Commute too short for diesel?

[Ogeechee]

I drive 10 miles (+/- 1/10th) to work each day. 6 miles is interstate. No stop and go, commute normally takes about 15 minutes. Is this too short/quick for a 2012 f250 with 6.7? I've heard the old wives tales about not getting a diesel to operating temp being harmful. What do y'all think?

[RobertRyan]

transferred wrote:
Some silliness 'round these parts. Modern diesels are just fine for short commutes and don't need to be driven like Corvettes. In America many think of them as mythical beasts. Ask the hundreds of millions in Europe how easy their diesels are to own (answer is very)

Yes very easy to own, preferred type of engine for Motorhomes

[wanderingbob]

Since this came up I have been recording miles and temps from a cold start , bobtail , in a 2014 Cummins . All gauges are at operating temps at six miles except the transmixer which takes about ten miles . Of coarse these are fluid readings , I am sure the heavy metal block and parts are not up at ten miles .

[IdaD]

GoPackGo wrote:


Watch your gage needles sometime. Switch the Driver's panel to the page that shows the actual oil and trans temp readouts (Ford) and notice how long it takes to get up to a normal temp (mine is about 195 for both).

Mine runs around that too. A hair higher on oil at full operating temp. My Ram gets up to temp on my roughly 10 minute commute, though.

[GoPackGo]

Everything I have read since about 1965 has said that you want an engine to get up to normal operating temperature before you shut it down. And I know for sure that my 2013 F350 takes a solid 30 minutes to warm up.

Watch your gage needles sometime. Switch the Driver's panel to the page that shows the actual oil and trans temp readouts (Ford) and notice how long it takes to get up to a normal temp (mine is about 195 for both).

These things are built to work and tow and have cooling systems to match. And yes, I do know what a thermostat is.

If I had a short daily commute with my truck, I would at least take it for a one hour ride on the highway every Sunday.

Tim

[Grit_dog]

dreeder wrote:
I had a 09' Cummins with a 6 speed manual and had a similiar commute. Ran it in lower gears, ran with the exhast brake on, the truck was in the shop more than I can remember. Turbo cleaned, turbo replaced, 2 EGR's replaced, 02 sensor, check engine lights... etc all within 12,000 miles. Got rid of it and went with a 5.7 2500. Understand though my diesel was pre DEF so that didn't help.
I guess my opinion would be to go with the 6.2 or similiar gasser if it were my money and I wasn't towing a large 5th wheel. The current crop of gassers, although they certainly aren't in the same league as the new diesels for towing, still get the job done and they do it well. In my opinion they make for better daily drivers, just let em rev like they were designed to.

All that cr@p wasn't because of a short commute. Dodge had their teething problems with the 08 emissions just like the other 2 and some were a pos for some reason. Most of the ones I seen were 07.5 and 08s though.

[transferred]

Some silliness 'round these parts. Modern diesels are just fine for short commutes and don't need to be driven like Corvettes. In America many think of them as mythical beasts. Ask the hundreds of millions in Europe how easy their diesels are to own (answer is very)

[ScottG]

I used to do a 1.5 commute with an older diesel and it was fine. But I would not do it with a modern one.

[Targa]

I had a 09' Cummins with a 6 speed manual and had a similiar commute. Ran it in lower gears, ran with the exhast brake on, the truck was in the shop more than I can remember. Turbo cleaned, turbo replaced, 2 EGR's replaced, 02 sensor, check engine lights... etc all within 12,000 miles. Got rid of it and went with a 5.7 2500. Understand though my diesel was pre DEF so that didn't help.
I guess my opinion would be to go with the 6.2 or similiar gasser if it were my money and I wasn't towing a large 5th wheel. The current crop of gassers, although they certainly aren't in the same league as the new diesels for towing, still get the job done and they do it well. In my opinion they make for better daily drivers, just let em rev like they were designed to.

[John___Angela]

One of our smart cars only has 38K KM on it after almost 10 years. It has had 8 oil/filter etc changes in that time. No other maintenance, no other problems and everyday it goes about 15 KM. The other smart car has about three times the mileage and has had about the same maintenance. Of course these little diesels are prior to the DEF days.

[coolbreeze01]

Using lower gears will let it rev and warm up much quicker.

[wandering1]

I had a short drive of 5 miles to work and back for 10 years with mine and it never hurt it. Careful about expert wannabes personal opinions.

[1100Sabre]

Our last truck was a 2009 Chevy Duramax/Alison 4x4 crew cab long bed dually. It's total daily commute was approximately 6 miles per day, with less than 15 minute of run time. I also thought about this may times wondering about what that was going to destroy over time. Well, 6 years later, 168,000 miles, 46 of the 48 continental U.S. States traveled, and that little 10-15 minute trip every freaking day it was home, we had absolutely ZERO problems!! We also had one winter with temperatures in the negative 20's for several weeks. We didn't even use the block heater either, it was too much trouble. Don't worry about it.

[Grit_dog]

The truck will be fine. Based on what it takes to really choke off a new dpf equipped diesel, a 10 mi one way commute in a warm climate is just an easy life for the truck, provided it gets drove and worked once in a while.

[Paul_Clancy]

Been commuting about 25 min each way with some stop go and real winter for 6 years with my 09 duramax and no problems.