Warm up and idling

[sandman2234]

I never shut down a diesel without a few minutes of idle time, except at work, and then only if they monitor the idle time via computer. I got called into the office after being with my former company. They asked if my truck was ok, and how I liked everything. Turns out, I was fourth lowest in idle time for the company, and the three guys that beat me were dedicated guys that came home for the night. I was running over the road and stayed gone for up to 10 days at a time. Idle time was 4.1%, and they gave me a nice jacket. The year before I came to work for them, they had a contest for the lowest idle time and the winner got a new truck, and they also paid the taxes for him(income taxes so he could keep it, instead of having to sell it)They are used to idle time being around 25% and up for over the road drivers. Shutting down a diesel without allowing it to cool down really isn't good for it, if you have been working it! Most of the time mine doesn't get hard worked, so I don't have to sweat it too much, but still do it to keep in practice.
David from jax

 

[Highbeam]

I am of the crowd that will idle to cool and leave it idle if the off tractor job will be 1-3 minutes. However, my idle time isn't at low idle. I set the idle at just about 1400 rpm for a nice smooth humm and not a gurgly rough idle.

Pretty much everything is happier when the engine has a few hundred more RPM than low low idle.

My only problem is when I have been mowing pastures and things are starting to get warm because the radiator screens are getting plugged. You have to shut down the engine so that the fan doesn't suck all the chaffe into the coolers as you remove the screens for cleaning. I quickly clean the screens and replace them, then restart.

 

[automech]

I shut down if I plan on taking more than a few minute break, unless someone else is buying the fuel.

 

[RoyJackson]

Warm up is at a fast idle (1500 RPM) until the temp gage is in the green (or I'll operate it at no load for until the temp gage is in the green).
Idle after warmup is no more then 5 minutes. Any more then that I shut 'er down.

 

[john_bud]

. Proper starting and warm up for one and the other is let it idle or turn it off? If I am just stepping off I'll let it idle but if I am hopping off to use the chain saw or do something that may take 3-5 minutes I turn it off.

Is it better to shut her down for such tasks or let her idle. I know I would just be burning fuel, but is there more wear be the on and off?

Good answers so far. On start up, the hydro has a pre-charge pump that feeds fluid to the hydro pump. Typically, there is a filter after the precharge and before the hydro. Those filters have been known to blow if you rev too high while the fluid is cold. (cold is -10F and down). There is probably a warm up chart in your manual. When it's real cold, I use the clutch hold down hook and let it run at 1300-1500 rpm for 5 min or so before letting the clutch up. That warms the fluid up some keeping that filter from leaking. Then light operations until the machine is up to temp. I don't mess with the tractor unless there is an hour or more of chores to do. Just seems to be not worth it as the warm up time is so long.

I think you have a good feel for when to shut it off. Anything more than a couple minutes and you're just wasting fuel. When it's real cold, low idle has a chance of washing down the cylinders with raw fuel. That's a bigger concern in my book. Try and not let the engine run at under 1000 rpm unless it's warmed up. The thick white smoke you may see (not steam) is raw fuel.

Oh, don't forget to add cetane improver / anti-gel additive. Some will say that you don't need to do it, but I have been gelled up before and it ain't pretty. I like "Howes Diesel Treat". It has gotten be running before when PowerService in the white bottle let the fuel gel up (that was at a 2x dose of PS).

 

[Northland]

Good TBN advice again on this thread. Based on my cold weather experience this all makes a lot of sense. I wish I had known about the idling at higher RPM's sooner.

It is -17F (-26.8C) here this morning. Forunately it didn't snow here last night but we did get 6" on Thursday night. It was 1F (-17C) on Friday morning so I turned my block heater on and put my new Kats magnetic heater on the bottom of the hydraulic fluid intake/below the rear PTO.

I left both on for 2 hours and when I went out the tractor operated like it was summer.

Any ideas on the best place to put that magentic heater on the tractor for fastest warm-ups?

 

[pat32rf]

I find that the block heaters heat the coolant, not the oil. I would stick a magnet under the oil pan as well as the hydro resevoir for really cold use. I have a battery heater and block heater and Johnny always fires on the first roll. (If it doesn't its because the fuel solenoid is stuck again but this seldom/never happens if its been plugged in for more than a few hours, even at -25C) I don't think my preheat has ever worked since new and I don't worry about plugging in unless it colder than -10.

 

[Builder]

Instant shut down on a turbocharged diesel engine is bad because the oil in the turbocharger bearing galleries will be left stagnant in them and the excessive heat from the turbo turns the oil into a "coke"-like substance. This will in-turn trash your turbo bearings and cause premature turbo failure.

300* is the old rule of thumb for max shut down temp. If it really concerns you, get an EGT gauge and drill the probe into your exhaust manifold and install the gauge on your dash. Most all my diesel trucks have one. Many larger pieces of equipment have them.

Not as important on a naturally aspirated diesel, but I would still idle it down a few minutes to even-out the hot spots.

 

[D7E]

It's always good to idle em for a while when starting and stopping but too much aint good ,I don't like to see more than 1/2 hour depending on the amount of hard work it'll get to compensate .
In our -30 winter days i let it idle for up to 1/2 hour to get some heat into the rear end and take some strain off the hydraulics ,In these temps a loader wont lift until oil is warm (without doing damage).

 

[nosliw]

i just fire it up, let it run for 30 seconds or so, the take off. i keep the rpm's around 1300 and drive slowly (usually 4th or 5th).

i won't run into a pile or do anything hard until i'm at full operating temperature.

if i have to attach an implement, i'd fire up the tractor and drive over to the implement and by the time it's hooked up she's good to go (usually). i keep them on uneven ground so i usually struggle with them for 4-5 minutes