How to properly warm up a TDI

[Mongler98]

you cant see the damage untill its years down the road or even 100x of thousands of miles later.
As your turbo sits idle, it gets pushed inward to the center of the turbo putting pressure against the journal bearing. Once a load is applied it spins up faster and the pressure draws it outward away from the journal bearing. Over time, idling the car will prematurely trash the journal bearing and the expensive turbo will need a rebuild or replacement, or worse a runaway could happen.
idling any car with a turbo is a bad idea in this regard.

 

[vwexpress]

Thanks one and all, I thought that like a truck, it wouldn't hurt it, night have to re-think the one....
But in Florida, no way you can sit in the car with out AC BLASTING.

 

[turbobrick240]

I don’t see any evidence idling hurts Tdi’s.
I usually get to work an hour and half early to beat traffic, so that means I idle until it’s time to start my shift, weather it running AC or heater . I’ve been doing it’s for years and Other than hurting the O-Zone maybe,I don’t see the problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, these engines are not particularly fragile. They idle just fine. It just wastes a bit of fuel.

 

[tomo366]

My 2015 has an Electric Heater under the Dash and Grill shutters....Start it and go.

 

[AndyBees]

Well, the engine in my formerly owned 2000 Jetta (my son owns it now), at 374k miles, may never make it to 500k, as I always idled it more than the recommendations here. When I first purchased it (new to me at 45k miles), I was trapped on the Interstate due to a wreck and sit in the same spot for over 6 hours........... about 20f out and blowing snow! The engine idled the entire time.

According to the oil pressure gauge on the ALH in my 84 Vanagon, cold oil pressure was 72 PSI when the engine had 129k miles on (got it from Jimbote via MrGutWrench). Today, at 214k miles, cold idle, oil pressure is 67 PSI. I've verified the pressures with two other gauges.... I've idled that engine a lot.

In my opinion, taking the engine up to and beyond 4500 RPMs is more "damaging" than a 5 to 15 minute idle from a cold start. I hardly ever take the RPMs beyond 3200-3400 when shifting... Full boost pressure occurs in that range and drops off as the RPMs are increased any further.

OP, your engine will be fine....... just use the correct oil and keep it on the full mark!

Drive more and worry less!

 

[KLXD]

Leave it running all the time.

Works for locomotives.

 

[red16vdub]

Leave it running all the time.

Works for locomotives.

You took the words out my mouth. It’s a freaking diesel.
I remember a couple years ago I had a starter going bad , it got to almost negative degrees so I decided to leave my Tdi running at work and home for 6 days straight. No worries lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mr.loops]

You took the words out my mouth. It’s a freaking diesel.
I remember a couple years ago I had a starter going bad , it got to almost negative degrees so I decided to leave my Tdi running at work and home for 6 days straight. No worries lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your joking ... right?
If you did this where I live, you’d have some nasty notes placed on your windshield


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[iamatt]

38 pages? Just drive the ****.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[red16vdub]

Your joking ... right?
If you did this where I live, you’d have some nasty notes placed on your windshield


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m dead serious no joke. In the winter [emoji3587] it can get nasty, and yes the Tdi was at an construction site and my house, I can’t imagine someone coming up my driveway telling me to shut it off.
That might create a bigger problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mongler98]

idle hours add up. if you want 350K or more out of your engine, you wont be idling it for hours every day. your basically doubling a normal hour commute, so take whatever life you have expected for the engine and cut it in half.
Most diesels in cars are no where close to engineered as a diesel generator engine so dont compare them.

 

[turbobrick240]

Most diesels in cars are no where close to engineered as a diesel generator engine so dont compare them.

What? Many gensets use the same diesel engines as cars. I've been stuck in my diesel truck for 12 hours in a blizzard. If it couldn't reliably idle for long periods I'd get rid of it.

 

[turbobrick240]

Most diesels in cars are no where close to engineered as a diesel generator engine so dont compare them.

What? Many gensets use the same diesel engines as cars. I've been stuck in my diesel truck for 12 hours in a blizzard. If it couldn't reliably idle for long periods I'd get rid of it.

