Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Warming Up Your Car in the Cold Just Harms the Engine

EnviroNazis....

The same crowd that wants "clean air"....

and then pollute their lungs and everyone else's with all the dope they smoke constantly....

I always warm up my engines before taking off when I leave the driveway...

even in summer time... for 5 to 10 minutes...

Start the car, go back in the house, taking care of a few more things and then when I'm done, I'm off on my way...

Just a tad off topic, but I put RainX on my windshield, and the frost cleans off much faster and easier.

Agh, put that dumb bastid in ND for a month in January or February. We would see if he changes his tune.

Our old squad cars used to idle almost an entire shift. When it was storming out, I was lucky to get 10 miles on a night. I usually tried to park on some bare spot in a parking lot. The brakes would freeze up, and sometimes I needed a pull to get free.

The author is a fahqing moron.

I'm amazed by the amount of people that debate a remote start OR a block heater.





Dave

Early 80s, use to go up to No Dakota on business, with a 1980 VW Dasher Diesel Wagon...

winter time, ran a mix of 70% Kerosene and 30% Diesel in it... Up in North Dakota, I use to just lock it up and leave it running...

Engine ran straight for 3 or 4 days...

never seemed to bother the little buzzard...

winter time, changed the oil every 2 weeks...plenty of idling...

nice to always come out and get into a warm car...

The Bell Curve is whacked. The world is full of reets.

Does extensive idling cause irreparable damage to valve cover gaskets, necessitating more frequent changes?

On trick I saw a guy use on his JD chore tractor was he had about a three foot hydraulic hose made up. He plugged it in and engaged the hydraulic. It acted as a return and kept the oil flowing.

Cardboard on the front too was a good old trick.

This guy is not telling the whole story. IMO warmup is critical.

The rich mixture is required whether it uses a carburetor or injection because the cold parts condense the fuel vapors. Also any carbon buildup absorbs the fuel. It is called condensation and absorption.

Now combine the fact that, the more commonly used, aluminum pistons are cam ground/elliptical for controlled expansion and you have a new factor that WILL wash away oil from the cylinder and add to crankcase dilution, known as blowby. Higher compression as used in a diesel engine exerbates this issue. Higher than idle speeds will add to the blowby till the aluminum piston is expanded to its working shape. Failure to warm up a cam ground piston before loading the engine can also cause ring and land damage.

Many aluminum pistons will have piston slap till warmed up.

This stuff is mentioned all over the net and in most automotive texts. See link below for example of some of these issues.

https://books.google.com/books?id=i...piston%20shape%20when%20cold&f=false

Lots of reasons to warm up the engine.

Is that why block heaters need to have thermostats on them now so they can't be used if it's warmer than 0F? Well, can't be used before implementing wire cutters anyway.

Same here. It helps a lot. FWIW, use Rain-X on your bathroom mirrors, too. They won't fog up nearly as much during a hot shower.

After awhile, RainX goes from great to wtf did I put this schit on for? Gets cloudy. Take a can of coke and clean your windshield and out a fresh coat on. Like new all over again.

So this is where the idiots read how to drive cars, without defrosted windows or 2' of snow on their geo metros. Forest Gump had it right. Stupid is as Stupid do

Winnipeg. If the car starts, let it run until all the funny noises stop, or until you've brushed off the snow and scraped off the ice, whichever comes first. Make sure you exhale and take a deep breath before you get into the car otherwise your breath exhaust will condense on the windshield, making it impossible to see. Most Winnipeggers breathe through a snorkel device tucked into their coat, during the coldest four months. Oh, and don't forget to unplug the block heater before you drive away.

I ain't 'warming up' the truck for the sake of the truck; rather I'm warming the interior for the sake of my old azz!! I didn't get but damn nigh 500,000 outa my last one so I reckon I'll keep harming the engine by warming my azz!!

Warming up the engine doesn't "harm" it anymore than driving it would.

This same BS gets repeated every Winter.

The article is pure B.S.- warming up the engine harms it less than loading a cold engine before the parts expand.

Well, in ND cold like it's been this year, most people just leave the engine running all day. Warm it up, and keep it warm all day long. Easier on the engine that way, and helps warm up the environment a bit (or so we're hoping!).

BINGO!