Manual: No warm up

[Laserbrain]

This makes no sense. Oil pressure is directly related to engine rpm since the pump is driven off the engine. Yes - it is higher during cold start procedure vs. warm start but that lasts a minute or so and only matters at idle.

Oil pumps are positive displacement. That is, they produce constant flow at a given RPM. If the oil is cold, it will have higher viscosity, and that means higher pressure.
But I don't see what that has to do with valve buildup.

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[Grassfed65]

I mean, I can. I may hear a zipping whiney sound as the shifter passes through the gates. I only have a mile commute so I only go about 45mph.

Not trying to start an argument but driving only a mile to work is pretty hard on the engine.

 

[Hack]

I read the manual and it says NOT to warm.up the vehicle. Just start driving. Why would Ford Engineers advise this? I am so used to warming up engines before driving. I mean, I'll still let it idle for a few seconds to have parts lubricated. I won't rev it past 3k or accelerate even mildly until it warms up to normal temperatures. I noticed that I cannot use 5th gear until the temp gauge moved a tad.

Does anyone have insight on those two things I mentioned?

Idling is bad for the engine and running cold is bad for the engine. The best thing to do is start driving immediately after starting the car. Drive gently, but drive.

 

[opengl]

Not trying to start an argument but driving only a mile to work is pretty hard on the engine.

Yeah a constant commute that short is going to be hell on the engine. If it were me I'd get a beater, or at the very least be sure to go for a long drive at least once a week to cook off the moisture. But it's still gonna be rough on it.

 

[Dfeeds]

Yeah a constant commute that short is going to be hell on the engine. If it were me I'd get a beater, or at the very least be sure to go for a long drive at least once a week to cook off the moisture. But it's still gonna be rough on it.

All engines go through a similar amount of wear at start up and up to operating temperature. A one mile commute won't change that and a periodic long drive will help with potential sludge build up. The misconception is that all miles gained are equal, and that's not the case. An engine with 100k miles that spends 2 hours a day (total) commuting will have considerably less wear than an engine that has 100k through 1 mile trips. That isn't because the 1 mile trip is harder on the engine, it's that there are roughly 10x more start and stop cycles on the 1 mile commuter. OPs engine won't wear out faster than anyone else's if the proper steps are taken. It just won't be fair to compare the internals with a longer commute vehicle at the same mileage. Idle time and the amount of cold start/stop cycles is a much better indicator of the engine health.

All of the above isn't factoring in driving habits which adds another, hard to track, element.

 

[Shadow277]

And yet they give us a remote start option. Go figure...

I don't have one.

 

[Shadow277]

Yeah a constant commute that short is going to be hell on the engine. If it were me I'd get a beater, or at the very least be sure to go for a long drive at least once a week to cook off the moisture. But it's still gonna be rough on it.

A 25 mile commute still involves igniting the engine twice, just like a 5 mile commute. The only difference is distance traveled.

 

[ChitownStang]

I notice that my clutch slips a little when car is really cold. Warms up and all is good

 

[Vlad Soare]

A 25 mile commute still involves igniting the engine twice, just like a 5 mile commute. The only difference is distance traveled.

Yes, but in 25 miles the engine has enough time to get to its normal operating temperature. Shutting the engine down while it's still cold isn't good for its health.

 

[frank s]

Yes, but in 25 miles the engine has enough time to get to its normal operating temperature. Shutting the engine down while it's still cold isn't good for its health.

This is part of my book of truths, and I've preached it for years. You could look it up. But sometimes a stray thought wafts through my stream of consciousness: "Considering the likely length of time a current owner is going to keep his car, and the wonders of modern lubricants and systems, how important is it to today's driver? Not very, I betcha.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Indeed. That's a good point.

 

[Dfeeds]

Yes, but in 25 miles the engine has enough time to get to its normal operating temperature. Shutting the engine down while it's still cold isn't good for its health.

Only if you're going to start it up again right away. Driving to work then shutting off the engine and letting it sit for 9 hours will put the next start cycle under the same wear as someone who had a 45 min commute. All controlled variables being equal, the start up and up to operating temp wear is no different between vehicles. There is no increased wear. The concept of increased wear for short trips (not counting the non desirable affects on the oil) is due to people comparing the wear of the two engines at the same mileage. The shorter commute vehicle will have gone through a significantly larger amount of cold starts to reach the same mileage number as the engine that's in a longer commuting vehicle. The extra cold starts is where all that added wear comes from.

If you're talking about the moisture build up then that can be easily remedied with a periodic long trip or more frequent oil changes. Synthetic oil is a lot more resilient to sludge build up.

 

[Norm Peterson]

This is part of my book of truths, and I've preached it for years. You could look it up. But sometimes a stray thought wafts through my stream of consciousness: "Considering the likely length of time a current owner is going to keep his car, and the wonders of modern lubricants and systems, how important is it to today's driver? Not very, I betcha.

I think I'd add today's drivers' unwillingness to be inconvenienced to that list. No patience, don't have time to wait even a few seconds for the idle to stabilize, never mind start to drop off fast idle even in warm weather.

That seems to apply more generally, not just where engine warmup procedures are concerned.


Norm

 

[Vlad Soare]

Only if you're going to start it up again right away. Driving to work then shutting off the engine and letting it sit for 9 hours will put the next start cycle under the same wear as someone who had a 45 min commute. All controlled variables being equal, the start up and up to operating temp wear is no different between vehicles. There is no increased wear. The concept of increased wear for short trips (not counting the non desirable affects on the oil) is due to people comparing the wear of the two engines at the same mileage. The shorter commute vehicle will have gone through a significantly larger amount of cold starts to reach the same mileage number as the engine that's in a longer commuting vehicle. The extra cold starts is where all that added wear comes from.

If you're talking about the moisture build up then that can be easily remedied with a periodic long trip or more frequent oil changes. Synthetic oil is a lot more resilient to sludge build up.

It's not just clean moisture. It's corrosive moisture. Nitrogen oxides that result from burning the gasoline combine with condensation to create nitrous and/or nitric acid, which is corrosive stuff. You don't want to leave that in your cylinders over night.
Once the engine is up to normal operating temperature, two things happen. First, there's no condensation anymore, as the cylinders are hot. Second, the oil is now fully able to do its job of cleaning the cylinder walls (which it doesn't do very well when it's cold). So now it's OK to turn it off - the cylinder walls are clean and will stay clean.

 

[ChitownStang]

This thread might just keep going for pages because people are stuck home bored, over analyzing everything...LOL

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