I live on a farm. our trucks idle alot during the day. will you guys expound on this. how does this hurt the engines? i was told you can let the 6.7 idle all day but never got an answer as to why not on the 6.4. thanks

 

Reasons not to idle a diesel;

* wet stacking - results in fuel in oil
* gum up Turbo
* gum up Waste Gate
* gum up EGR
* carbon buildup on valves
* plugs up DPF faster - shorter life of DPF - wont regen when idling, just keeps clogging the DPF
* excess pollution
* high fuel consumption

A diesel is based on compression and not combustion therefore less heat is created. Takes forever to warm up in cold climate if it warms up at all. If using PTO SEIC Idle required and engine should be warm before engaging.

 

Thank you guys so much for all of your responses. Obviously I came to the right place!!

 

If allowing the engine to idle to have it warm up a bit before getting in to go to work in the morning were so detrimental I'm sure it would not be a FoMoCo offered "from the factory feature" to allow just that.


???


That has a lot to do with the fact that the this engine is capable of working at 400HP and 800 ft lbs of torque and it needs components and and a cooling system capable of absorbing all the energy/heat that is generated in working that hard.

 

I let mine idle 20-25 minutes in cold weather. (-20c or 0f) The remote will run for 15 minutes, and I hit it for a second time. I sure would hate to not have the supplelmental cab heat as the 6.7 takes a long time to warm up.

My 6.0 would run for 25 minutes on its aftermarket remote.

Plus my trips are mostly short, so I want it to warm up as much as possible.

The in-cab heaters do not work well in snowy areas, as the snow melts and runs down all over and then freezes and builds up ice....especially around the lower windshield and runs down the hinges of the doors. I have seen peoples doors not open because of the build up of ice around the hinges.
--
Gordon

 

Heh, ultimately you do as you see fit .... question was asked and I provided my best IMHO. This topic has come up many times on this and other Dielsel forums .... do a search and read the research. When the temps drop below -10C I plug in the block heater, do a remote start as I am walking up to the truck, hop in, key in, and drive off. Hopefully I remembered to unplug the Block Heater

There are actually quite a number of reasons Diesels take longer to warm up. Only a few as shown below. That being said there are more reasons not to idle a newer diesel as I stated above. That is really the key to the OP question. If you need a truck warmer sooner there are other, better, solutions other than idling it.

* Compression = high compression ratios and therefore much more material in the engine construction - more mass more time to heat
* Larger Cooling Systems, (as stated)
* unless the Diesel is under load, gas fired engines produce much more heat due to combustion
* easily proved - start a diesel and a gasser on a cold winter day and let them idle. The gasser will warm up nicely ..... the diesel will take forever if it warms up at all.
* Yes, FOMOCO finally made a remote start as an option but they did put a time limiter on it.

 

Ford allows 15 minutes of idle before auto shutdown as a result of remote starting, correct?
Remote starting it again wasn't part of the plan, I'm sure.
Doing this process daily can't be good for the engine but that's only my opinion.

 

I too, am starting to believe that it counts idle time other than sitting in park or neutral such as stopped at red lights. I start my truck, let it idle about 30 seconds then pop it into drive and go and I'm accumulating more idle time than I'd expect.

 

Slightly off topic (apologies to OP) question. I wanted to activate the remote start yesterday with the truck running and exit the vehicle with my keys. I could not get it activated with the key in the ignition. I've had four PSD's all with aftermarket remote starts and all did this. Has anyone figured out if the factory unit will allow this? I searched this forum but couldn't find anything.

 

Fact is you won't change a person mind after its made. Some people just have the old mentality of its a diesel, it can idle for hours and won't hurt it. You can try to explain why they shouldn't but they always come back with another reason. Gone are the days when somebody gets out of their diesel truck at a gas station, store or parking lot and just leaves the truck idling like that's something cool to do. The only person who thinks that is himself, everybody else standing around thinks what a jerk helping to drive up the cost of fuel by just letting it idle. With that said I'm talikng about the guy driving just the truck not hauling anything, if you have been towing for an extended period of time then yes it needs to idle and cool off brfore you shut down. But cranking it in the morning and let it idle because you think its cool it just nuts. Your not cool and I bet your neihbor would appreaciate it if he didn't have to hear it. How many well trained and qualified people like Crazy001 have to explain why not to do something just to have somebody say well I do it because""""""""". I once had a wise gentleman tell me " Just because you've been doing it that way doesn't make it wright".

 

Pumpdoctor ..... couldn't agree more! All except one point that is ..... my 6.7 is soooooo quiet the neighbors think I shut it down and coast in the driveway

 

True

 

The diesel tech at my ford dealer told me that unless you are at a certain RPM or speed the motor running counts as idle time. He said if you were to drive 20 miles in bumper to bumper traffic it would probably all be chalked up to idle time.

 

sorry but I have to disagree with this. I fail to see how warming up an engine under load is better for it than running at the same rpm under no load. Yes, it might help get the EGT's up quicker but there is still a period where the motor (and everything else) goes through the same set of conditions and I would think going through those under no load would be better for the engine. Also, under driving, you might need to rev past 2000 rpm to get up to speed, which I can't see being better for an ice cold engine than idling under no load at 1200 rpm.

One way I could see wanting the truck warm before SEIC is if you are actually using the PTO because then you would be putting a load on the motor.

Lastly, I once built a 0.035" clearance forged piston motor (not a diesel) and I idled it everyday for 15 mins, even in summer, to get the pistons to expand before loading the motor. That engine never took a drop of oil in 2 years an still doesn't as far as I know. I will add that this motor was meticulously broken in. So I would disagree with the blanket statement that idling is universally bad.

My $0.02. Mostly everything else I agree with though.

JC

 

I would suggest with a diesel the sooner it gets warmer the better for the engine,(not really caring about passenger comfort). Everything is just better when they run at optimum operating temperatures. By introducing a moderate load it will help accomplish this versus sitting and idling with no load. No I don't think one should be hauling a$$ on a cold engine, but a moderate load is a good thing. Again I am talking more to when temps are less than -10. Yes, suggested engine be warm before engaging a "loaded" PTO. Driving it is the best thing to do. There are strategies in the tranny to get it warmed up as well but they only kick in when being driven.

I'm not talking to gassers, only the almighty oil burners.