Cold Morning

[kssooner]

So we had our first freeze this morning which leads me to ask, Do you guys go out and warm your truck up before taking off in the morning? If so, is it necessary? Do you do it for the truck/engine or do you do it for yourself to warm up the cab? Sorry if this is a repeat topic?

[Mr. Smith]

So we had our first freeze this morning which leads me to ask, Do you guys go out and warm your truck up before taking off in the morning?  If so, is it necessary?  Do you do it for the truck/engine or do you do it for yourself to warm up the cab?  Sorry if this is a repeat topic?

 

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I start it make sure it has oil pressure and I'm off.

[hoorders]

So we had our first freeze this morning which leads me to ask, Do you guys go out and warm your truck up before taking off in the morning?  If so, is it necessary?  Do you do it for the truck/engine or do you do it for yourself to warm up the cab?  Sorry if this is a repeat topic?

 

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I always go out and start it..............let it warm up for 10mins or so.............I just find if I jump in a go without warming it up, she runs a bit rough for the first few minutes.................and I like gettng in a warm truck when its cold out.

[Burban2002]

Whenever I startup my suburban I always give it some warmup time even if its warm out. I dont really care if I am cold, I just dont want to step on it when the oil and everything else is still cold. When its really cold outside I let the truck warm up until the temp guage has moved.

[gmcjoe]

only if it is below zero and even then only for 5 minutes max. You can do more harm then good. On a fuel injected motor only a few minutes is plenty of time.

 

My next door neighbor already started his cold weather ritual. it's been in the low 50s and he lets his vehicles run for at least 20 minutes before leaving...

[hoorders]

only if it is below zero and even then only for 5 minutes max. You can do more harm then good. On a fuel injected motor only a few minutes is plenty of time.

 

My next door neighbor already started his cold weather ritual. it's been in the low 50s and he lets his vehicles run for at least 20 minutes before leaving...

 

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I heard that letting it warm up too long is not good...................I have never experienced any problems though and I have let my vehicles warm up plenty before I drive them for the last 20 yrs.

 

Just curious though.....what are some potential issues with letting them warm up?.........

[Norseman]

only if it is below zero and even then only for 5 minutes max. You can do more harm then good. On a fuel injected motor only a few minutes is plenty of time.

 

My next door neighbor already started his cold weather ritual. it's been in the low 50s and he lets his vehicles run for at least 20 minutes before leaving...

 

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Daamn, what a waste of gas!

[SoCalChris]

I let my truck warm up for about 10-15 minutes while I make my lunch & brush my teeth.

 

If I don't, I'll get about 100 feet down the road, and the window will totally fog up, leaving me unable to go anywhere until the heater starts blowing warm air.

 

I've had to start doing this a few weeks ago, it's been in the 20's when I leave for work lately. During the middle of winter, it can easily get down to 30-40 below, needless to say getting into a truck that cold really sucks.

[asilverblazer]

I think these vehicles were engineered to be operated with in the continental U.S. (and beyond), so what ever temperatures might be, 120 in desert heat to -40 in northern Montana. If the manual says let it warm up, do it. If not stop increasing our dependence on foreign oil.

[gmcjoe]

only if it is below zero and even then only for 5 minutes max. You can do more harm then good. On a fuel injected motor only a few minutes is plenty of time.

 

My next door neighbor already started his cold weather ritual. it's been in the low 50s and he lets his vehicles run for at least 20 minutes before leaving...

 

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I heard that letting it warm up too long is not good...................I have never experienced any problems though and I have let my vehicles warm up plenty before I drive them for the last 20 yrs.

 

Just curious though.....what are some potential issues with letting them warm up?.........

 

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On carburated motors, just a chance of carbon buildup. Mostly it's a waste of gas and a risk to have your vehicle stolen from right in front of your house.

[overlord1]

If anyone listens to Pat Goss on the radio he is absolutely against warming up a motor for more than a minute or two unless the weather is well below freezing. In fact he says anything more than 30 seconds does much more harm than good. For those that don't know Pat Goss hosts a radio talk show that is heard in many parts of the country and is also the guy that does the tech. segment on the T.V. show "MotorWeek" and also owns a very reputable repair shop in Maryland. He claims that aside from wasting fuel, an idling motor is at its most ineffecient and leads to rapid carbon buildup in the fuel system among other things. I imagine that this is why he hates those "remote starters" that let you start your vehicle in morning while you remain in the comfort of your home. What he does recommend is that the first mile or two of driving after the vehicle has sat overnight be done gently with no jack rabbit starts or heavy throttle acceleration. This makes sense to me since you want the fluids to come up to temperature before stressing the engine, transmission, etc. I for one never warm up my vehicles. I start the engine, put it in gear and go. I also turn off my engine in bumper to bumper traffic that is at a standstill due to an accident, etc.

[kssooner]

Well I guess I knew that it wasn't the best thing to let it sit for 10-15 mins but I didn't think it hurt it to warm up for 5 min or so. I think I will probably still do that mainly because I am a woose and don't like getting in a cold truck.

[ZZ327]

i let it warm up for about 30 secs and drive real slowly for awhile after.

 

on my old 88, I let it war up for about 10 mins then go.

[C & A s Dad]

Ed, everthing that you have passed along from Pat Goss is very consistent with all that I have been taught concerning Preventative Maint. In my part of the world where a cold morning may be 25 to 30 degress a half a min to a min is all the warm up that you need and then go easy for the first couple of miles. I cannot speak for 25 below, but I would think that it would need a few minutes. It is my understanding that things like the belts and power steering hoses need a little heat when they are this far below 0 or they will really cause some problems.

 

An engine needs to warm up to normal operating temp as quickly as possible and when it is sitting in the driveway it is not doing this.

[Black02Silverado]

I just start up and drive. I do take it easy until the engine gets up to operating temp. But then it doesn't get all that cold here in NC.

 

Back in my younger days, in the cold Mts of Pa we had a 70 VW square back. Being air cooled and in the cold of winter, it never did warm up so how do you deal with that? At least if you have an air cooled engine. Kind of a pain to keep the windows clear back then with no heat.