How long do you let your truck warm up?

[flyfingers]

Been doing some research on the whole lifter oiling issues and apparently low RPM could be a root cause for failure in the long term. Basically means that idling is potentially damaging. Supposedly this lifter failure issue affects just 5% of those with the Hemi. I'm curious as to how long everyone idles their trucks upon startup and / or what their first firing of the day routine is. Thanks

 

[Jeffjad]

Really is weather dependent for me. If below freezing I remote start in the morning only prior to leaving for work. I will typically let it run its 15 min remote start cycle.

 

[BowDown]

Long enough for the RPM's to settle to the normal 600rpm then go, about 15-20 seconds. Modern engines don't need to be warmed up.
Now my Z06 with a built engine needs a warm up because it has a 242/246 cam and until the heads gets a little heat it them it will stumble but thats it.
Not sure what anyone's read but idling isn't damaging, its just a waste of fuel. The only oiling issues a lifter will have is with the weight of the oil. MDS type lifters have a bleed valve/hole in them and need a specific weight oil to function properly, nothing higher than 20wt.
My Z06 has Lunati race lifters that specifically warn about using oil heavier than 30wt.

I don't beat on my car until the oil temps are above 180 degrees and with the truck, I keep the RPM's under 2000 until the oil has reached 180 degrees. IMO the HEMI lifter cam myths are just that. My last HEMI ram had 277K miles on it with no noises or issues

 

[millerbjm]

No warm up for me - dress for the weather, start the truck, drive gentle until she warms up. Cold idle is terrible for an engine - fluids don't circulate and fuel is wasted. If you get in and drive it will warm up pretty quick. I might idle for a bit if I'm scraping/defrosting but otherwise find the heated seats a d steering wheel are priceless.

 

[Richard320]

I don't.

Where I live, it doesn't get very cold. We seldom even see frost. I think I've had to scrape the window on my car (parked outside) once in ten years.

I hop in, hit the garage door button then the start button and put on my seatbelt. Parking brake off, in reverse, and wait until I'm sure the garage door is down for keeps and go. If I came out the front door rather than through the garage, it's even faster. I never timed it, but all the dash lights are done flashing by then. Five seconds? Ten? Not long.

 

[5thGenRebel_AMK]

No warm up for me either. As others said, it’s better to warm up modern engines through driving them gently rather than letting them sit and idle. Idling causes much more wear and warms up slower
Engineering Explained on YouTube has a really good video proving and explaining this

 

[Awood05]

Long enough for the RPM's to settle to the normal 600rpm then go, about 15-20 seconds.

^^^ This ^^^

 

[CRod210]

That’s a great question. I usually have a remote start 5 min before every morning before heading out to work, and I have the climate control on Auto.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fridge]

Normally I wait until it comes off the high idle (few seconds), then just drive gently until warm.

 

[flyfingers]

So far everyone has posted that they do not let truck warm up for very long at all. I'm halfway thinking / wondering if 5% that have lifter failure do let the engine warm up for an extended period? Hmmm

I fall into the ~5 min category I suppose. I do like to see the RPM's settled simply so it makes things nicer when going into gear. And although I drive conservatively all together, I'm especially mindful for the first few miles at least.

Thank you to Grape_Ape for bringing this lifter issue up with the video posted earlier today. It has spurred my curiosity.

 

[flyfingers]

Long enough for the RPM's to settle to the normal 600rpm then go, about 15-20 seconds. Modern engines don't need to be warmed up.
Now my Z06 with a built engine needs a warm up because it has a 242/246 cam and until the heads gets a little heat it them it will stumble but thats it.
Not sure what anyone's read but idling isn't damaging, its just a waste of fuel. The only oiling issues a lifter will have is with the weight of the oil. MDS type lifters have a bleed valve/hole in them and need a specific weight oil to function properly, nothing higher than 20wt.
My Z06 has Lunati race lifters that specifically warn about using oil heavier than 30wt.

I don't beat on my car until the oil temps are above 180 degrees and with the truck, I keep the RPM's under 2000 until the oil has reached 180 degrees. IMO the HEMI lifter cam myths are just that. My last HEMI ram had 277K miles on it with no noises or issues

What year was you last Hemi? I believe the 2006 - 2008 Hemi does not (comparatively anyway) have the lifter issues.

