AH64ID

I am really happy with the EB, without it I dont want to know how long my motor would take to warm up.

mattk50

5-10 minutes in the winter-depends on the temperature outside.Summer let the oil pressure come up then I head out.

HOHN

A diesel will take forever to warm up just idling, unless you have a e-brake or are in 3cyl idle.

I don't have an exhaust brake, so the only time I'l let my truck idle to warm up is if it's in 3cyl mode.

Otherwise, I take off as soon as there's good oil pressure and the initial chill is out of the engine (less than a minute, typically).

It takes load to heat up the engine, and idling away with no load on the engine is bad for it, imo. I want that thing to warm up ASAP, and that means getting it out and driving it.

jmo

cowboy_trucker

I think i idle it down longer then warm it up. How long do people idle their trucks down?

jetmanjo

We probably need a poll for Idle Down, or is there one already? I havent checked.

I usually warm mine up for about 5 minutes for th first start of the day, but after reading the previous posts, might cut that down to a minute or two, and drive easy.

I idle mine down until the pyro (turbo temp) hits 300.

nkennedy

I idle about 30 seconds to a minute. Sometimes a little longer if it's below 45 degrees. It doesn't get that cold here often.

Rednecktastic

You beat me to it man.


Maybe 30 seconds....


Truck hasn't seen much below 30 degrees though.

Nor_Cal_Angler

oil pressure comes up...away i go...every diesel mechanic i have ever talked to including the one who now exculsivly works on my truck says all you need is oil pressure....

side note: i am an engineer (you know the guy that drives) with the FD....i cant see anything being wrong with jumping in a diesel engine and taking off...because that is EXACTLY what we do...the engine may sit for hours or minutes we may get a call at 8 am and not another untill 4 am the next morning and we dont have time to wait for the temp to come up.....we run out jump in and HAMMER THE GO PEDEL...if you didnt know there are only two positions the pedel is in...that is completly up or completly DOWN..lol....even our dept mechanics agree....AS LONG AS THERE IS OIL PRESSURE your GOOD TO GO!!!!!!!

it is VERY TRUE idle will not create enought heat to make that big of a difference...LOAD on the motor is what creates the heat...lack of oil pressure at start up is the big issue with CUMMINS and other diesel motors....(we have two cummins, two detroit, one international, and four inter/powerjokes f-550)

NCA

Rednecktastic

I read in motor trend a long time ago that you're supposed to wait 30 seconds then drive normally (ie not hammering it) till it warms up.


That's why I do 30 seconds if it's cold out... Otherwise maybe enough time to turn the AC on, buckle up and adjust the radio?


Don't know how a diesel would be different, mine has never had low oil pressure at start up.

chipmonk

a.k.a. chauffeur

jpfishmaster

Warm weather, about a minute; cold weather, maybe 5 minutes; I drive like grandma anyway

Clayten

I use the exhaust brake and idle till I have 300 degrees on the pyro.
The older engines where very susceptible to cold temp operation. I drove an old NTC 335 and if it did not get it's proper warm up it would brake head bolts. That is actually the driving reason for a Jake brake. It was designed in the beginning to keep the engine warm on long descents ( so they would not blow up at the bottom when you stuck your foot into the pump). The braking abilities of the Jake was a complete surprise to the inventor.

MtnDodge

I asked Cummins about this last winter. Here's their response:

"Unlike gasoline engines diesel engines don't gain anything from idling long
periods of time. Gasoline engines tend to try to keep a balance in fuel
ratio, known as the stoichiometric ratio, of 14.7:1 air to fuel. This
means that at idle a gasoline engine will be able to become warm because it
is burning a significant ratio of fuel.

This is opposite of a diesel engine. At idle a diesel engine will be
injecting very little fuel. In fact a diesel engine can idle at air to
fuel ratios in excess of 200:1. This means that idle a diesel engine will
not 'warm up' to operating temperature like a gasoline engine. It takes
putting a load on the engine (a duty cycle that results in horsepower
expenditure) in order to heat the engine up to temperature.

If the engine temperature drops too low (170-140 deg F) then the combustion
process begins to degrade. The combustion chamber will begin to be coated
by soot and the fuel can "wash" past the piston rings. When the fuel does
this the fuel begins to collect in the oil. This can result in poor
lubrication, poor heat transfer, and poor combustion chamber sealing."

So there you have it. No long idling according the engine guys!

DiezelSmoke

Run Synthetic 5w40 and never let the truck idle. A deisel will not build heat at idle, thats why the Cummins factory hi-idle runs on 3 cylinders to make the engine work and even then won't build heat just maintain temp.

N.Johnson

3 cylinder high idle only works on 2nd gens! I have been way north at minus 40 and the synthetic 5w40 is excellent oil to use in the winter. As far as cummins goes, I asked the head mechanic with 30 plus years if I should run 5w40 syn. year round, because I was so impressed with valvoline premium blue syn. He said only for the winter. Big tip he told me was to set the parking brake firmly and put it in drive (auto) During the hot months 15w40 provides better high temp lubricity protection. I thought that was really interesting and searched the net, found a few studies backing up his statement. Sorry can't provide any links but the info is out there. Hilarious to hear a 1998.5 24 valve with 3 cylinder idle at -40f. By the way the cummins is the king starting at those temps, cycle grids heaters twice and fires right up. My rig bounced the pyro gauge off 900F at start-up! Only problem is the drive train fluids, especially the trans won't shift into fourth till it warms up the fluid and that is syn. atf$.............good post....never idle more than a minute starting. Shut down at 300f pre-turbo, can be as long a five minutes towing.