It’s good to know these common myths regarding your diesel engine so that you don’t make the same mistakes!
Diesel engines are used for commercial trucks and are different than gasoline engines that come with regular vehicles. Over time, a lot of myths have come about pertaining to diesel engines and how they should be cared for and maintained. Here are four common myths regarding your diesel engine.
Idling Your Engine for Extended Periods of Time
One of the first myths regarding diesel engines is that it’s okay to let the engine idle for long periods of time. Truckers typically do this to keep the fuel from getting too cold in the winter and think it’s beneficial because of the fact that it doesn’t burn a lot of fuel while it’s idling. While this is true, letting your diesel idle for a long period of time keeps the burned fuel from combusting completely. This can cause unnecessary pollution and increase the wear and tear on the engine.
Goosing the Throttle
Another common myth is that you should goose the throttle (rev the engine) of your truck once or twice before shutting off your diesel engine. However, an idling diesel engine already circulates enough to keep everything oiled, so goosing the throttle is unnecessary. In fact, revving the engine of your truck right before shutting it off can leave unburned fuel in the combustion chamber, which in turn wastes fuel.
Coolant Temperature
It is commonly believed that the best way to measure whether a diesel engine is warm or not is to check the coolant temperature. People tend to think this because that is the standard for a gasoline engine. However, a diesel engine requires a load to reach its full potential, meaning the coolant temperature can be high, but the diesel engine isn’t at its highest capacity yet.
Wear and Tear
It is believed that most of the wear and tear that occurs to a diesel engine is a result of a high rpm (revolutions per minute) level. However, the start-up of your truck is actually what causes the most wear and tear on your engine. It takes a few moments for the oil in a diesel engine to begin flowing freely, which is why it is so important to give your engine a few seconds to warm up before using it.
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