Hey guys in about a year I will be moving into an apartment and wanted to ask what to do about plugging the truck in and how guys with the ebpv get away with it idling outside and not disturbing the neighbors.

As my truck sits now Im already running rotella 5-40 syn, power service add (white bottle in the winter and grey in the summer), glow plugs are new and function properly, two brand new batteries, ELC, also have the muffler delete pipe so its a little louder when the ebpv closes over stock.

I know i can get an espar coolant heater but the only problem with that is its roughly 1500 i can get a slight discount since my job sells them but its still alot out of pocket.

Any questions feel free to ask,

Thank you,
-AJ

 

I live in a rural area but still had some neighbors that complained about my truck. I changed from a 5" to 4" exhaust and put a muffler on it. I plug my truck in any time under freezing. I like to have heat when I jump in and go. No idling necessary. I live in the East Mountains of NM so it can get relatively cold here. Have not had a problem since new GPs, GPR, and UVCH. Hope that helps.

 

AJ, can't you just start the truck and drive away in the morning?

 

I live at home right now so plugging the truck in when its colder is no problem but i know some apartments won't allow it our don't have plugs outside for it.

Nlemerise to amber your question from being a diesel mechanic and owning then i know you should let the engine warm up before driving out and even then I'm not hard on it i take my time and drive easy until warm enough. I would like to preserve my truck as much as possible and don't want to abuse it like that.

 

Unless you need to get up to freeway speeds right away, the best way to warm up the truck is to put it in gear and drive it.

 

Ok so if its 10 degrees out, the trucks not plugged in your saying hop in the truck crank it and go......can't see that happening......i have always heard to at least warm it up before going and then take it easy........

 

I don't think anyone is talking about "crank it and go" but giving the engine a minute or two of idle time, then driving very easy (keeping RPM low) until fully up to operating temperature. Some folks have to enter a highway right away, they need to let it warm up longer because they have to work the engine immediately to merge to traffic (if I was in that situation, I wouldn't even move the truck until the temperature gauge started to rise, at least). I can pretty much idle away from my place and drive 30-40 mph at 1200 rpm or so...just about like idling, yet the engine gets to operating temperature much faster than idling in the yard waiting for it to warm-up.The "problem" with most diesels is the oversize cooling system that takes a long time to get up to operating temperature unless the engine is worked a little with a light load. Driving easy places that light load, speeding up the warm-up phase.

 

The way I see it, the sooner you get the motor up to operating temperature, the better. (Within reason, of course) Moving it through varying rpm's with a load is going to do that a lot faster than sitting there idling. Besides, you need to be moving for the transmission, third member, and bearings, etc. to also reach operating temperature.

The only exception I could see would be if you were less than a couple minutes from a freeway or highway. In that case then yes, I would idle a few minutes before bringing it up to 60mph right away.

 

I am one of those that dont move my truck until my coolant gauge starts to move..AJ where are you located??I never plug the truck in, temps here in Georgia isn't really cold though but even in the teens it fires with no issues..

 

I plug in when it gets real cold, and I crank & go. The first minute of my drive is downhill, so it's all coasting at idle, then I take it easy until the gauge gets up there a bit. Remember, the tuning automatically puts the truck in "humble" mode until things warm up, so it's doing what it can to protect itself.

My drive from work is a different situation: I crank & go without plugging in, but it's all coasting downhill for 5 minutes and the gauge is getting there before I hit the main road... yet I still go easy on the throttle until I have good heat in the cab.

Any time I plug in, the coolant temp gauge is already registering or it registers within a minute of driving easy (depending on how cold it is). Can you drive away nice and easy, then pull over nearby for coffee in the morning?

Another option: Oil pan heater. I have dealt with OTR trucking companies and they all have the same hardware - an oil pan heat mat. Warm oil is the real goal... this gets it done.

 

I live in an apartment now, but I don't have to plug in, and I just let it idle for about a minute before pulling out. But I live 5 minutes from work and don't get over 45, so I can take it real easy.

I'm moving out to the Hill next month, and will be able to idle it down a long driveway and get some temp up before I hit the highway. I've let one idle for 30 minutes before in the 20s and never saw anything register on the temp gauge until I started moving. The temp gauges on my dash are always way behind (or way ahead of) my aftermarkets.

If you really want to idle it without bothering the neighbors, look into a whisper tune. I don't know how they change everything and if they'd recommend it on a cold truck or not (and I've heard it stinks) but might be an option, just call a tuner and ask.

Good luck.

 

That was me. The ICP is dropped to the basement and it's a breath of fresh haze, but it's quiet... when warm. A cold engine with uber-low ICP? I accidentally did that once. ONCE. The added morning procedure after that was to make damn sure I didn't have it in quiet tune.

 

I'm assuming it ran rough and smoked like hell?

 

"Ran" That's a rather loose interpretation of it. If I were to go to m-w.com (the dictionary website), the thesaurus there has some more fitting words:

• Buck
• Kick
• Convulse
• Agitate (my favorite)

 

Just wait until your neighbors complain, then tell the landlord you have a solution, which involves plugging it in.

I would just do what you feel is necessary, until someone complains about it. Then modify your behavior, within reason. I live in a dense neighborhood, and due to the tight angles involved, I have to BACK up an uphill alley to get to my driveway, and then back up the hill again to get out. Sorry folks, yes, my truck is a little loud, but it's actually louder when it's cold, and I'm not going to trash it by starting it cold and backing it up a steep hill. I'm also going to do the best I possibly can (block heater, minimal idling) to minimize the noise. Dense neighborhoods require compromise all around.