So this is my first CTD and now that the weather has turned a bit colder I am noticing that the engine doesn't heat very quickly. My first thought was this is just how diesels work.. but then it occurred to me that maybe it is the thermostat.

So I can let it idle in the driveway for 15 mins and the temp needle will barely move. It takes 6-8 miles of driving after the 15 min idle for the engine temp gets up enough to provide cabin heat.. in 25F weather.

This morning the temps were around 15F and it took even longer.

Is this normal or should I be looking at the thermostat?

Thanks!

 

Yes this is completely normal, mine takes a little longer to heat up.

 

My truck takes about the same amount of time to heat up at that temp. The current air temp is 6 F so its going to be a cold ride for a bit in the morning.

 

First their is a few things that you can do to make your truck warm up faster in the cold mornings.
One is plug it in at night it should have a block heater
The Cord may not be their and you will have to buy them as they are sold as a option.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-c...the-truck.html

this is a video of another DF members truck he put plexi glass cut outs on the grille to reduce the air flow through the grille. If you watch the video you will see them on his truck.. It does work well and you use plastic wire ties to hold them in place and when the cold weather is over you cut them off and store them in a safe place for next year...

Also idling the truck in -6 degrees F took my truck over a hour to warm up and it still wasn't hot in the cabin. Once driving down the street it finally got warm.. That Night my outside GFI outlet failed and tripped the GFI Breaker. It was not a good morning to start my truck...

 

Yup, it takes about 8 miles of highway to get up to full operating temps. Like Pizzo mentioned, you can use the block heater, and get a winter front to help with warm up. Also if your truck is '04.5 or newer you can have the manual adjustable idle enabled and raise the RPM to help heat up the truck.

 

As mentioned, perfectly normal.

You can let it sit there and idle all day long and the temps will never come up.....if the engine was warm, you'll actually see the temps decrease.

The cooling systems on these are so overbuilt and the there is so much cast iron, that it just doesn't heat up fast.

Put the covers over the grill and put your block heater on a timer. Set it to turn on 3 - 4 hours before you plan to leave and it'll be all good. The truck will be giving you heat in 2 - 3 miles.

 

Thanks guys! I love this forum.

 

WOW!!!, I'm glad I live in So Cal, That's cold

 

yeah...here in northern iowa it's been around 0 and most days the last 2 weeks below 0....it's a 10 mile drive to work and mine doesn't hardly move off 140 when i pull into work....thats a cold drive lol

 

Here's all I do with mine.....

What used to take 6 - 8 miles to warm up, only takes 2 - 3.