 

[Mongler98]

your all missing the point completely.
just because its sitting there idle does not mean its wearing down, the body is not getting the traveling wear but thats not what totals a car, engine failure IS.
hours running is the name of the game.
spending time in the car idle is just as costly if not more so in wear than traveling on a TDI. Granted, its going to do just fine, its just not idea and the wear and tear of running at sub optimal temps takes its toll. you have a finite amount of running hours or (miles) that this engines is going to give you. if the purpose it serves is to idle for a few hours every day, fine, not a big deal, just dont expect to see high mileage numbers.
When we all say its bad to idle your TDI, its because it is in the regards of not getting your traveling mileage to the 350K+ mark. its crazy how little fuel it takes to run at idle, the AHU and ALH engines both run at something crazy like 0.07 to 0.09 gallons per hour, unlike a gas engine.

what im getting at is that its a sacrifice either way and to say that its not doing any damage is BS. you are wearing down the engine for no reason other than the necessary reasons like some of you, stranded in traffic or waiting for work. To let it idle to warm up though is total worthless nonsense though. it will not warm up to operating temps,and it will cause the most wear over all operations other than pushing it past its limit like high revs.
I get it, i worked in DC for years, 1 hour commute each way with NO traffic so i would get to work at 5am and sleep with my car running some times for hours, nothing wrong with that seeing as im going to spend more than that in fuel trying to drive in 3 hours of stop and go traffic if i did not.

its a car. use it for what you need, just know that on a TDI, warming it up is pointless and does NOTHING good. ideing for warmth in traffic or waiting for work serves a purpose and is fine.

 

[vwexpress]

Didn't mean to open a can of worms wth the idle question, I understand the ramifications of idling at rest, the loss of overall total milage on this car due to idling to keep me comfortable is ok. Work is the only thing this car does, I drive the truck on the weekend, I was just making sure that I wasn't killing it prematurely with engine build up, cooking the turbo oil, or that bearing someone was talking about. Pretty much no matter what, this car is going to idle for about and hour or more every day, every weekday.....for 13 grand and 25 thousand miles, it's going to last just fine. I do lots of maintenance, I like working on vehicles.

 

[Mongler98]

only thing i would say for you is to change ALL your fluids that go though a pump on the engine, Power steering, Coolant, Engine OIl, and trans fluid, Appropriately, if your putting say 6 hours every week of idle, that's probably like what? the same amount you drive it?
Cut your mileage service in half as your using it idle in hours.

 

[vwexpress]

Thanks Mongler98, all good info. I drive about 2.5 hours on a work day, changes with the job site, but that's a good average. I'm planning on doing a 30K service on this thing here soon, I've looked a vids on DSG service, oil change, brakes on all 4's, and do I need to change the brake fluid also? I have looked at a local VW dealership for what they do at the 30,000 mile service, and I feel I can do this at home, thought, suggestions, please.

 

[Mongler98]

brake fluid is about 2 years give or take even if it sits non driven or driven 100% of the time.
you can do all your service at home. if your serious about doing your own work, check into VCDS and a rosstech VAG-COM cable. it is THE TOOL you will need.

 

[johnsTDI]

I start mine and let idle 30 seconds maybe a minute if its really cold and drive off slowly i put it in neautral as im coasting & coming to a red light. any diesel engine dont like extended idiling time on trucks that haul heavy equipment around the rpm's can be bumped up using the cruise control on. to better protect the engine. too bad diesel vehicles dont have this option.

 

[dutch.mafia]

I understand that the engine won’t get up to temp if idling. I live in Wisconsin and it will very frequently get to below zero. When it’s that cold I idle for at least 5 minutes if I can. Even that little bit helps all the fluids warm up some. I left my previous ALH run for an hour on campus last winter during a time when it had dropped to -40F earlier in the week. Couldn’t bring myself to shut it off. The length of time I keep my cars (usually less than 100k miles) I’m not worried about premature engine failure due to idling. I’m very meticulous about all other preventative maintenance so my cars are always in good shape.

Again, just an opinion. No science here.

What is everyone’s thoughts about winter weather/cold starts and merging on the highway? My fiancé’s parents live on the highway. Literally turn out of the driveway onto the highways. It always pains me when we are there in the winter and my car sits for hours (sometimes days depending on the occasion) and we leave.

I live about 2 miles from the highway now and also don’t like accelerating past 20% throttle when the temp gauge hasn’t moved.

