Just wanted to say this is an awesome board and if it weren't for y'all, I don't know where I'd be being I bought my first, diesel, first dodge and have almost 2,500 miles and am loving it so far. Now I know diesels are known for durability and that's one of the reasons I bought one. (Besides the wicked power.) I am just a little confused with the whole idling controversey with diesel motors. I always thought idling a motor to warm it up was best in insuring a long lasting motor among other things. I've owned my truck a little over a month, and living down in Houston, it dosen't get that cold here but I've still been idling it from 10-20 mins when it gets chilly because aren't diesels similiar to gas motors in that the oil needs to warm up to achieve a certain temperature for proper lubrication before takeoff? Now that I've searched and read all this talk about "unburned diesel causing damage" and whatnot, I'm stumped. Isn't it harder on a diesel motor to run it cold causing premature engine damage? I've read about the "high idle" feature and planning on going to the dealership this Sat. to have it enabled. I just don't make the connection though on how it's so necessary. Sorry for the novel, just a diesel rookie trying to learn the ropes the make an awesome machine last forever.

P.S. I'm no stranger to gettting the most out of my vehicles, as my '92 Sierra 350 5-speed has 376,000 miles never been rebuilt, with 1 new clutch and a '94 454 suburban with 330,000, never rebuilt, tranny never rebuilt..(only pulled 10,000 lbs about 10 times, but still most people don't believe its the factory tranny)

 

Well welcome aboard! According to the weather channel you might need to warm it up a little in the morning tomorrow. If you let it idle 10 minutes, no big deal, but extended periods of idling are not good. If you can get 330k + out of a Chevrolet, you're REALLY going to love your CTD!

 

If it's cold out, I usually just let it idle about 30 secs to let the oil pressure get up to where it needs to be. Then just drive it lightly for a few minutes.

If it's freezing, then yeah Id probably put the high idle on for a few minutes - but from my experience, it's really hard to get the engine temp up without putting some kind of load on the engine. Any more than a few minutes of idling and you're just wasting fuel, in my opinion.

I keep hearing that these engines are good for a million or so miles. So let's just say that not letting it warm up quite enough might put a little more wear and tear on the engine. So what will that result in - the engine only lasting 850k miles instead? I'll still be thrilled if I get half that. But again, I think the main concern is getting oil pressure up, and when you start driving, go lightly for at least a few minutes before flooring it.

 

I let mine warm up untill the pre heater quits cycling,mainly because it doesn't strain the alternator as much at idle.

 

Thanks for the replies y'all. Adamkn, I know exactly what you're talking about. Tonight it was around 35*F and it took my truck almost 20 mins to reach 200* driving around town and up to 55 mph!! To be completely honest, I havne't completely floored the truck yet. I want to do the first oil change at around 4,000 miles before I push it hard to attempt to remove any of those nasty metal shavings. Does that seem like a reasonable mileage? after that, I plan on every 7,500 with rotella. Will probably take it to the dealership for the first 'free' change with my own fleetguard in hand. A 12 qt. oil change is gonna be a pain in the a$$ when I start doing them myself. Thanks again and try to ignore my beginner questions, as I will use the search engine to my full benifit and try to abosorb as much of yall's expertise as possible! Oh yah, one last thing, anyone else had a problem with the horn going off when lowering the tilt steering wheel? It's like it's pinching the horn when I lower the wheel?? Gotta take it in Sat. to have that fixed, Weird petty thing but it gets on my nerves.

 

Imagin that, doing what's reccommended by both Cummins and Dodge. Wait till the oil pressure is up and drive easy till it warms up a bit.

My CTD's needle comes off the stop just before I get on the freeway 3 1/2 miles away from home but the heater is already blowing warm air. It is up to temp about 6 miles later at an easy 65 - 70MPH.

According to earlier documentation shown here the CTD does not warm up very much on idle. IIRC, you could start and idle for 3 hours and it still won't be up to normal operating temperature. These engines are made to work.

And speaking of work, load the back end with some heavy stuff and drive around for a tank or two. Borrow somebody's heavy trailer and haul it around full. You need to work it hard to seat the rings well. After break in, your milage will get better and better and you will love it more and more.