Shoutout to my coworker who swears by cold starts, I had to set him straight

We were on a job site and he fired up a diesel without warming it. I told him that can hurt the engine over time. He laughed, but I saw his truck have issues later. Now he listens when I say to give it a minute. It's a small step that keeps things running smooth.

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler5263mo ago

My local mechanic showed me how oil thickens in cold temps, making it hard to flow. @williamo27, your neighbor's injector trouble is spot on... but I'm curious if the engine computer data shows any pressure drops during those first few seconds. Has your coworker checked his scan tool for live readings when he does those cold starts?

uma_mitchell833d ago

I mean, I had a buddy who used to just fire up his old Cummins and go, and after a few months it started sounding really rough on cold mornings. I told him to just let it idle for a minute or two, and then he'd take it easy for the first mile or so, and it honestly sounded way smoother after that. Idk if it's just the oil flow or maybe letting the glow plugs do their thing properly, but it definitely seemed to help. I think sometimes that little extra time is all the difference.

williamo273mo ago

Seriously, some folks just can't wait that extra minute... I watched my neighbor's diesel truck start having injector issues from the same habit. It's always worth the wait.