FwyFlyr Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 For the last month or so, I 've idled the truck for 6-8 hours a day while at work. I have a laptop and printer I'm useing for the job and they suck the battery down pretty quick if I leave it off. Question is what could this be hurting other than my wallet for fuel and oil life per the DIC ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rays B4U Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Police cars idle for hours. We had a LT1 Caprice that had over 130K on the clock when we regrettably surplussed it, and it still ran like a scalded dog and did not burn any oil. The only reason we surplussed it was the body was falling apart, ie, interior trim, door panels, door hinges, etc. We ran regular oil and changed it every 3k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashSS Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 I wouldnt see a problem with it. the motor isnt hurting anything as long as its not overheating the only thing i would see going bad by this would be your radiator fluid and maybe even your radiator cuz your not getting any moving air into the radiator or the engine itself so your fan and radiator are running to there full potential. just keep an eye on that and you would be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Keep up on your oil changes and you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 I work on Duramax pick ups on the arctic slope, they never shut off, when the pipeline work is booming. Are service schedual is every 300hrs. we pay no attention to miles. I read somthing from Ford once, they say every engine Idle hour, is equivilent to 30mi on the engine. Your engine will Wear out much sooner, Valve guides, ring's, etc. (we have vehicles with 50k that will burn a quart a day.? Hope that helps? ~Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireRescueSS Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Go by the DIC oil life monitor in your case, since it operates by RPM's combined with Engine Tempature, rather then miles traveled. You'll have to be much more viliagent on maintance then anyone else, due to the fact you can't go by a rough mile estimate. Coolant, water pumps, fan, belts, fuel pump, injectors, all of that, you'll need to keep an eye on, cause their still operating normally even though the truck isn't moving. Also, quick question, do you have dual alternators and beefed up electrical system to handle keeping everything charged? If not, you may want to look into that, poss. another batter, and maybe a high-idle system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FwyFlyr Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Go by the DIC oil life monitor in your case, since it operates by RPM's combined with Engine Tempature, rather then miles traveled. You'll have to be much more viliagent on maintance then anyone else, due to the fact you can't go by a rough mile estimate. Coolant, water pumps, fan, belts, fuel pump, injectors, all of that, you'll need to keep an eye on, cause their still operating normally even though the truck isn't moving. Also, quick question, do you have dual alternators and beefed up electrical system to handle keeping everything charged? If not, you may want to look into that, poss. another batter, and maybe a high-idle system. I don't have any mods for the purpose of running the 400a inverter. I'm hoping this is a temporary situation. I'll pay close attention to the DIC and change oil based on what it says. Thanks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big O Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 I have always been told it is one of the WORST things you can do to your vehicle. It is sitting there creating power and has no where to apply it. No moving air to cool so your fans are always running, etc. Your engine life will be drastically shortened but that may not be a problem if you are not going to keep it forever. Just my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin8r Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 I have always been told it is one of the WORST things you can do to your vehicle. It is sitting there creating power and has no where to apply it. No moving air to cool so your fans are always running, etc. Your engine life will be drastically shortened but that may not be a problem if you are not going to keep it forever. Just my $.02 I've heard the same thing too, but with respect to it overheating and prematurely killing the oil... If the service intervals are maintained, I too think it should be fine. With respect to the "power not going anywhere," it is best to remember that our engines are a lot like big air pumps, and they are always moving the air in and out, so there is a lot of energy being exchanged even if the transmission is seeing none of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthSS Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 I've heard it's bad on some engines, due to excessive cam lobe wear. Not sure about ours though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.