Hello Again

Just wondering how important it is to let the CTD idle before shutting it off. The manual says to wait a minute. Is this long enough and dose it really matter.

thank you again

 

Although the users manual for the 01 CTD says to let it idle up to as long as 5 minutes after heavy towing and 1 minute for normal driving, I have not met anyone that has had to replace the turbo charger on their truck. I'm sure there are some out there that will read this that have had to replace a turbo charger, but it seems to be rare. I never sit and wait and let mine idle for at least a minute everytime I drive it somewhere. I do however let it idle some, certainly not 5 minutes, after towing. I've got 157k on mine and it still runs fine.

I may be destroying my turbo by doing this, but I'm not going to sit there and wait 1-5 minutes while it idles down. I know the 07 models are suppose to have a built in timer that will let the engine idle down, then automatically turn off after a set amount of time.

 

Personally, I watch the EGT gauge and shutdown when it gets to 300*

That is whether Im running empty on the freeway or towing.

 

I used to wait a minute or two depending on the setup... with the stock airbox, the egt's are slow to drop so it takes a little longer. with the afe in place, less than a minute 90% of the time. Now that I have the TST with the built in timer it's easier to push a button, remove the key and leave... it keeps the motor running until either the egt temp is reached or the timer expires. both of which are setable to whatever you want.

the thing with letting it cool is your taking the heat off the turbo bearings. if you dont then any oil on the bearings gets cooked onto the bearing which will decrease its life. When I 1st got my truck I came across a Cummins page that said with the turbo designs of today, waiting long periods is no longer necessary. I wish I would have bookmarked it because I cant find it now.

The other thing to mention is that if your using an oil that has a higher flashpoint such as a synthetic does, you dont have to wait as long if at all depending on the driving. I'm using the Amsoil in there and I still set the timer...

 

Damn I never knew about this waiting period thing. I've always just shut it off.

Am I doomed ??

 

I dont think so... i think it's becoming an urban myth of sorts... as I mentioned in an earlier post, I read on the Cummins site some time ago that the need for cool down time on the turbo is not as critical as it used to be... something to do with the turbo design.

of course you could always get a turbo timer and not worry about it... or switch to synthetic.

 

Thats what I am going to do on mine. An aftermarket turbo timer is relatively cheap. It basically keeps your engine running until the programmed time expires. This means that you can shut the car off, take the keys out, lock it up, and walk away and let the turbo timer do the rest. Now I haven't looked too far into it, but there are some questions that come to mind when it comes to this. First being, what does it take to install?, Second, what safety features does it have since it leaves the engine running? For example, will the engine shut off if the brake pedal is depressed? And last, is there a manual cut-off switch? Obviously if you are parking your truck in a garage, you don't want to shut the door and have the motor still run for 5 minutes. It would also be annoying in drive-thru lanes when you have to shut the engine off to hear the voice coming from the speaker. I plan on looking into it in depth this weekend and I will try and keep you guys updated.

 

Where can I find and purchase one of these turbo timers???? Will they work with my '01 2500?

 

haha you buys are better off just actually letting your cummins idle for a min... seriously let that turno spool down... my friend killed his turbo in his CTD... right after he got off the freeway.. turbo still going like crazy.. waited 30 seconds... turned the truck off... went to start it 2 hours later.. truck ran like total sh*t.. we took the air cleaner off ... found nothing to clog it.. left the whole intake off.. even took off his intercooler pipes.... engine fired up.. he laid on the throttle... saw the turbo not turning...... took the turbo off... apart an hour later... the shaft was fused right to the housing... seriously from a diesel tech... do yourself a favor and do wat the factory says... id personally spend the $2.50 for a gallon of diesel then spend a ridiclous amount of money and time just to replace ignorance and a new turbo..

 

I am sure that diesel performance places have them and I know that import places have them, and from my understanding they are universal and splice into your ECU. EDOPerformance.com sells a couple turbo timers and they are a sponsor of my 350Z race car. The owner is coming to town tomorrow night to visit and I plan on talking to him in depth about how turbo timers work, how they are installed, and if they will work on any car or truck.