 

[Mongler98]

I understand that the engine won’t get up to temp if idling. I live in Wisconsin and it will very frequently get to below zero. When it’s that cold I idle for at least 5 minutes if I can. Even that little bit helps all the fluids warm up some. I left my previous ALH run for an hour on campus last winter during a time when it had dropped to -40F earlier in the week. Couldn’t bring myself to shut it off. The length of time I keep my cars (usually less than 100k miles) I’m not worried about premature engine failure due to idling. I’m very meticulous about all other preventative maintenance so my cars are always in good shape.

Again, just an opinion. No science here.

What is everyone’s thoughts about winter weather/cold starts and merging on the highway? My fiancé’s parents live on the highway. Literally turn out of the driveway onto the highways. It always pains me when we are there in the winter and my car sits for hours (sometimes days depending on the occasion) and we leave.

I live about 2 miles from the highway now and also don’t like accelerating past 20% throttle when the temp gauge hasn’t moved.

again, as most of us who understand whats going on say, as long as your fluids are up to date, going from a cold start to full highway driving instantly is NOT an issue. motor oil is designed to operate at those temps, its not as efficient when its cold but you cant to anything about that and no issues will come of it. Change your oil before winter hits.
watch some videos of oil being tested at -40F new vs old and you will die inside if you see a car starting up cold with old oil in it.

 

[turbobrick240]

I live about 2 miles from the highway now and also don’t like accelerating past 20% throttle when the temp gauge hasn’t moved.

That's a good practice. Kinda sucks all the fun out of merging onto the highway, but still smart.

 

[Mongler98]

technically you have MORE protection when things are cold than they are hot. If your oil and engine are in good shape. the idea that babying your engine when cold actually only has the same merit of babying it when hot.

 

[turbobrick240]

Any equipment operator that has a clue knows not to give her the beans until things have warmed up a bit.

 

[Jetta SS]

Modern gensets dont idle, they go straight to max rpm and stay there, 24/7
I'm currently overhauling a 1.5 megawatt in the arctic circle at the moment and even after 30,000 hrs you can still see crosshatch marks.

I just put my tdi in sport mode and drive as normal.

I'm dealing with a 300KW one at work, 45,000 hrs. Cylinders are scored when checked with the borescope.

It's whole life it had been idled for 1 min, then put online until oil change was due to avoid startup wear.

New guy for the past 6 months has been starting it at rated speed and immediately putting it online then swapping it every 24hrs...repeating the cycle. I kind of think this failure is related to this, but due to the high hours I don't have anything to stand on.

 

[iamatt]

technically you have MORE protection when things are cold than they are hot. If your oil and engine are in good shape. the idea that babying your engine when cold actually only has the same merit of babying it when hot.

That statement goes against every oil commercial I have ever seen or read and I don't believe that for a minute .

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[scooperhsd]

Check on local laws - Kansas has a 5 minute limit and Missouri a 10 minute limit - this was just on our local morning news ! (Kansas can have fines to $10000 , depending on circumstances !)

 

[Louie710]

Has anyone ever read the owners manual? It tells you right there you start the car and drive right away. Just keep rpms low if possible until you reach normal operating temp..

 

[mercedeslimos]

The company I work for run a fleet of Alpine touring coaches with most using the PACCAR MX13 or Mercedes-Benz OM470 series engines 11-13L. You can sit and idle them all day and that will barely heat up whatsoever, but we have to do a mandatory by law 15-minute walk-around check before setting off so the engine is started and the air system build pressure. By that time the engine is warmed enough to drive away normally and they soon heat up. And most of the newer stuff has a Webasto diesel-fired heater that can run independent of the engine, with an auxiliary coolant pump to circulate it for the interior of the coach and engine. Luckily here if we get -5°C we are doing badly.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[vwexpress]

brake fluid is about 2 years give or take even if it sits non driven or driven 100% of the time.
you can do all your service at home. if your serious about doing your own work, check into VCDS and a rosstech VAG-COM cable. it is THE TOOL you will need.

Thanks for this information, but, I’m not particularly computer savvy. Just enough to cruise the forums, and find parts. I’m very hesitant to go for this gizmo, if someone in central Florida has one that would be willing to hold my hand, I would love to learn how to operate and adjust things.