diesel warm up question

Start your engine, when oil pressure is reached, its ready to drive. If you feel the need to idle, engage the high idle feature. 800 to 1,000 RPM is better for your engine than a dead idle.

DinTulsa wrote:
If your truck doesn't have the High Idle option turned on, have the dealership do that modification. When it was really cold and the truck sat outside, I plugged it in and then kicked on the High Idle feature.

X-2

hotpepperkid wrote:
Idling is NOT good for modern day diesels.....raw fuel washing cylinder walls. That is BS. True excessive idling not needed. When it's hot I will let mine idle as long as Im the store which might be 30 min or more. As for cooling off it can take 30 sec or several min. that's why you need a pyo gage or turbo saver

I agree. The fuel ratio is so lean at idle.

Idling is NOT good for modern day diesels.....raw fuel washing cylinder walls. That is BS. True excessive idling not needed. When it's hot I will let mine idle as long as Im the store which might be 30 min or more. As for cooling off it can take 30 sec or several min. that's why you need a pyo gage or turbo saver

Start it and go. Just drive it easy for the first bit. It's not only your engine that needs to warm up. It's every piece in your truck. I see people all the time warm the engine to operating temp and then take off like they are in a race.

Thanks for all the info. This is my first diesel. It's a 06 with the 5.9. Will be taking some long trips over the next few weeks.

I have a 2007 with the 5.9L and towed FT for 7 yrs

If temps are below 65*F the grid heaters will show in dash
Turn key on and let grid heaters function.....then when symbol disappears start engine.
IF really cold then cycle grid heaters couple times then start engine

That hunk of iron will NOT warm up at idle....not enough fuel/heat happening
So start it and then drive it.
IF you have an exhaust brake use it for faster warm ups

Cool down....
Hard pull then parking let it idle for couple minutes
But most times..by the time you pull off, drive slowly to rest area, to campground etc. it will already have cooled down enough to turn it off.

Idling is NOT good for modern day diesels.....raw fuel washing cylinder walls.
Excessive idling is just not needed.

IF you need to idle use the high idle
High idle feature....truck in park/neutral, parking brake set, cruise control ON
Idle will increase to 1100 rpm.....use ACEL button to increase

While I lack your particular truck, I've had three diesels since 2001, and all of them warm up very poorly while idling. In addition, all three have turbos that rely on air pressure to maintain oil seal integrity and thus are highly recommended not be left idling for extended periods. All three owners manuals say start them and drive off to warm up. Needless to say, easy on the throttle until they do warm up. In any case for any engine, the first 15-30 seconds after a cold start will see oil still trying to reach distant points in the engine. After a cold start, a few seconds checking seat belts, mirrors, etc should be plenty.

I warm mine up till everybody moves up wind from my idling, then put it in gear :) Ok kidding...

In gear when oil (and air if you have any) are up. I use EGT gauge to shut off around 450. If parked over a week, I have to idle in neutral for about 30 seconds to get trans to work. Newer stuff doesn't have that worry.

In normal temps above 45 I start my truck and turn the exhaust brake on, give it about 45 seconds and go. Time for proper oil circulation is key.
I don't build more than 10 lbs of boost until the head and block are up to temperature. That kills head gaskets.
I let my egts cool to under 400 degrees before shutting it off.