I remember hearing some people on here say frequent short trips are bad for diesels. Ive owned a diesel before as a toy but this is my first one that will be a daily driver. About 90% of the 'trips' I take are less than 10 miles. I plan on changing oil every 4000 miles and try to accelerate at WOT at least once a week to blow the carbon out of the EGR/turbo. I've also heard that starting up is the hardest thing on an engine, and I start my truck anywhere from 4 to 10 times a day depending on how busy I am. Is that too much? What kind of damage am I doing to my engine here?

 

diesels need to warm up to function efficiantly. Your thermostat might not even open in that short of distance.Your starter does not have an infinate number of cranks, you will just reach yours alot sooner than most.I don`t think these mtrs were made for short hops.

 

It always gets up to operating temp before I reach my destination now that its around 80 degrees every day

 

In my opinion it sounds like you already have some good info. Short trips are likely to increase wear on many parts of your truck but if you like it or need it for your job wear is part of the deal. Condensation occurs during cool-down that will stay in the lubes in you truck longer without a longer full temp cycle so shortening your oil change interval sounds like a good idea but don't forget the trans and p/s systems. In addition to blowing out the turbo occasionally, maybe you could take it for a longer drive sometimes.

 

i doubt it hurts anything. diesels now days are warming up faster and run just fine. the 6.0 doesnt like to idle alot if you have the egr in place being that the carbon build up will make the egr clog causing the heat to crack the welds but as long as your moving most of the time your fine. i know that most egr cooler failures are due to clogged oil cooler but i have seen this from time to time kill egr coolers. ie: our tow truck drivers truck. his egr cooler failed because of idling all the time

 

If your going by the factory gauges your not close. They are glorified idiot lights. Takes my truck 15 to 20 hiway miles for temps to stabilize.

 

What 69cj said, mine when the dash gauge is up to temp scangauge says around 160, and the WOT runs needs to be only after it is hot and thats 190 plus. Get you a scangauge2 so you can check everything. JMO

 

In the winter it takes my truck 8 miles for the coolant and oil to stabilize, and the trans oil takes about 15 miles. In the summer it will come up to temps a few miles less. As far as diesels starting and stopping, Fed Ex, UPS trucks start and stop hundreds of times every day.

 

Agree with 69cj. Mine takes anywhere from 12-15 miles before it gets to full operating temp. If I used only the dash gauge, I'd think it only takes 4-5 miles to get to full operating temp.

Also, don't forget about fuel dilution. When the engine is cool, more fuel finds its way into the crankcase. If you're not driving some miles with the engine at full operating temp, the fuel that has built up doesn't have a chance to evaporate out of the system. Over time, the fuel dilution builds until it can cause issues with increased bearing wear as well as possible injector issues. Going with a shorter oil change interval is a good step but I'd also get a few oil analysis' to see where the dilution is at and then adjust the change interval accordingly.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. Not saying I don't believe you guys, because I know the oil pressure gauge for example is in fact an "idiot light", but how/why exactly would the temperature gauge be like that? I mean its either reading the temp or its not. Are you saying the gauge was purposely designed to say the engine is warmed up when it isnt?

 

Yes. It was done that way to keep people from constantly compaining that something was wrong when it really wasn't. I can't comment on whether or nor that was the right thing for Ford to do, that's just the way it is.

IMO, your trips will not hurt you as long as you do the things you are doing already (oil changes based on the "severe service" intervals) AND you do not accelerate at WOT until you are fully warm (as several of the people have already responded). To know when that is, you would be miles ahead if you got some aftermarket gauges.

 

Hm interesting info there. I know you work for Ford so I'll go ahead and say it for you, it was wrong for them to do that! (in my opinion at least) I'll buy a scan gauge eventually. Until then I'll only run at WOT on those rare occasions where I actually drive for 20 miles or more LOL

 

I do not work for Ford.

I definitely agree that from my perspective it would have been better for them to increase the cost of the vehicle a "tiny" bit and offer a gauge package that actually told us the details - at least as an option! As far as "right or wrong" - there are more significant issues to debate that over (fuel pressure, FICM longevity, STC fitting, ICP sensors, etc).

 

I'm sorry, but leaving the numbers off the gauges was precisely the right thing for Ford. If you don't believe me, stand next to a Ford dealer service writer and listen to what he/she does for an hour and see if your head doesn't explode. If Ford put numbers on gauges, I'll bet dealers and service writers would stage a revolt.

Just read through the EOT/ECT temperature threads on this site. Some people think a 25F delta is OK, others think their truck will blow up within 100 miles with a 13F delta. Most do not know under what conditions the delta needs to be monitored for accurate assessment and post advice on the internet anyway.

Here's a a real example. I installed VDO oil temp and pressure gauges on my 1978 Rabbit. When I took delivery of my 1983 Rabbit GTI with factory VDO OIL temp/pressure gauges, I noticed higher temps and lower pressures and immediately thought something was wrong,

VW of America informed me that higher operating temps had been designed into the later car because of more demanding emission requirements (hotter engines run cleaner). They had fielded hundreds of calls on the subject and a good percentage of owners refused to accept the factory's explanation.

In 1984, the numbers disappeared from the gauges in the GTI. So did the complaints.

Any mass produced item must be engineered for use by the 95th percentile, which includes 75% morons. The other 5 percentile of "experts" includes 50% internet experts.

 

I have to respectfully disagree on fuel dilution evaporating in your crankcase. The only thing that's going to evaporate is water condensation.