I've seen the head off of a Nissan Hardbody pickup that spends it's life as a farm truck. It idles a lot and never gets up to any real warm temperature. What has happened over the years is that the oil has turned to sludge all over the top part of the head. The valve springs, retainers, rockers, etc. are all covered in the this black sludge that the oil has become.

So, go out, enjoy your truck, drive it as you see fit. But bear in mind that you DO need to get it up to operating temperature at some point to burn all of the condensation out of the oil.

The original post said nothing about "never" reaching full temps. simply asked it short trips are harmful.

I thought the diesel UPS delivery vans used the ISB in many of their trucks, and those certainly are used in "short trips".

If it was detrimental, I can almost guarantee that UPS wouldn't use that engine in that application. Not sure if they're using 12V engines - which might make a difference.

lots of short runs on a warm engine might wear the starter faster is all...

Probably the most important thing to consider for the cold engine is in regards to very cold weather -- The valvetrain likes to be above 140 degrees to burn of varnish. frequent short runs in very cold weather (not allowing the valvetrain to run above 140 degrees) was shown to cause sticking valves and bent push rods in the 2nd gens -- hence the cold idle enable re-flash TSB. 30 minutes run above 140 degrees is what it takes to burn off the varnish.

other than that, you might do some oil analysis to see of you should change more often. But I gotta tell you these 3rd gen engines are tight! my first oil change was at 2,000 miles, and the oil looked like new -- I put in a magnetic drain plug. 2nd change had 5,000 miles on the oil, and it still looked new -- and hardly any shavings on the plug -- not enough to photograph (which I was going to do and post results).

I think they mean it when they say 7500 mile drain interval for severe service, and that includes idling and running cold!

Over the past few days my truck has been over 140F for about 10-15 miles out of the last 80-90 I've driven. Yes, it's seriously overdue for a good hard run!!! [redface]

Vaughn

[laugh] [laugh] Guys who baby their CTD would weep to see the abuse heaped on these motors in medium duty applications. WOT out of the parking spot, wound to the peg on the tach every gear, running flat out all the time on the highway, idling for hours at a time, shut off immediately after a hard pull, and the oil change interval recommended by most chassis makers is 10 or 12 thousand miles. And they still go 250k on a regular basis. :o How is this possible? :rolleyes:

Thank you...

I agree with mymaur - a lot of people believe that the short trips shorten engine life but I dont necessarily believe that is true. These are very good medium duty diesel engines and are used HARD everyday in all kinds of applications. I dont think starting up for the occasional beer run is going to reduce engine life at all. If you live in a cold climate I would recommend synthetic oil for the cold weather pumpability and getting the engine up to operating temperature as often as possible. These are expensive trucks....dont be afraid of using it....