let her idle or shut her down

[cp1969]

I don't know or care what it failed from. All I am saying is that the code that you said is so prominent among 6.0's is not caused by any particular characterisic of diesel combustion because it fails on gas engines, too.

I have had to overhaul several diesels. Not me turning the wrenches (although I have worked on diesels), but I saw inside while they were apart. All of them had extensive idling time due to the nature of their work. There was nothing in them to indicate that idling had any adverse effect whatsoever on them.

Again, that is just my PERSONAL experience because I have had several diesels that idled A LOT, take it any way you want. And, yes, I can and will continue to believe what my experience has shown me. I will again stress that I am not advocating that anyone idle their little diesel tractor, just that, if you do, you will probably not have any problems from it.

 

[HGM]

I don't know or care what it failed from. All I am saying is that the code that you said is so prominent among 6.0's is not caused by any particular characterisic of diesel combustion because it fails on gas engines, too.

There seems to be some miscommunication here because you think the failures are related magicly somehow, but ok....

I have had to overhaul several diesels. Not me turning the wrenches (although I have worked on diesels), but I saw inside while they were apart. All of them had extensive idling time due to the nature of their work. There was nothing in them to indicate that idling had any adverse effect whatsoever on them.

Again, that is just my PERSONAL experience because I have had several diesels that idled A LOT, take it any way you want. And, yes, I can and will continue to believe what my experience has shown me. I will again stress that I am not advocating that anyone idle their little diesel tractor, just that, if you do, you will probably not have any problems from it.

OK, no problem.. Me too...

 

[Dargo]

Interesting thread. I know we are talking about tractors here, but I just had a guy give me an estimate on an addition to my barn (the 2nd addition - you just can't have a big enough barn, huh?!) who drives an old '92 Cummins powered 3/4 ton Dodge. He let the thing sit there and idle for a good hour or two. Being that I'd just read this thread, I asked him if he always let it idle so long. The short answer is yes.

He, for whatever reason, thinks it is better to let his truck idle. I'd be hard pressed to convince him differently since he has 546,000 miles on it and it's never been worked on. Even more amazing, it's an automatic! He does change his transmission fluid every 50k and his engine oil every 10k. His engine oil? Whatever he can buy the cheapest. It's usually the generic Wal-Mart brand that is diesel rated.

I almost always shut mine off because I can't hear myself think with it running. With my '96 Dodge, I have to shut if off in drive through; no chance they'll hear me otherwise. Anyway, what do you make of a guy who always lets his truck idle and has over a half a million trouble free miles?

 

[mudcat]

Are the trucks that are idling at truck stops and rest areas running at high idle?

 

[whitetiger]

Are the trucks that are idling at truck stops and rest areas running at high idle?

I doubdt it, on a diesel engine the term "HIGH IDLE" is at full throttle.
A diesel should be set at a fast idle (1200-1500) when left running for an extended period of time. Prolonged fast idling will not cause any adverse effects to a diesel engine.
For over 25 years now I have watched tractors and skidloaders left idling for severial hours on end and it has never hurt any of them.
I leave my diesel 1995 K3500 4X4 dooley with a 6.5T engine idel for hours on end during winter months cause I like to crawl into a warm interior. It only has 243,xxx miles on it and now ill effects. Did the same with my 83 K1500 with a 6.2 and my 82 Seville with a 5.7. Both had upward to 200,000 miles on them and never any engine trouble. I have friends around here with 6.2's and 6.5's that have over 500,000 and 700,000 miles on them and almost all of them let them idle for hours at a time, mostly in the winter and realy hot days so their dog stays cool in air conditioned comfort.
If you want to let your tractor idle, bump it up to a fast idle and let it run. If you do not want to let it idle, cool it at idle for about 3 minutes and shut it of. There is no this is right and that is wrong answer.

 

[HGM]

Dargo,
Did you happen to notice his exhaust pipe? I'm just curious how it looked..

My points earlier were not that it would fail, simply that it will build up soot and carbon in the combustion chamber and exhaust.. With an EGR system, it ends up in the intake as well.. These will fail.. This guy in particular may run his truck hard when its not idling, I cant say, but I would bet that he does have a build up... I seriously doubt its a Ford specific thing, as suggested before..

