ladyram

I believe this subject has been discussed here but I cannot find it and I need the info again. I have contacted Cummins but they have not gotten back to me.

So would someone here be willing to give me a refresher course. I don't need to worry about really cold starts because it very it it seldom goes below 36 degrees here in FL, if that.

My neighbor has grave concerns that I am doing serious harm to ladyram by starting her up and not letting her "idle" before heading out. I start her, make sure overdrive is off, and head out at slow speed until the fluids start moving and the temp goes over 140. I thought this is the general consensus on the forum.

The only time I idle is when I cool down to 300 (pyro) or if I have to make quick stop before she's fully warmed up. The manual does not really address this. It only states not to idle more than 5 min but nothing about to idle or not to idle at start up.

If I am doing this right I want to be able to confirm that with my neighbor or If I have it all wrong I want to set myself straight.

Thanks for any input.

graphitecumnz

on the back of the drivers sunvisor it recommends idling the engine for 30 seconds if it is below a certain temperature....

idling a diesel won't bring it up to "temperature" anyhow.... in the cold of Kansas I'll idle the truck for a few minutes and then baby the truck until my oil pressure starts to fall back to "normal".

nitrousn

mine is mostly in the garage usually 30 to 40 degrees. i start it and put it in reverse and let it idle out of the garage. i then put it in drive and idle down my 400 foot drive. i then hit the county road and run it at 35 to 45 for a mile or so and bring it up to speed. i basicly light foot it and dont work it for a couple of miles. i think its harder on a motor letting it cold idle for a 10 minute warm up than lightly driving it.

ladyram

Thank you very much. I hate to second guess myself on things like this, but sometimes I feel the need to recheck and get my facts straight before someone brings the "diesel expert" over to set me straight. I get this a lot as a full time RV'r. I know they mean well, but they just don't understand how much research I put into learning about my truck when I bought it.

I may not remember all the details or the mechanics of "why", but I do remember "what" I am supposed to do.

I am especially fond of the statement, "You could idle that truck all night and not hurt a thing". Yeah, right!

Thanks, once again, for the validation!

Shovelhead

I always let mine idle for about 30 seconds in Neutral to let the ATF get started on it's path through the tranny after sitting all night.

ladyram

Well this is interesting I received my reply from a Powermaster at Cummins today. It was a very long reply and since I have a new computer system I am not sure how to attach to this message. I will give you the gist of it.

Quote:

"Over-the-road truckers are pulling 80,000 to 140,000 pounds, so they need the engine to be up to minimum water temperature before putting the engine to work. However, with a Dodge pickup, it is not quite as important, therefore a few minutes of idling after startup, for oil pressure to stabilize, is adequate in normal ambient temperatures, say down to freezing to warm up a B series engine in a Dodge Ram pickup."

The rest talks about the grid heater and how it works and the standard block heater for colder temps. He also talks about the importance of a good battery for this to work.

The powermaster goes on to say that the, "Cummins Operation and Maintenance Manual, suggests letting the engine warm up and/or cool down down 3 to 5 minutes under normal operating conditions".

Because in the firs paragraph he talks about "idle" time and on further talks about the manual in terms of "warm up", which to me could mean driving, I called the number he provided and talked to Powermaster, Jerry. He told me that with the temperatures, "you get in Florida you could start up and drive without idling as long as I kept it at a slow speed". When I asked him about hearing diesels did not warm up at idle, he said they do if you give them a little throttle. But said it was OK to idle too.

So I don't know. I just keep doing what I'm doing, I guess.

If someone here wants to post the full reply on the forum, email me and I'll forward it to you.

MnTom

Ladyram, you just keep doing what you are doing. You are doing everything the right way. If you want the truck to warm while sitting still put a stick between the throttle and the seat and keep the rpms up to about 1200.
Tom

ratsun

__________________________________________________ _________________________

I agree
Start her up, let her idle for a few seconds and away you go just be nice to her.
I dont let the boost go over 10 untill up to temp. Also I think your better of to leave the OD on so it warms up quicker. With the OD off, the trans goes into lock up sooner = less heat and in a cold trans that leads to quicker wear. Just my $.02

TXRAM2

IMHO, you are doing just fine.
I start er up, idle for a few minutes and ease out of the drive and drive at about 1200 rpm for the 1/2 mile trip down the dirt road. By the time I reach the asphalt she is ready to go. My wife just fires up and takes off. You can hear that cold cummins rippin thru the gears all the way to the pavement. she says it's warmed up by the time she gets to the highway
Seriously, just let the oil psi stabilize and drive easy for a couple miles. No wot, or max gvw runs until it's warm up.
my .02
wayne

BigBlue

Mine doesn't like to go real fast when it is cold. It takes a good 10 minutes running 45mph before it starts to loosen up. I fire her up, wait for the battery indicator to go back to normal, and then drive off nice and slow.

pmtg

I always waited for the gauges to move to their correct place then leave. Being a manual, I always started in first gear when the motor was cold. Then drive at about 2000rpm to help the motor warm up. Worked for me, and I dont believe I was doing any harm. It sounds like you will be just fine.

On a side note, I have read in several posts where even a stock truck (as well as modified) is more vulnerable to blowing a head gasket when cold and pushing boost (~15psi or higher) and therefore would always ease in to it and never put a load on the motor. Just a heads up.

Pat

Mopar1973man

Even with the block heater plugged in, jake brake is on, and outside temp is about 30-35F it will take a extremely long period of time (10-20 minutes) for mine to warm up.

So to reduce the idling period I will roll down my 400 FT driveway to US95. Starting in 1st gear and working all gears up to 55 MPH. But I will shift a bit earlier around 1.9K or 2.1K on the Tach. Then work my way up the gear slowy. It will take me about a full mile to get to 55 MPH cold.

By 4 miles I've got full 190F temp and oil pressure is down to 50 PSI!

I've got a buddy that got a Fieghtshaker that has to completely warm it up in the mornings before he can even start rolling!!!