Short Commute - what do i do?
#11
07-20-2012, 12:47 AM
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#12
07-20-2012, 01:46 AM
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#13
07-20-2012, 11:56 AM
local Bus
#14
07-20-2012, 02:44 PM
Well you could switch oil viscosities. I don't know what weight they recommend for the 4.7, seems I remember you saying a while back you use Pennzoil 10W30. If so maybe check your manual and see if you can run a 5W30. It is thinner when cold and will make cold starts a bit easier on your engine's innards. It should help your engine start a bit faster in cold weather too. If it were my truck I would not run a synthetic, I don't really follow the synthetic hype but that's not why I say that. I would run a good conventional and change it based on time instead of miles. I say that because of oxidation. The longer an oil sits in your crank case, the more moisture builds up in it and causes condensation and flash rusting on the cylinder walls can occur. It makes more sense to me to use a good conventional and change it every 6 months instead of an expensive synthetic that you would have to change at the same 6 month interval anyway.
Take this for what it's worth but I will also say you could substitute a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil oil for a quart of your motor oil. If you do that then stick with your regular 10W30 or whatever weight you normally use, because MMO will thin it out some, some say it will take you down one grade in viscosity. The upper cylinder lube properties of the MMO will keep the cylinder walls lubed even with the engine off and it will help lube the fuel pump, clean and lube the fuel injectors and it will help fight carbon build-up in the cylinders. Some people hate MMO and any other oil/gas additives, but I know a few guys on other forums who live up north who use MMO in their oil in the winter months. They say it works great for cold starts. I have used it in my oil here in Florida a couple of times but only as a cleaning agent for the last 750 miles before an oil change. I have no need for it in my oil all the time. If you do run MMO in your oil you need to keep a close eye on the oil level, check it often because it will burn off faster than motor oil. Top off with motor oil, not more MMO. Adding MMO to your gas will help too, it may help offset some of the negative effects of ethanol, I have no idea how ethanol would play into winter fuel in -30 degree temps but I have an idea it can't be very good for the fuel and engine. MMO can help restore some of the lubricity that is lost in ethanol-laced fuel. Some people hate MMO but I use it in my gas all the time and it helps a lot.
Making a lot of short trips is harder on your engine than putting on highway miles. You can do like Fdup said and drive the truck hard every chance you get. At least once a week get it out on the highway for a good long run at highway speeds, at least a half hour or so. This will help blow the carbon out the exhaust and help cut back on oil contamination due to condensation build-up.
In a way I have the same problem as you do. I work at home now, have been working at home for a year and a half. I don't drive near as much as I used to when I commuted 56 miles round trip to work and back home every day. So now I get my truck out on the highway and stretch her legs as often as I can. In winter it is a bit easier to do since we take a 120 mile round trip to visit my wife's mom every Sunday. My wife only drives about 2.5 miles to her job, so I keep her oil changed every 6 months too, regardless of mileage. I don't add any MMO to her oil though. Hers is a Honda Accord and the tolerances in her engine are already close enough as it is. I run Pennzoil 5W20 conventional in her car. My truck runs great on Quaker State 10W30, I have been using it for a few years now. I tried Pennzoil conventional 10W30 on the oil change before my most recent one and my MPG went down a bit. Power on the butt-dyno seemed to suffer a bit too. Quaker State and Pennzoil are similar oils, both are Shell products but I think Pennzoil is a wee bit thicker and that was the reason. Pennzoil is a great oil but it has a ton of molybdenum in it. I have a theory that the added moly was detrimental to power and therefore MPG too but I am no engineer or mechanic. My engine seems to really run its best on Quaker State.
I think it would be best to use the thinnest oil you can get away with, change it every 5 or 6 months and get the truck out for a road trip as often as you can. Regular exercise will do your truck the most good. I also agree it is best to let the truck warm up for a few minutes, maybe longer depending on how cold it is. The thinner oils will help with cold start warm up times too.
