Having been a mechanic in the Marines for 6 years, 6 mos @ cold weather training, 9 mos in the sand box.(86-92 Semper FI!!!) I put some stock in warming your engine up, again, it is a personal preference thing, I have friends that start/gas/go within 10 sec. however having rebuilt a few motors and whatnot over the years. I really think warming up is a good thing. Just like your body, before I go to the gym and start lifting heavy, I stretch and "warm-up". Your engine has different metals and dynamics going on that need to warm up to operating temp before you go ***** out on it. I plan on getting 200k+ miles out of my vehicles, I believe giving them a few minutes will help in that goal. When animals get up, they don't just take off running, of course unless they have to or become food, they stretch, move, get the oil flowing. Just my .02

 

Been a paramedic for 25 years...All of our Rescues over the past 15 years or so have been Ford F or E diesels.These rigs get started and floored all the time,in all weather. All thought I'm a fan of a short warm up period,we've NEVER had to replace a motor!!This is 6 in service rigs driven 10k to 20k very hard miles a year.Any wonder why I drive big blue??

 

Turbos on starting the engine or shutting it off?

The manual for that car told you to let it come up to temperature because they wanted to be certain that the turbocharger bearings had a good supply of oil. Turbos spin much faster than the engine does, so it is critical that they receive good lubrication. Volkswagen used to tell people not to race the engine when you first started it up. I'd say you'd be okay as long as there was oil pressure, although I definitely try to avoid beating the dickens out of a cold engine.

Idling for a bit before snapping the switch off was done to prevent coking of oil. Turcocharger housings get pretty hot under operation, particularly under high-load conditions. Since they're usually heavy castings, they tend to retain heat, too. This wouldn't be a problem save for the fact that there are bearings with fine oil passageways in a turbo, and they're just as hot as that housing is. Oil thermally degrades beyond a certain point, and when it does that deposits are left in those passageways. Over time, the passageways constrict in size and less and less oil is able to get to those bearings. By idling it for a bit, you push lower temperature exhaust gas through the turbo while continuing to circulate oil through the bearings, helping to cool it down. I still give it a little idle time, but it is definitely true that today's oil is definitely better than it ever was. Turbocharger design has come a long way, too.

 

i think every diesel owner should let there engines warm up for a few minutes in the colder weather because of the thicker oil for one. If the oil is to cold and thick it won't reach the vidle areas such as bearings in your bottom end or your heads in top end.But if it is really cold in your area you should be using a lighter oil in the winter

 

I keep reading about letting it oil up, when your gauge comes up, your oiled up. If it took two minutes to oil up, your bearing would never last.
your motor doesn't need to stretch like your body to get ready, in fact most automotive ENG. will tell you it's better to drive it and get it up to temp quicker, not hammer it, but drive it.

 

[QUOTE=Tecman]Hello, this is my first post here but have been lurking for awhile now

Anyways, I cannot answer your question about how long you need to warm your diesel up for but i will give you advice about best buy.

Make sure you talk to the guys back in bay as some bays are great and some not.

But you dont really need a timer, the DEI brands (VIPER) have a " Diesel wait to start" wire. They need to hook that wire up to the light in the dash. Sometimes this is not possible. I have not tried this myself as i do not own a PSD yet (spring time i will). I hope that helps but my major word of advice to go back to bay and feel the guys out. My bay is immaculate and work on many custom installs and fancy cars. But some cant install a radio without screwing it up, haha

Good luck!

you can reference some of my work here at www.installshowcase.com[/QUOTE]

welcome Doug!
I was going to put a simple remote start on my 02, but the shop i went to couldn't do it because Ford changed the simple WTS trigger wire for a BUS connection after 2000, I bought a PULSE TIMER RELAY that is adjustable
I am just looking for a VIPER/DEI brain and someone to install it

 

i have a 7.3psd..and when i start it up when its below 45 degrees...there is a puff of blue smoke...the colder it is the more it smokes and the closer it is to 45 degrees the less it smokes...but it only puffs out one little puff of smoke. wondering if anybody else's does this..oh and by the way my truck is a 02

 

Your gauge is a pressure gauge not a flow gauge, pressure is not hard to generate when the oil flows like molasis. Just because you have pressure does not mean that oil is flowing well in your small passages, there is also a relief pressure that it will not go over, so that oil has to go somewhere.

My 2 cents. Give it a short idle. Diesel engines need load to build heat, so after a short idle (2-5 min depending on temp) drive lightly to bring it up to temp (remembering that the oiling system is still crappy while cold).

 

Just plug it in the night before and then no worries. After a night plugged in, just start and by the time you get your seatbelt on and the radio tuned to the channel you want you are good to go.

 

someone once told me (he's a good mechanic and owns a lot of diesels) that plugging them in can cause condensation problems over time? and the new 6.0s he has he doens't plug inb ecause they start better in the cold, than the 7.3s do. i know i have always plugged my 97 in all winter long every day unless i was somewhere on a trip and couldn't, which isn't hardly ever because it's a work truck.

anyone ever heard this before? not sure where the moisture would come from inside the motor filled with oil. hope there isn't any water in there. lol

 

A big difference here is what you call COLD, I live in socal, 50 degrees is cold but oil flow isn't A problem.

 

Works for me. I fire it up,, let the pressures level out then drive off. I don't get heavy on the gas though,, gentle to get it rolling then ease up to speed and hold it stable until temps are normal.

I never use turbo on cold motor. Jim

 

Wow. Like to thank everybody that responded. Didn't think I would get this type of a response. seems to me it is a 50/50 on letting it warm up and not. Just have to see what happens. Am a Capt. of a fire department and one of my f.f. that owns a diesel told me when I am on call (which is usually all the time) plug it in. That is why I would like to put the remote start in. If at night get a page hit the start button when i am running around the house looking for my pants Well thanks again everybody!!!!!

 

I plug mine in when the temp gets 40 or less, I know I don't need it when it is that warm but it is nice to have instant heat to clear the windshield of morning dew or frost and not have to wait. If they would make heated washer fluid an option then I would probably never plug it in.
And I have never had a longer crank time to start when I do plug it in, time is the same plugged or not.

 

Is a engine block heater standard? My window sticker on the 2000 doesn't show it has one and I can't find the plug. Jim