Hello All,
I was lucky enough to be able to bring my truck out here to school for my first semester as a freshmen. As much ***** as people talk about the 6.0. it has been an amazing reliable vehicle. With another stroke of luck, it also sits in a garage right next to a power outlet so I plan on using the block heater in the winter.

I am concerned mostly about the type of driving i'm doing. Short >10 minute trips I hear are awful for these diesels. I really have no choice, but I do try to get out on the interstate cruise at 80mph for an hour or so. The truck is running the "street" SCT x4 tune.

Also would it not be a smart idea to run the block heater constantly in the winter? There are some days it don't drive, so it could be plugged in for 48+ hours at times.

Is there anything else I can do to try and prevent any bad from happening as a result from these short drives? I have remote start, so before I go anywhere I try to let it run for 5-10 minutes, especially on these cold days.

I love my truck, and want to do anything I can to protect my investment as I am still paying for it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Careful. I have had my 95 F-350 Spit on while driving through the University of Oregon Campus just because it is a diesel. Also got an earful outside the bookstore where I was parked picking up some school stuff, until they noticed I was open carrying (Legal here) but they ran their mouth as they rode away on their bicycle on the bike path my Diesel paid for anyway.

I am not sure I would use a remote start if you have the variable timed Glow Plugs.

 

Remote start is fine, as long as it lets the glowplugs cycle first. Short drives are killers yes, apparently anyways. I get out for a good drive maybe once or twice a month. Block heaters do have service life, mine has been plugged in for a week straight before, no problem. In -50c it keeps the oil at +10c.. although at that cold your last worry is cold oil, everything else seems to break first

 

And a chick magnet!!

 

I plan to get a timer for the colder weather when I do plug it in. I take care of several stand by gensets where I work, they are always warm from the 1500W tank heaters, keep in mind when they fire up they are starting up full throttle and within seconds under load.
I would think if you had the timer come on a few hours before your first class or whenever you need to leave, you should be good to go.
Just do a bit of trial and error when you check the temp before you leave.

 

Using the block heater in your situation is an excellent idea, I don't personally own and never owned a diesel truck but it works very well on our chore tractors in the winter. They only get used for a short time twice a day every day and very rarely see RPMs above 1200 and it really helps with the warm-up time and seems to help with the moisture problems with short use. Our chore tractors are plugged in literally 24/7 when we aren't using them in the winter and I will imagine your block heater will last about like mine do... Sometimes they go years but it's not uncommon to replace them every year especially recently with this kind of use, In my case it's a John Deere that has been used this way for almost 20 years.

 

My first suggestion would be to get a gauge that plugs into your OBD port. Keep a close eye on things like oil temp, FICM volts etc. You can get a dongle for the port and then use your phone or whatever.

I think you'll be OK with the short trips if you let it get up to temp, and take it on a good road trip once every two weeks or so.

I use a timmer for the block heater and have it come on about 3hrs before I need to start it.

Also if it's going to sit for more then 3 days I use a battery minder maintainer.

To me it's all about being a little more particular then an average truck.

.

 

Wow that's surprising...I don't think that will be a problem here, there are tons of diesels here in Indiana and i'm even a member of the diesel club!

 

Yeah, the timers are great, I use one at home but that was only really because I was concerned about the electricity usage. Here at school, I could careless, but what I am more concerned about is the life of the block heater.

 

Yep! It's the Ford factory remote start, so I think it even cycles the injectors first too..?

 

Just guessing, but as one member said 24/7 usage will net a year life of block heater, give or take some time. Just use that as a guide. I don't normally get "spat" on for having a diesel, being a young guy. suprisingly, although lots of people around here do remark on why i bought what i did. For every 6.0 in my town, there's 3 dead ones, could make a fortune having a shop here, but im a carpenter not a mechanic :P

EDIT: Yes, the ford factory remote start will do whats need in glowplugs/cycling the injectors. nothing to worry about

 

Yep, I lived in Portage Indiana for several years and no problems, but The Eugene and Portland areas are ultra liberal, even though Oregon is mostly conservative outside the two metros. The U of O has an abundance of anti Oil individuals.

 

Just put a big sign on your tailgate. "Your Prius has done more damage to the environment by the time it reaches the show room floor than this truck will do in 20 years".

 

Great idea, only problem with that is you might get invited to Starbucks and after they pay for your double shot expresso whatever the !@# you call it, will STILL get preached to about how it's not possible because "my Prius runs on less fuel and uses electricity"...........don't ask them just what generates the juice, it will go in one ear and out the other.

 

True enough. Show them a list of the chemicals in the batteries, and the MSDS sheets on them.