Do you regularly start your diesel tractor as maintenance?

[NoTrespassing]

Okay, but you don't keep your trucks for 20-70 years, do you? I'll bet you also change the fluids more than once a year right? Those are important variables. You're also keeping them indoors in climate controlled environments right? Again, another variable.

Comparing a fire engine to a tractor just doesn't make any sense since the applications are very different. When you start your trucks, are they at ambient (outside) temperatures, or the temp inside the station? Another variable that makes a difference.

The OP is staring up a cold tractor, stored outside, and running it for nowhere near long enough to get the oil to temperature, so that it can boil off the condensation, which causes additional condensation, and acids to be created. We've had folks that were engineers at major diesel engine manufacturers comment how bad this is for the engine...along with someone who was a lubricant engineer (I think I recall that), but people still want to debate facts, and use anecdotal evidence drawn from completely different situations to base their theories upon....yeah, makes a lot of sense.

Umm...The temp. gauge says it's warm when I shut it down. Like I said before, I vary the rpms while it's warming up and usually raise and lower the fel and 3 point with a blade on it.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I didn't say everyone agreed, just most folks.

Your theory is flawed because you simply can't get a diesel up to temperature in 10-15min of idling. If you don't get it to temp, and hold it there for a while it causes condensation, and creates acids, neither of which are good, but hey, it's your engine. Those are well-established facts, not opinions. Heck, the manual to the backhoe I bought just got here yesterday, and they have a specific warning about idling without a load, and how it does a number of negative thinks (there are more than I mentioned)....after decades of building machines, I think Case knows what they're talking about.

The point was, you had already decided, so why ask the question? Any time people post these sort of questions they always keep doing what they're doing, and waste a bunch of time for people who wind up posting in the thread.

I want to officially apologize to anyone that feels that I've wasted their time with this topic.

 

[Citydude]

I want to officially apologize to anyone that feels that I've wasted their time with this topic.

No time wasted, just a lively discussion on a valid question.

 

[GManBart]

Not sure about the obsession with boiling off condensation in your oil. Many engines the oil when operating in normal ranges will not get to 212, especially older engines not designed to operate at higher temperatures. Newer engines operate at higher temperatures to facilitate a cleaner more complete burn, polluting less and creating more power. Even those engines oil temperatures except under extreme conditions and high ambient temperature you will not see 212. Your motorcycle engines are air cooled and those engines oil temperatures are higher in the 220 range, you might not want to make a connection, between the two, they are not the same. Modern oils and lubricants are spectacular, I wouldn't worry about good synthetic oils at all. HS

Oil doesn't have to get above 212*F to cause the condensation to leave. I didn't say anything about motorcycle engines.

 

[GManBart]

Umm...The temp. gauge says it's warm when I shut it down. Like I said before, I vary the rpms while it's warming up and usually raise and lower the fel and 3 point with a blade on it.

You're looking at the water temperature gauge, not an oil temperature gauge. Oil temperature is the critical factor. It takes far longer to get the oil temperature to normal range than the water temperature. Essentially, you have to heat up the water, the block, the heads, etc, etc and then the oil starts to get warmer (significantly). Running with no load, or little load, for that short a period of time simply won't get a diesel warm enough to remove the moisture you're creating.

 

[TomSeller]

I want to officially apologize to anyone that feels that I've wasted their time with this topic.

No wasted time on anyone's part. You have had good luck with your methods and who can fault that? Just good dialog and to each their own.

 

[houstonscott]

Oil doesn't have to get above 212*F to cause the condensation to leave. I didn't say anything about motorcycle engines.

Sorry I guess that someone else. With your assent that oil doesn't have to reach 212 for oil to shed water, short start ups to warm system would be beneficial. HS.

 

[GManBart]

Sorry I guess that someone else. With your assent that oil doesn't have to reach 212 for oil to shed water, short start ups to warm system would be beneficial. HS.

No. The oil still has to get heated up quite a bit. A brief startup that barely gets the water up to temp is doing very little to raise the oil temp. Try operating a machine with both oil and water temp gauges and this is very obvious. Oil temp lags behind water temp significantly.

 

[houstonscott]

No. The oil still has to get heated up quite a bit. A brief startup that barely gets the water up to temp is doing very little to raise the oil temp. Try operating a machine with both oil and water temp gauges and this is very obvious. Oil temp lags behind water temp significantly.

My observations with cars that have had both gauges showed the oil temperature fluctuated greatly while the coolant remained stable. HS.

 

[GManBart]

My observations with cars that have had both gauges showed the oil temperature fluctuated greatly while the coolant remained stable. HS.

Of course. The cooling system has a thermostat that regulates the temperature to keep it in the target temp range. In a properly functioning system, there is excess cooling capacity, so you don't normally get to where the system can't keep the temps in that range.

Oil temps vary based upon the load, and environmental conditions (all other things being equal).

Start a car with both coolant, and oil temp gauges, and watch Both. The coolant will be getting into the normal range before the oil temp has even come off the peg.