csramsey640

Got 8" of snow here last night, and I was coming home from work at about 8:00 pm. I have a 45 min trip on I-80 and got stopped for a multi-truck wreck. I sat at idle in stopped traffic for 90 min. Temp was 32 deg and i was wet.....needless to say the heat felt nice and I had no plans of shutting her down.

under any other circumstance....different story, but there are always exceptions

Begle1

So were you holding it at 1500 RPM or the stock 700 RPM?

Does holding it at a higher RPM even help? It would, right?


I live in California, these are things I don't have to worry about...

pwrtripls1

I thought diesels could idle and run nonstop for years with no ill effects. Why would idleing hurt one? I thought short runs and stop and go hurt them.

robert chilton

Leaving them idle is considered bad by most people on here. What happens is when the engine idles not enough heat is stored in the head so incompleate combustion occurs. This will eventually cause the cylanders to get washed down with raw diesel fuel. Then the raw fuel will wash the oil of the cylander walls causing the rings to scuff. Now you have damage to the motor full of diesel fuel which this the oil and eats the bearings. Personally I dont think it is as big a problem as they claim. I sat in traffic the other day for 90 minutes to go 5 miles when I went to the Charlotte race. Didnt think twice about it. I wouldnt do it all day every day but I dont think it is playing russian roulette. I didnt notice any extra oil or smell in the crankcase either.

crobtex

Just wondering.....has anyone ever rigged up an aftermarket choke cable to use for idle adjust on a 2nd gen?

dieselnewbie

You can idle it indefinitely as long as the engine stays warm enough to burn the fuel clean.

If the outside temp is too cold for the engine to stay warm at stock idle, then just crank up the idle to 1100 or higher.

I've read guys here way up north who never shut their trucks off during the cold months. They get to work and leave their truck idleing all day with a stick on the pedal, and do the same thing at all night.

One guy told me that in Siberia, instead of idleing diesel vehicles 24 hours per day they build pits and keep them stoked with hot coals, then park the vehicles over them when not in use.

DT.

Boatnik

I have read quite a few threads here in DTR and other sources on that very subject and have reached my own conclusion that diesel's like to run forever loaded at 75% to 90% torque. Obviously, unless you are running a generation station 24/7 that isn't very practical. Stopping and starting any engine causes more wear until oil pressure builds up to form the fluid wedge in the bearings. Running a diesel at idle for long periods lowers the operating temperature to the point that coke builds up around the piston and rings. Coke is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Neither one of these conditions are great for any internal combustion engine. As a matter of fact Cummins discourages long idle times including warm up without load. Case in point, the USCG has been running Cummins VT903TA's in their 41 footers since 1973. The operating procedure tells them not to warm the engines in neutral. And to not exceed a fast idle until the coolant reaches a certain temperature. Of course all that goes out the window sometimes due to the nature of their work. My own opinion, I want to avoid long idle times as long as the situation allows. Hypothermia is one of those situations where I am not going to worry about the truck. I used to let it run at the gas station while fueling but I don't do that anymore either. The cost of fuel has gotten crazy and I am doing what I can to save. After all this babbling the chose is up to you as to which way you want to run your engine. It is really a no win situation.

92DIESEL

last winter I got caught in a sudden ice storm while coming home. I had my 4yr old daughter and pregnant wife in the truck with me. I could not keep driving and there were no hotels close, so I pulled into a truck stop and let her idle all night. I had to open a window because it was getting to hot (and just in case of CO). I had no ill effects that I could find.
I don't think idling is that much of a problem- my truck idled for 11yrs before my Dad got it.

In cases like these- just let her idle and stay alive.

Michael

G1625S

''Just wondering.....has anyone ever rigged up an aftermarket choke cable to use for idle adjust on a 2nd gen?''


early first gens have factory fast idle cables--a very handy feature

moparfan

The new trucks with auto trans have an idle up feature that can be enabled by a service tech via the engine computer. Allows use of cruise control buttons to run fast idle selectable from 1100-1500 rpm I believe.

tech told me injectors can "coke" up from long slow idling...

Monty

Idling for extended periods of time is a big no no. Believe what you hear, because it is true. If you are going to be leaving the truck running for awhile 5-10 minutes or more is usually the industry standard. Then you need to idle it up to around 1100-1300 rpm. Along with what Robert said, it can also cause heavy carbon buildup as well as shorter intervals before you need valve adjustment as well as over time, allowing the turbo compressor housing to leak oil past the inducer and into the intake.

Since about 1996, all class 8 tractors have an idle shutdown feature or an auto idle capability. It basically either shuts the truck down after so many minutes or idles the truck up after so many minutes.

fozzy777

I work in the northern regions of canada. Most guys leave thier trucks running all day everyday for months on end during the winter. I shut mine of at night and plug in the block heater. If available. But during the day my truck never shuts off. My truck is my office and when its -40 F outside the truck cools off fast. My previous trucks have been fords and I ordered them with idle controls. They have multiple idle sets as well as charge prtotect for boosting. I dont know if Dodge has this, but Ihave read some threads about enabling such a feature. I just stick my boot or window scraper on the throttle.

csramsey640

my last diesel had a screw out type setup where i could crank the idle up. I dont have a tach, but i know it idles higher than the 750 that a friends does. Like what was mentioned I wasnt gonna get sick just to save some diesel fuel, and it didnt look like anyone around me was either.

(the gasser beside me did start burning some oil though...

Begle1

Oooh, anybody have any more information on that? I have an "early" first gen...


Now I've asked this question a few times and don't remember the answer, but a few years ago people were talking about extended idling causing bent pushrods... Is there any truth to that, or am I confused?

G1625S

There's a 't' handle to the right of the fuse panel at the bottom of the dash on my truck. Say 'throttle' on it, or something like that. It's like a lawnmower throttle cable, but it ties into the loud pedal and looks factory. I've seen it on a couple other 89's. Pull out to desired idle, twist and it's locked. I fiddled with the linkage and it'll lock all the way to 2500. I usually start it, wait for oil pressure to come up, then set it for about 14-1500 for 3-5 minutes before I leave.