Leaving an engine running?

[Professor Farnsworth]

i once got sidetracked after starting my first EL and leaving it for 15 minutes.. the next week i had to replace the head gasket.. Then again, you just need to sneeze in the wrong direction and you need to replace an E series head gasket..

I like to let my car run for at least 30 seconds before moving, a minute tops. Do you need to? probably not..

[XR6_661]

I just get in and drive, simple as that.

It's also had the occasional cold start flogging.

[JimNiki]

Magnatec is all I use in the clevo stang...
I never used to like the sound (lifters) it made until it reached oil pressure.
Magnatec got rid of that sound.
Don't care how it works, just does...

[lofty]

Originally Posted by jpd80

I think the glazed bores idea came from Diesel engines, they don't like to idle without load,
that will eventually glaze the bores

I wish someone would tell that to all the truck & van drivers that refuse to turn off their motors while doing deliveries etc.

[mik]

Originally Posted by lofty

I wish someone would tell that to all the truck & van drivers that refuse to turn off their motors while doing deliveries etc.

some turbo engines need to idle down before shutting down(more commonly big diesels).

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by lofty

I wish someone would tell that to all the truck & van drivers that refuse to turn off their motors while doing deliveries etc.

That's more to do with diesel generator sets, when the diesels run without
any load for extended time, they tend to flash burn the bores causing glazing...

[holland_ford]

hey ive got an xf falcon with auto choke and i usually start driving off when the choke turns off which is about 5 mins is this bad for my motor someone please tell me

[robbyg]

Most of the old cars ya have to tickle the pedal for a minute or so on a cold mourning to keep the engine going as said earliar, the later models 15 seconds drive away, unless ya defrosting the windscreen, he may have shares in one of the oil companys.

[pottery beige]

A good rev and handfull of ajax down the intake fix em glazed bores up........

[LOWBA6]

I usually start my EF then open the garage door. Reverse out then close the garage door. Then drive off so its going for near on 30 seconds before driving off.

When leaving work i usually start it then mess around plugging in the ipod and finding a song. Just a bit of a habit i spose....

[robbyg]

Originally Posted by holland_ford

hey ive got an xf falcon with auto choke and i usually start driving off when the choke turns off which is about 5 mins is this bad for my motor someone please tell me

A mechanic told me years ago when an engine is running with the choke on, or if a manual choke pulled out the fuel air mixture is a lot wetter and does wash away some of the oil off the cylinder walls, probably and old wives tale but i push in the choke in soon as i can, with auto chokes can take a while for them to click off when only at idle, me personaly let it run for a 30 seconds to a minute then drive off. Dont know about the carb on ya xf but some of the earlier ones you could adjust the time the auto choke stayed on for and the severity of it.

[pottery beige]

little stab on the throttle should get auto choke off...

[robbyg]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

A good rev and handfull of ajax down the intake fix em glazed bores up........

Got no ajax in the cupboard, is that stuff still around!! what about omo?

[2.8L Hilux]

I start mine up, let her idle for 20 - 30 seconds to let the oil reach the top of the engine, then drive gently till it's up to temp. It's just a habit after driving a diesel hilux for a year.

[Bad Bird]

Originally Posted by castellan

And them bloody old 6 cyl holden red motors where a bugger to drive when cold, they had you constantly ginning around with the choke. whilst it coffed & farted wheezed & stalled.

This has been my experience with at least 3 Holden Red 6s. What a nightmare on -3 degree mornings.

[xbrules]

With my daily (2000 Turbo diesel Land Cruiser Prado) I simply jump in, start it and go. I never rev it past 2000 rpm when i'm pushing it anyways. the heater starts working within 30 seconds on that car.

with my XC, the auto choke hasn't worked for a while so i have to prime like buggery and then hold the revs up a bit for a minute so that it will idle properly. the coupe has a manual choke on it and so i have no real problems and i run it for a minute or so before moving off.

[XR Martin]

Before I turboed my XR6, it would for some reason feel alot more powerful if I had let it sit idling for 5-10mins. And I mean it would actually fly, wheelspin through first and second gears.
Wish I new why.
Im also talking when the car was already warmed up, prior to letting it idle for 5-10 mins

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by robbyg

Got no ajax in the cupboard, is that stuff still around!! what about omo?

bon ami !

[PhantomBAXR8]

I was pretty sure that the whole reason to warm your engine up was so that the oil was thinner and could actually get through all the small oil holes inside your engine, like for bearings. Back in the day when your car didn't run properly while cold that was another good reason but now with advancements in technology cars run smooth at all temps so that would be the only reason left to warm them up. Although, if you take off straight away and take it easy 'til your engine reaches operating temp then surely this couldn't do much more damage than just idling.

[Windsor220]

Its actually better to drive it straight away as it warms the engine up quicker. Idling takes a couple of minutes to warm it up.

[bonspeed]

My wife is a shocker, she starts up and fats it down the street, I used to tell her not to......now I don't bother.
She also has a tendency to start the car ( at school after picking the kids up etc ) and leave it running while having a natter to her mates, (its bloody hot up here, air con for kids etc) sometimes for an hour or so......I used to tell her not to........now I don't bother.....