I certainly cant say anything bad about the Cummins engines or specific systems on them.. 500+k miles is good, but not unheard of.. It is interesting that he does specificly let it idle, if it works for him, more power to him.. My recomendations still stand, I never intended to argue the point with people sold on "the big trucks do it" idea.. Maybe I'm as **** in ths aspect as some of the "special oil" guys, but thats my point of veiw and yes I have the experience..

BTW,

Are the trucks that are idling at truck stops and rest areas running at high idle?

,
not all of the trucks you hear idling are actually idling.. Some are running the refers, some are running just above idle with a load(lighting,refridge,a/c, tv's,etc to keep the truckers comfortable) and to my understanding, allot of states prohibit letting the truck idle for unnecissary emmissions..

 

[HGM]

I doubdt it, on a diesel engine the term "HIGH IDLE" is at full throttle.
A diesel should be set at a fast idle (1200-1500) when left running for an extended period of time. Prolonged fast idling will not cause any adverse effects to a diesel engine.
For over 25 years now I have watched tractors and skidloaders left idling for severial hours on end and it has never hurt any of them.
I leave my diesel 1995 K3500 4X4 dooley with a 6.5T engine idel for hours on end during winter months cause I like to crawl into a warm interior. It only has 243,xxx miles on it and now ill effects. Did the same with my 83 K1500 with a 6.2 and my 82 Seville with a 5.7. Both had upward to 200,000 miles on them and never any engine trouble. I have friends around here with 6.2's and 6.5's that have over 500,000 and 700,000 miles on them and almost all of them let them idle for hours at a time, mostly in the winter and realy hot days so their dog stays cool in air conditioned comfort.
If you want to let your tractor idle, bump it up to a fast idle and let it run. If you do not want to let it idle, cool it at idle for about 3 minutes and shut it of. There is no this is right and that is wrong answer.

I think thats basicly what I have been trying to say.... 1200RPM is not idle, it is off idle, fast idle, or whatever your term may be.. We're on the same page here, Ive got a question too if you dont mind.. When your truck idles, is it at a 650RPM base idle?

 

[Birdman253]

Seriously, all the posters in this thread have valid points, both pro and con, but think about this. The engines in today's tractors are designed with a base life expectancy of 10,000 hours before rebuild. When they are designed, the engineers factor in a percentage of idle time.

Think about the average hours of use by most compact owners. The last data I saw showed less than 300 hours per year. Though it may be a great subject to discuss, the damage caused by idling one of these units while doing off seat tasks, when the unit gets less than 500 hours per year is so minimal as to not be a factor in the overall life of the engine.

I am around large farm machines on a daily basis. Units that are run on average 1500 hours per year. Almost the only time that they are shut down during work time is if a repair requires shutdown, or if leaving the unit running while doing an adjustment would create a safety issue.

Basically, let your conscience be your guide. If you feel better shutting it down, then do so. Conversely, if you wish to let it idle, don't worry about it, unless you are talking about several hours, you will never know the difference, either in fuel consumption, or wear on the engine.

 

[whitetiger]

Idle in park is about 850 RPM.

I think thats basicly what I have been trying to say.... 1200RPM is not idle, it is off idle, fast idle, or whatever your term may be.. We're on the same page here, Ive got a question too if you dont mind.. When your truck idles, is it at a 650RPM base idle?

 

[Dargo]

Dargo,
Did you happen to notice his exhaust pipe? I'm just curious how it looked...

I just found this thread again. His exhaust pipe? It's broken off somewhere under the bed of his truck it seems. And, yes, he runs the crap out of it when he gets in it. Hey, you'll be happy to know that he is now putting an 01 F350 with a 7.3 through his same abuse test. Other than him bitching like crazy about some sort of injector problems, he seems to love it. Oh yeah, he did put an ATS Stage V automatic transmission in his F350 since the dealer refused to warranty his 2nd factory transmission when he admitted that he frequently hauled 19k behind it. He's had the ATS in it for about 6 months and he claims it will bark all 4 rear tires when he stands on it when empty.

And, you're right, there would be no convincing him anything. He's so set in his ways that he wouldn't begin to listen to the Pope if the Pope were to try to tell him how to use his trucks.