 

[BowDown]

What year was you last Hemi? I believe the 2006 - 2008 Hemi does not (comparatively anyway) have the lifter issues.

2003, I don't believe in the lifter "issue" on any version. Lifters aren't exactly new tech, they've figured that out.
I've see the HEMI cam/lifter issues videos and as much as I have built or modded engines I can easily see how something else caused the failures in the bulk of those videos one being not changing the oil or driving with low oil in the pan.
The only other issue I can realistically attribute to this are the plastic lifter buckets that both GM (LS and LT engines) and FCA uses on the HEMIs to control the orientation of the lifter. In both makes, the buckets are shaped to control the movement of the lifter but they can still turn in the buckets and this is what eats lifter wheels and cam lobes. I replaced this setup in my Z06 with link bar lifters to eliminate this issue

 

[iLikeTurtles]

When below 40 degrees usually at least 2. Below 20 degrees usually at least 5.

Even when 60 degrees usually a minute or two.

Then when its 70+ usually 2 to 5 to get the AC going.

I definetly think i lose 2+ mpg from excessive idle time.

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

As soon as my RPMs reach normal idle range, I go. If she was parked outside more, I'd let her warm up for at least 5 minutes before taking off, but with COVID and work-from-home, it sits in the garage most days.

I've had two 80k mile Hemi vehicles now (both 2014), where we drove them from roughly 30k-ish up to 80k-ish before trading in. My mother had one (2014 as well), traded it in around 80k-90k, and that one was left to warm up idling quite a bit (roughly 15 minutes or more every day in the winter), as their garage is not heated or insulated like mine. No engine issues before they traded it either.

Its been a reliable engine for us. Between my wife, myself, and my parents, we currently own four Hemis, partly because we've had so few issues.

 

[thedream829]

I'll let it run for about 15 seconds to let the fluids go where they need to be. Probably all in my head though. I also park in a heated garage.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Normally I wait until it comes off the high idle (few seconds), then just drive gently until warm.

X2.
Son‘s Ltd idles a lot due to baby and a/c in the summer. If anyone is a candidate for issues due to excessive idling it will be him.

 

[Boston]

Really is weather dependent for me. If below freezing I remote start in the morning only prior to leaving for work. I will typically let it run its 15 min remote start cycle.

Weather definitely figures into my thinking as well. My winter preference being to start the vehicle, then sort out the seat and seat belt, plug phone in, dial up destination on gps before I put it into reverse or drive.
It’s important to allow the oils to warm up a little before putting a load on them.

 

[jimchi]

Modern engines don't require a warm-up period. In fact, it's better to start driving right away so that all the drivetrain components warm up at the same rate. My process is as follows:

1. Start engine, wait for RPM to stabilize (a few seconds)
2. Begin driving with mild to moderate throttle application
3. Wait for engine temp gauge to lift off the "cold" peg
4. Drive normally

This way, the engine, transmission, differentials, etc. all warm up at the same rate and you aren't putting undue stress on any components that may not be warm if the engine has been idling for 10+ minutes after starting. I can actually feel a sluggishness in my '03 Explorer when I first start it in cold weather. The engine is slow to rev, and the transmission is slow to shift. After a few minutes, its driving normally - almost like its waking up and stretching.

Of course, with remote start in the winter, just be sure to drive gently for the first 5-10 mins so that everything besides the engine can warm up.

 

[HemiDude]

When it's cold outside I remote start mine and it sits 5-10 minutes while it defrosts and warms the interior.

I don't think extended idling is needed for engine operation, especially when newer engines use pretty thin oil . That said, I also think if you let your truck idle for ten hours every day it wouldn't create that "hemi tick"... some hemis are going to have it, some won't

 

[SD Rebel]

I wait until the digital coolant readout is at 100F, which takes about 30 seconds and then drive gentle at lower rpms until it warms up to 180F, then drive normal.

However, I avoid full throttle applications until the digital oil temp is at least 180F, which takes twice as long as the coolant to reach, usually about 2 miles of driving.