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by bonspeed

My wife is a shocker, she starts up and fats it down the street, I used to tell her not to......now I don't bother.
She also has a tendency to start the car ( at school after picking the kids up etc ) and leave it running while having a natter to her mates, (its bloody hot up here, air con for kids etc) sometimes for an hour or so......I used to tell her not to........now I don't bother.....

hehe ... my mrs is always telling me off for wasting money on the stang,
but she:

gets hair done every 3 weeks
gets nails done every 2 weeks
gets massage every 2 weeks
gets a ton of creams from the chemist regularly
gets new clothing every week
gets on my nerves daily!

but I waste money on the stang! (which is half hers anyway!)

[robbyg]

Originally Posted by JimNiki

hehe ... my mrs is always telling me off for wasting money on the stang,
but she:

gets hair done every 3 weeks
gets nails done every 2 weeks
gets massage every 2 weeks
gets a ton of creams from the chemist regularly
gets new clothing every week
gets on my nerves daily!

but I waste money on the stang! (which is half hers anyway!)

Is that all the mrs wants for ya to keep the stanga ya got it easy,good to hear that im not the only robinson cruso in this area, god love em

[DanielXR8]

What everyone else has said about just taking it easy when you start out on a cold day.

Still from my observations of people, the only place you really need to leave a car for an excessive time idling, is on top of several thousand litres of fuel at the local service station. The car must also be left unlocked.

If you don't follow these precautions your bread will have gone stale by the time you have purchased it and unlocked and started the car again. Better to risk a fireball or someone stealing your car.

Dan

[Geez Louise]

I just went and grabbed my owners manual for my 2004 RAV4 and this is what it recommends.

Engine should be warmed up by driving, not in idle. For warming up, drive with smoothly turning engine until engine coolant temperature is within normal range.

Going to show this to my neighbour in the morning

[NEEDspeed]

I've been warming up the ol' blue car for a while now (originally so I could give it some straight away) but now apparently I have to since having forged pistons installed. Something to do with the metalurgy of cast vs billet machined pistons. Anyone care to explain what happens between the 2 types?

[Auturbo6]

Originally Posted by NEEDspeed

I've been warming up the ol' blue car for a while now (originally so I could give it some straight away) but now apparently I have to since having forged pistons installed. Something to do with the metalurgy of cast vs billet machined pistons. Anyone care to explain what happens between the 2 types?

Has to do with the size of a given piston when cold, or not at operating temperture. Certain pistons tend to shrink more when cold, requiring more time to get to correct size within the bore. However much more able to handle combustion processes from that point on. Some highly worked engines can sound horrible on cold start up.....

[geckoGT]

I am a bit of a creature of habit on this one, that and I do not like the idea of any real revs until I am sure that oil has made it up to the top of the complex DOHC engine.

I normally start the car and then put my bag, wallet, phone and whatever else in the car. By the time I am driving out my drive it has been running about 30 seconds. I then drive nice and easy, keeping under 2000 rpm in the F6 (and Boss when we had them) and 3000 rpm in the Mini. I drive like that until the temp guage is up near normal (then it is time to get into it).

Shut down is the same for me, pull into the garage, remove all my stuff I need from the car and then shut the engine down. This is more important with both my cars now as they are both turbo but I used to do this with the Boss cars as well.

I have used this technique ever since my ED and have found it does me well. I got 330,000 km out of the ED with the only mechanical repair (that was not wear and tear such as brakes, shocks and filters etc) was replacing an ignition coil. When I traded it, it had no rattles from the engine, ran silky smooth and everyone that knew my car said it looked and drove like new.

Works for me, I will stick to it until someone can prove I am wrong.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

I am a bit of a creature of habit on this one, that and I do not like the idea of any real revs until I am sure that oil has made it up to the top of the complex DOHC engine.

I normally start the car and then put my bag, wallet, phone and whatever else in the car. By the time I am driving out my drive it has been running about 30 seconds. I then drive nice and easy, keeping under 2000 rpm in the F6 (and Boss when we had them) and 3000 rpm in the Mini. I drive like that until the temp guage is up near normal (then it is time to get into it).

Shut down is the same for me, pull into the garage, remove all my stuff I need from the car and then shut the engine down. This is more important with both my cars now as they are both turbo but I used to do this with the Boss cars as well.

I have used this technique ever since my ED and have found it does me well. I got 330,000 km out of the ED with the only mechanical repair (that was not wear and tear such as brakes, shocks and filters etc) was replacing an ignition coil. When I traded it, it had no rattles from the engine, ran silky smooth and everyone that knew my car said it looked and drove like new.

Works for me, I will stick to it until someone can prove I am wrong.

Thats exactly what I do and I have never had an engine issue, ever. I just feel better knowing a little bit of oil has circulated before I have gone anywhere. No other reason other than habit.

My old XD clevo had to hit op temp before I went out of the garage otherwise it was a tight cranky a-hole until it was warm.

[302 XC]

my 1997 GQ patrol (EFI petrol)
has electric choke,stabbin the gas wont turn it of
so it gets started and doesnt move till the idle drops
which is ruffly long enough to open the gates ect,
but not 5 mins