Short trips BAD for Duramax????

[keywest]

Please advise,

My question is, Will mostly short trips around town etc. hurt the Diesel in the long run??? I plan to keep what I get for a long time.

I need the tow capacity of the Duramax or 8.1 Gasser for my trailer, BUT I only need that part of the time,about 30-40% of the total.
The rest of the time I need to use the vehicle for errands, short trips etc.

I really want the Duramax for a lot of reasons but a lot because of the big difference in fuel mileage.

Please give me your advice, Thanks, Paul

[billnourse]

Paul,

I don't know if it will hurt or not, but if it does, mine is in trouble. I use it for what ever I need, and that includes short trips.

If you are going to be doing any towing, you will probably like it better than the 8.1. I know it's not a real comparison, but the DMax will pull circles around the 91 454 with 410's that I had.

As far as economy goes, you will get better mileage both pulling and empty, but it will take a long time to recoup the difference in price. You will, however, get most of your investment back when you sell or trade.

I always swore that I would never own a diesel, and now I don't think I would ever have anything else. Just my thoughts on your question for what they are worth.

Regards,

Bill

[SoCalDMAX]

I've heard that short trips, where the engine has just barely or not yet reached operating temp, are not good for any engine. I can't imagine that it's doing any favors to the Dmax engine.

Considering the volume of coolant and oil in the Dmax, the amount of time it takes for everything to reach operating temp and there's a turbo involved, lots of short trips might be shortening the life of the engine. Who's to say how much? Perhaps you'll only get 330,000mi instead of 450,000mi. Perhaps you're a smoother driver than another, thus someone else only got 300,000mi even though there were few short trips.

Who knows what the answer is, and to what extent. For short trips and errands, I use a little commuter car due to the great fuel mileage and easy maneuverability. Of course between insurance and registration, I'm pretty certain I'm not saving one red cent. ;)

Regards, Steve

[Oongawah]

I've often wondered how well those small diesel tractors do when they get started, and stopped frequently when doing construction, etc... If our trucks are anything like those lil' guys they should be OK. Have fun, Chuck. :confused:

[keywest]

Thanks Guys,

I can't do any better than first hand knowledge.
Thank's, Paul
Can't wait to see the 2004 model.

[Brucec]

Well I use mine for short trips sometimes in the winter here in PA I really do not need the block heater but I let it plugged in when its 32 or below I figure it's easier on the engine as it is already warm when I start it.

Not sure but hope I may get a few more miles by doing this.

[csimo]

Short trips are not good for any automotive engine. Are they any worse for the Duramax than any other engine? I doubt it. Are short trips worse on a diesel engine than a gasoline engine? The best evidence says no. UPS is a prime example. They have done many years of testing on both gasoline and diesel engines. UPS requires their drivers to shut the engine off at each and every stop. The ultimate short trip machines... some never get hot enough to run the heater all day. The result of their testing? The diesel engines (admittedly mostly PowerStrokes) outperform their gasoline counterparts by a huge margin. UPS now uses diesel whenever possible. They are moving toward the new Daimler maxi-van chassis with a Mercedes diesel engine for their smaller routes.

[sdaver]

lockit and leave it running.........its what i do all day while checking jobs. :D dave

[keywest]

Thanks again Guys.
Brucec, nice Cedar Creek! Paul

[csimo]

Regarding the "lock it and leave it running" suggestion. I do the same thing, but for only short periods of time. Most diesel engines, including the Duramax, suffer from a couple of problems at idle. First they have a cylinder washdown problem, and secondly they can't maintain normal operating temperature in the winter. We know that engine wear is extremely high in an engine that is not at normal operating temp.

If you plan on leaving your engine idle for long periods of time you may want to strongly consider installing the high idle modification.

Along this line... the new modifications to the Cummins ISB line that Dodge uses has nearly the same fuel injection system as our trucks. Their ECU has a fast idle circuit that kicks in automatically if the engine is too cold. I wish GM would have implemented this feature!