Watch IAT2 on a gauge and make sure it doesn't go crazy; the truck compares IAT1 to IAT2 automatically so as long as you aren't setting a DTC for that being out of range you're fine.

A grille cover doesn't block anywhere near all the airflow, it just doesn't let cold air blast directly into the coolers. The fan will still pull air through and across the coolers, there's just less air rammed into them. When I lived in CO my truck was my DD, which sometimes meant frequent very short trips when it was way below freezing outside. I'd trade slightly warmer intake air for not feeding my injectors cold oil and warming up the block and heads to not stretch a bolt any day, in the long run cold starts and cold running will be a lot harder on the engine than a grille cover.

Plus when it's that cold outside, I'm generally a pissed off person because of it, so anything that makes the heater put out hot air faster is awesome and completely worth it. If the new supplemental cab heaters actually work, I'll order one of those things on my next truck even down here in Texas. Cold sucks.

 

OK sounds logical, just keep an eye on the IA temps. Thanks for the tips, I will give it a try.

 

Not me guys, I don't even think about driving until I get at least to 140,,, at least. No high idle for me either,, when it gets to 170,,, I'm good to go. I run 15/40 tho cause I rarely shut it off. To each his own tho, I've only been doing this for just over a million miles n 2 trucks. Somebody better b dying for me to drive it under 100*. Btw, the guage gets in the operating range at 140. If short drives n low warm up times are a must,,, should've bought a gasser.

 

There is definately something wrong with my truck then because my truck is useless if it doesnt run at least ten minutes before I leave when its cold, feels like its surging or running out of power. Once it warms up its fine. I cant even think of running it before 100 degrees engine temp.

 

What's your FICM voltage look like? What weight of oil are you running?

 

Let me ask you guys this, if you aren't letting it idle when you run in for errands and such, do you sit in the parking lot and let the EGT get down below 400*? My dad , who has almost 3 million diesel miles under his belt, has always preached to let the turbo cool down and idle it a few minutes before shutting it down. If some of you who are saying you don't let the 6.0 idle very much at all, aren't you causing damage as well?

I'm not accusing, just asking. I guess I just don't understand why the 6.0 is such a different case than every other diesel.

-The Great

 

Idling before driving when it's cold is different then letting it cool down by idling after. Running cold is hard on the engine in general, so getting it warmer quicker will help it more than hurt it (if you're smart about how you warm it up). Once it's hot idling isn't the same kind of problem it is when the truck is cold.

EGT runs 400-600 just puttering around town empty with a lot of idling at lights and cruising trying not to go over our redic 40mph speed limits, so simply idling through the parking lot and pulling into the space normally drops it fast enough to not be a problem. I don't normally exit the interstate and pull directly into a parking spot, just the usual BS of a couple of traffic lights and trying to not run over people going 5mph in parking lots is fine.

 

You wait til 170 and don't even use the high idle? I imagine that would take nearly an hour before you can drive off.

 

Well FICM main power is 47.5 to 48.5. 98% of the time its 48V. That's cold to. I have no codes. I don't know which oil is in it. I bought the truck in mid Dec. It started fine for a few weeks . Seems to be getting worse. I'm gonna order fuel filters and an oil filter when I get home.

 

I wait til 170 if I'm loaded,,, yes. 140 if I'm unloaded at least. No way is a couple mins time worth the strain of running a cold diesel truck. I don't care what everyone else says. I remember one time I had to drive early (about 120*), and the last time I did it,,, I blew an injector. So that's my input,,, I've ran my truck numerous times only shutting it off to change the oil, so I'm in a different situation than most. When I'm home,, I've got a couple other vehicles to drive,,, and I drive them if I'm in a hurry to go. I've put too much work into my truck to get in a hurry.

 

I agree 100%, that's why I was hoping to get some feedback on what some seasoned veterans had to say. Thanks

-The Great

 

Seasoned veterans that just happen to be wrong, is all. There is no technical reason to idle a truck longer than 5 minutes at any time. Any one who thinks different is working off of old wives tales.

 

First, everyone lives in a different area, and have different opportunities to warm their motors. Me, letting my engine run for a few minutes before I head out in the mornings is fine with me. Why? I have no hills, no traffic to jump out in. I can just idle along the neighbor hood and the engine is warmed up to start using. No pressure on the truck for a couple miles. By the time I have to boost over 10psi, my engine is at 145 or a little higher.

As for cooling the turbo. When I'm towing and driving down the highway, I idle for a time to cool down.

Around town empty. Just driving through my neighborhood will cool it down just fine. Shopping malls and such? Just idling through to find a place to park will be low enough to shut her down. Running around town isn't going to produce high turbo temps, unless of course you are hammering on it.

That's my 2 cents!

 

There's a jab if I ever got one... Not everyone takes as much care of their equipment as others.

 

I'm not saying that it is going to kill your engine, or even hurt it, to idle. I just am saying that it doesn't help it. It is far better to warm up your engine and drivetrain, even with 15K hitched up, by driving it slowly and in a prudent manner than it is to let it idle for half an hour or longer to get up to 170 degrees on coolant and oil. The main reason is that running the engine cold makes it run rich, you get over-fueled and fuel washes down the cylinder walls and hurts piston rings, fuel is not burned completely and causes soot to get in the exhaust and turbo, bearings are run with cold oil for longer than if they get warmed up faster. Driving it warms it up far faster than letting it idle, is basically the only point that I have.

The other point is that letting your truck idle in a Walmart parking lot while you are shopping is just not on these days, it does absolutely nothing good for the truck, wastes fuel, increases pollution and is illegal in a whole bunch of urban locales. I can't imagine why anyone things that is a good thing to do. I think it goes back to the days of truckers running their trucks 24/7 for weeks on end, including their 8 hour mandatory rest periods. Those guys mostly didn't own their trucks and for sure were not paying the fuel bill. And they got major rebuilds 100K sooner than the guy who turned his truck off while he snoozed, and ran his generator for AC or his Espar heater to keep him and his truck warm.

Edit: some other ideas from a thread here some time ago... https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...se-idling.html

Brian