How to Warm Up a Diesel Tractor

The guy who sold me the tractor said "diesel likes to be warmed up". This opinion seems to be shared by just about everybody online. Everybody says: keep it idling for 5 min and then take it easy until it's warm. I don't follow the first part of this advice.

The ventilation in my barn, where I keep my Diesel Ford 5000, is not very good. And I hate choking on diesel fumes. So, as soon as I start the engine I move the tractor outside.

I know that for gasoline engines idling is bad! This is because at low revolutions cylinders don't get enough oil spash, which is especially true when the oil is cold and thick. I don't know why it would be different for diesels. Years ago (and I came from a very-very cold country) I was taught to warm up the engine at [b:005a349309]mid-range[/b:005a349309] RPMs, not idle. Also, it would take ages to warm a diesel engine at idling.

Once an engine is started, it takes just a few seconds to push oil throughout the system. At this point an engine is still not ready for work, as engine parts still need to assume their proper dimentions and tolerances, which happens only at the operating temperature.

Anyway, I set rpms to 1000 (maybe 1200), put in the 3 gear and move the tractor outside, which is very slow, very easy on the engine.

Any comments?

With your 5000 there should be two red lights at the bottom of the dash. They are commonly referred to as idiot lights here. The right hand one is for engine oil pressure and it should turn off very soon after starting the engine. On my old 5 in cold weather it can go off just from the starter rolling
the engine over. Cold weather is a relative term. I think you will be fine to roll the tractor out of your shed let's face it your health is more important than your tractor. I would be thinking about warming up hydraulics and making sure that they have oil so if you park the tractor with nothing hooked
to it and just move it out of the shed then warm it up at say above 1000 rpm you should have no problems. Diesels do like hard work or they can get slobbery hence don't leave them idling or only doing light duty tasks all the time. Anyway that is enough from me. All the best with the 5 they are an
awesome tractor.

Everyone will have an opinion. After starting mine, I let them sit at around a thousand rpm for five minutes and then put it to work lightly. When the temp gauge reads normal then throw a load to it. Most diesels won't warm up ever unless you work them.

I believe in getting a vehicle or tractor moving as soon as practical after starting. What is the difference between letting an engine idle and driving at a speed barely above idle? Might as well put the engine to use rather than wasting fuel at idle. No, don't go to full power for a few minutes, but there's no harm in running at light loads shortly after startup.

My next door neighbor leaves his little JD diesel at full throttle all the time. Starts it at full throttle and shuts it off at full throttle. Makes me cringe. He's been doing this for years and It still runs!

Keep doing what you're doing and drive it immediately outside. You won't hurt it. And don't give it a second thought.

I hear ya- my neighbor bought a new Kubota mid range tractor last year and every time he starts it, he sets the throttle at wide open and lets her rip! When I
gently questioned that routine one extremely cold morning he claimed thats how the dealer told him to do it.

I think maybe the dealer just wants to keep his mechanics busy, but it hasnt blown--- yet...

Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do, but I doubt it would hurt anything.

(quoted from post at 07:42:21 10/23/21) ... What is the difference between letting an engine idle and driving at a speed barely above idle?...

Click to expand...

That was my thinking exactly.

little more input, engine idling is the hardest thing on any gas or diesel engine. the valve train takes the most wear. camshaft lobes and
lifters. any diesel should not idle lower than 900 rpm. at idle you dont have full oil pressure.

Interesting question that Ive thought about myself. I know many people start and let them idle for 10-15 minutes. I just dont have that time, at most they get 5 minutes. Ive seen owners manuals that say to start and just start driving at 1000-1200 rpm and it will be warm by the time you get to the field are ready to work. So for the most part thats what I do. Seems to make sense.

Do you have electricity where the tractor is parked? Plug in a freeze plug heater and or and oil pan heater. The engine will be warm as will the oil when you start it. You can plug the extension cord into a thermo cube which won't turn the heaters on unless it's cold out. Just be sure to unplug before you start or you can burn out the freeze plug heater.

I think you are better off to start them and drive them to warm up all the fluids and get the trans up to temp too.

If indoors, I start them up, idle, wait a minute or two giving time for the oil to circulate through the uppers and back them outside. I
usually run the RPMs up to 1k or so for warmup. The warm up thing is to get the cylinder-piston relationship established prior to
putting it under a load (like plowing, not driving down the driveway) to eliminate piston skirt slapping. Other thing is, in the winter I
use cardboard blocking the radiator and always run them long enough to get the thermostat cycling to prevent slobbering caused
by too much cold engine operation....like start the engine run it for a minute or two and shut it down type thing. My developed habit
that has worked for 40 years on no slobbering and no lost engines!