The candidate: 05 3500 CTD QC 4X4 8k miles, I was wondering about the time it takes for the engine to come to operating temp. Does a diesel take alot longer than a gas engine? This is my first diesel, so it is a new animal to me, but I love it[sm=drooldude.gif]! Thanks for any responses.

-Ben

 

WILL TAKE LONGER THAN A SIMILAR SIZE GASSER DUE TO THE MASS AND WEIGHT OF THE BLOCK--ALSO DEPENDS ON THE OUTSIDE TEMP AND HOW COLD IT HAS MADE THE BLOCK.I PLUG MINE IN WHEN TEMP IS PREDICTED BELOW 20 ON A TIMER TO GO ON APP. 4 HOURS BEFORE I AM GOING TO START IT IN THE A.M.I HAVE A 2004/2500 AND NEVER A COLD START PROBLEM YET.ALSO A DIESEL HEATS UP QUICK AS ITS HIGH COMPRESSION GENERATES ALOT OF HEAT--LIKE THE INTERCOOLER PIPE ON AN AIR COMPRESSOR

 

yup, compared to my aluminum block toyota, the Cummins takes about a mile more worth of road before I start blowing some heat.

pluging in. . .I like the white smoke in the morning. had plenty of it this morning[8D]

one of these days I'm gunna turn that white smoke into black smoke[sm=icon_rock.gif]

 

1 more thing that i didnt see in the other posts is the cooling systems on diesel's is massive in comparison to gas eigines of same diplacement kind of like 18 wheelers most have a 10 to 14 gallon cooling system compared to a gallon and a 1/2 on a chevey tahoe
so it does take a bit longer but when warmed up heaters work better than any gas bunner ive ever been in

 

I have an 05 and have found that within three miles after starting, the temp is climbing.
By the time I get on the freeway, its at normal op temp.

 

Not me I drive about three to four miles to work and still do not have alot of heat. I bought the plug and now plug it in and that helped the starting, but not the heat. I am looking into cold fronts now. Mine is a 2006 2500, and I live in Iowa so when the temps were below zero or single digits it took forever and then if it was warmed and I stopped some where and left it out runnin thinking that it would stay warm like 45 minutes I would come out and the guage would be down again and cold air a blowin. The last week the temps have been 20-30 and it was better but still takes more than my four miles to work to get it warm. I even let it idle 15-20 minutes before I leave.

 

What you are experiencing is normal. Partly due to the size and mass of the engine. Also because the engine draws in sooo much air and burns so little fuel at idle, the intake air cools the engine in subzero climates. This condition is refered to as a "cold run". This is why you will see big rigs running at a fast idle in the truck stops.

There are a few things you can do to help. Get a cold front. Leave your truck plugged in while it is warming up. Use a idle speed kicker or throttle stick to idle your truck up to about 1200 rpm during warmup or while parked. My dealer enabled a fast idle feature on my 02 which works when certain parameters are met. There was a TSB on this subject.

Allowing your engine to run for extended periods under "cold run" conditions can cause tar to condense out of the exhaust on your valve stems. When the engine is shut down this tar will harden and stick exhaust valves causeing bent push tubes.

 

not only the cooling system is bigger, but they hold what ?6? GALLONS of oil? that takes quite a while to warm up also.

 

3 gallons

besides the cooling works just like a gasser, when the water in the block heats up the thremistat opens.

the newer engines warm up quicker than the older ones minaly from the power output.