Does it do harm to my 1998.5 cummins to run around town, and make short stops. I like this diesel truck and what to drive it everywhere. My old gasser there was no problem, not sure about diesels.

 

As long as you get it up to temp and stretch its legs on a regular basis, I wouldn't be to concerned. I try to avoid short trips on a cold engine when I can, but some times it has to be done.

 

Short drives cause a number issues , mostly to start with is building up condensation and not burning off , then the condensation starts a bunch of other things in motion , building up acids & other chemical reactions .
It is worse with gassers , but not good for either .
From one end of truck/car to the other , in the crankcase of engine , to rusting out of exhaust .
Not only does the system need to get to operating temp. , but needs to be there for long enough to evaporate the condensations , but other fumes as well .
For short runs , use the cheapest , or what ever your willing to run into the ground 1st .

 

If you are doing a series of short stops with the engine warm, I don't think it's a problem, just change the oil frequently.

If you are doing repeated cold start, short trips (which I have to do during the winter), I think it would be a good idea to get the thing up to normal operating temp and keep it there for 20 minutes or so. I've seen quite a bit of water build up in an engine from condensation, so I think getting the oil warm enough to drive off moisture might be wise, plus frequent oil changes.

Just my non-expert opinion...

 

Once the engine is warmed up start and stop it as much as you want.
Idling for over 30 seconds is a waste of fuel and money.

 

It'll be fine. There's lots of way you can treat your equipment "better," whether it's a gasser, diesel, or whatever. But you gotta live your life and control your vehicle the way you want, not let it control what you do. I'm sure it'll still last well over 300k miles.

 

This is very good advice. Warm starts are not hard on your engine, it is the cold ones that are the problem. I just try to drive to the farthest away place first, then work back towards the end.

 

if im doing bunch of little short stops i just leave it running i got a pull cable shut off so i pull key out lock doors and leave the motor running

 

Thanks for the replies, when I head to town, the drive is long enough that the truck does get warmed up, so I should be ok. I wish summer would get here, wind chill is -14 this morning.

 

Great thread as I've been very concerned about the same thing.