Jimmy
Take this for what it's worth but I will also say you could substitute a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil oil for a quart of your motor oil. If you do that then stick with your regular 10W30 or whatever weight you normally use, because MMO will thin it out some, some say it will take you down one grade in viscosity. The upper cylinder lube properties of the MMO will keep the cylinder walls lubed even with the engine off and it will help lube the fuel pump, clean and lube the fuel injectors and it will help fight carbon build-up in the cylinders. Some people hate MMO and any other oil/gas additives, but I know a few guys on other forums who live up north who use MMO in their oil in the winter months. They say it works great for cold starts. I have used it in my oil here in Florida a couple of times but only as a cleaning agent for the last 750 miles before an oil change. I have no need for it in my oil all the time. If you do run MMO in your oil you need to keep a close eye on the oil level, check it often because it will burn off faster than motor oil. Top off with motor oil, not more MMO. Adding MMO to your gas will help too, it may help offset some of the negative effects of ethanol, I have no idea how ethanol would play into winter fuel in -30 degree temps but I have an idea it can't be very good for the fuel and engine. MMO can help restore some of the lubricity that is lost in ethanol-laced fuel. Some people hate MMO but I use it in my gas all the time and it helps a lot.
Making a lot of short trips is harder on your engine than putting on highway miles. You can do like Fdup said and drive the truck hard every chance you get. At least once a week get it out on the highway for a good long run at highway speeds, at least a half hour or so. This will help blow the carbon out the exhaust and help cut back on oil contamination due to condensation build-up.
In a way I have the same problem as you do. I work at home now, have been working at home for a year and a half. I don't drive near as much as I used to when I commuted 56 miles round trip to work and back home every day. So now I get my truck out on the highway and stretch her legs as often as I can. In winter it is a bit easier to do since we take a 120 mile round trip to visit my wife's mom every Sunday. My wife only drives about 2.5 miles to her job, so I keep her oil changed every 6 months too, regardless of mileage. I don't add any MMO to her oil though. Hers is a Honda Accord and the tolerances in her engine are already close enough as it is. I run Pennzoil 5W20 conventional in her car. My truck runs great on Quaker State 10W30, I have been using it for a few years now. I tried Pennzoil conventional 10W30 on the oil change before my most recent one and my MPG went down a bit. Power on the butt-dyno seemed to suffer a bit too. Quaker State and Pennzoil are similar oils, both are Shell products but I think Pennzoil is a wee bit thicker and that was the reason. Pennzoil is a great oil but it has a ton of molybdenum in it. I have a theory that the added moly was detrimental to power and therefore MPG too but I am no engineer or mechanic. My engine seems to really run its best on Quaker State.
I think it would be best to use the thinnest oil you can get away with, change it every 5 or 6 months and get the truck out for a road trip as often as you can. Regular exercise will do your truck the most good. I also agree it is best to let the truck warm up for a few minutes, maybe longer depending on how cold it is. The thinner oils will help with cold start warm up times too.
Jimmy
Is it safe to put MMO and leave it there for the entire 3-4000 miles? I'll consider doing that if so. Maybe it would be a good idea run a cleaner through the gas once a month in the winter especially?
Luckly I do make a lot of long distance trips. Usually once a week for work and on weekends I'm always going to visit friends/family which can be anywhere from an hour drive to a 5 hour drive. I'll probably still manage 1000 miles a week. Maybe more once the I start going to the next job site. I'll be driving about 60 miles there and 60 miles back every day for a week or two but I think that will be before winter. Just today I drove from here in Plattsburgh to Lake Placid (which is a beautiful and fun drive) and around 100 miles round trip. So I do manage to drive quite a bit still but there are going to be weeks were I only go 20 miles all week and everyday is just to work and back. I want to do what is best for my truck and I wasn't sure what that really was for such a short commute. I've never had a short commute like this before.
Last edited by bpark8824; 07-20-2012 at 04:26 PM.
