Random Acts

First Post long time lurker

My Pyrometer does not get below 300. When I pull into my driveway I let the truck idle so things cool, but I don't think I would ever get down to 250. My Aircleaner is a little dirty but the airflow gauge shows no restriction. I have never tried waiting for 5 minutes. Things seem to stablize at 300 and I get bored and shut it off.
Should I organize my glove box and wait for 250 ?

Dr. Evil

Where do you get the 250 from?

Generally speaking, the common practice is to shut down at or below 300F.

Random Acts

I read a few different forums so I am not sure where I read it. + it's a banks gauge and 300 is at the very maximum of the safe zone.

But I can deal with waiting for 300

Thanks.

kevellis32

I don't think I would say that 300 is at the very maximum of the safe zone. 250 is almost impossible to get to on my truck unless I let it sit for 10 minutes. 300 I can get to within a minute or two but i have many friends with trucks like mine that don't have gauges or other goodies like I do that shut down after 10-15 seconds and their turbo's are just fine.

dodgeguy71

I pull up my driveway, which is really steep and I hit nearly 450 on my gauge. I park in my spot, get out and go mess with my dog or goats or maybe I'll head into the shop for a few minutes. Then I'll go back out to the truck, look at the gauge which is now showing 200 degrees and then I shut it off. Not sure on how long it is maybe 10 minutes.

Under 300 is good, I have shut mine off right on the brink of 300 cause your pulling into a gas station and in a hurry.

JP-4.5

When I 1st got my diesel an old timer told me to hold the throttle a little faster than idle. It cools it down quicker because you are moving more air.

Dr. Evil

Thats not near long enough - its needs at least 3 minutes to cool down.

high bid

From what I've experienced mine cools to 300 in a minute or less. If I know I'm going in/out of the house and back on the road, I'll leave it running. Getting fuel, leave it running, anything longer than 10min or so out of the truck I'll probably shut it down but it cools down pretty fast so no worries really. Get yourself an extra key if you think about leaving it running in a busy area, if stolen w/your keys in it insurance won't cover it and you can explain it was locked.

Random Acts

So I put in some quality time with my radio to see if the pyrometer would drop below 300. It does eventually.

WestTN

I have shut mine off at 300 for 126,600 miles. No problems.

Bratkid63

What happens if you don't wait more than a few seconds before turning the engine off? I don't have a pyrometer (yet). I drive a Freightliner with a Cat 425HP Cat C13 at work (short runs). It doesn't have a pyrometer either. The truck may get driven several times per day. We always shut down immediately upon arrival (NASA regulations). So far I haven't seen any ill effects. Truck has twin staged turbos. The previous truck was treated the same way for the 15 years we had it. If it's the turbo bearings that are in danger, they were probably protected by the oil accumulators on those trucks. I wonder if anyone has tried installing an accumulator on a Dodge?

Random Acts

My understanding is that the you want the oil to continue to flow through the turbo bearing so the bearing stays as cool as when the engine is running. In other words the bearing is kept cooler by the flow of oil. If the oil stops flowing and cooling while the turbo is hot the heat from the turbo will be passed to the bearing.

The other reason is the oil will cook at the bearing and that oil will degrade. When you restart that oil flows to other parts of your engine. Although only a small portion of the oil is damaged, over time with multiple occurances

Bonus reason, Buys time to come up with a reason for being gone for three hours when my wife asks.

RATTLINRAM

Same here, but for 136,000 miles and if I don't want to wait,,,, I push the button on the cool-down timer,,, pull the keys out,,, lock the doors and walk away.
I think the BHAF helps with faster cool downs also.

crane 1

268,000 miles and I shut it off as soon as I stop...no waiting. Over 10,000 starts and the only thing replaced was an a/c compressor and one lift pump

JonnyThrottle

I have the juice with attitude, factory setting was 250* on the turbo timer. It gets there eventually. Mine automatically shuts off is you hit the gas or brake though. MAkes it harder to steal that way. Normally take few minutes to get there though