#15
07-20-2012, 03:46 PM
Record Breaker
#16
07-20-2012, 04:21 PM
But it's such a short drive it doesn't matter if I let it warm up for 20 minutes, the engine still won't reach full temp...
#17
07-20-2012, 05:20 PM
#19
07-20-2012, 07:23 PM
#20
07-20-2012, 07:29 PM
Record Breaker
Thanks for post Jimmy. I've been using Q-State 5w30 lately. I've been hearing a lot of good things about it lately so I've switch over to Quaker State. I'll have to look in the manual to see if it has one of those charts that says what oil viscosity to use for various temperatures. Maybe I could run 5w20 once winter comes around...
Is it safe to put MMO and leave it there for the entire 3-4000 miles? I'll consider doing that if so. Maybe it would be a good idea run a cleaner through the gas once a month in the winter especially?
Luckly I do make a lot of long distance trips. Usually once a week for work and on weekends I'm always going to visit friends/family which can be anywhere from an hour drive to a 5 hour drive. I'll probably still manage 1000 miles a week. Maybe more once the I start going to the next job site. I'll be driving about 60 miles there and 60 miles back every day for a week or two but I think that will be before winter. Just today I drove from here in Plattsburgh to Lake Placid (which is a beautiful and fun drive) and around 100 miles round trip. So I do manage to drive quite a bit still but there are going to be weeks were I only go 20 miles all week and everyday is just to work and back. I want to do what is best for my truck and I wasn't sure what that really was for such a short commute. I've never had a short commute like this before.
Is it safe to put MMO and leave it there for the entire 3-4000 miles? I'll consider doing that if so. Maybe it would be a good idea run a cleaner through the gas once a month in the winter especially?
Luckly I do make a lot of long distance trips. Usually once a week for work and on weekends I'm always going to visit friends/family which can be anywhere from an hour drive to a 5 hour drive. I'll probably still manage 1000 miles a week. Maybe more once the I start going to the next job site. I'll be driving about 60 miles there and 60 miles back every day for a week or two but I think that will be before winter. Just today I drove from here in Plattsburgh to Lake Placid (which is a beautiful and fun drive) and around 100 miles round trip. So I do manage to drive quite a bit still but there are going to be weeks were I only go 20 miles all week and everyday is just to work and back. I want to do what is best for my truck and I wasn't sure what that really was for such a short commute. I've never had a short commute like this before.
My own opinion on fuel system cleaners is I use them maybe once or twice a year. I use Gumout Regane in my truck, it helps keep the injectors clean. My wife's Honda seems to do really well on Chevron Techron Concentrated cleaner, I don't know why. I do know Techron makes the most noticeable improvement in power in her car, I can tell a big difference with it over Regane. I think using a cleaner more than 2 or 3 times a year is overkill but I don't know what kind of gas you have to buy up north. God only knows what is in the gas they sell up there, especially in winter. You might get more benefit from a more frequent dose of a good stout cleaner like Regane or Techron since you have to buy northern winter blend gas. I know guys on other forums who add a few ounces of Techron Concentrate or Regane or Red Line Si-1 to each tank of gas they buy to help make up for having to use crappy winter gas. They say it works well for them. If you add MMO to the gas it will also help keep the injectors and fuel system clean. Just start with a good strong in-tank cleaner first, like Chevron or Regane. Then dose the tank with MMO at every fuel fill. The trick with MMO in the fuel is you have to use it every time and be consistent with it. One or two tanks with MMO won't do you much good.
It sounds to me like you do get out and drive the truck pretty often and for good long trips. The short commute is not good, but it seems to me you will offset that with long drives. The only thing I know to do about all the short trips and cold starts is to use a good oil, good gas and take road trips when you can to keep the truck in good shape, and it sounds to me like what you are doing will work fine. I would defintely warm the truck up on the cold mornings though. For the truck's benefit and mine too...I can't imagine living where it gets that cold.
Jimmy
Last edited by 01SilverCC; 07-20-2012 at 07:31 PM.