engine damage from idle?

[BradRT]

if you start your engine up and leave it for 10mins at idle state (to warm up), can this damage the engine?

reason i ask is because there is a guy i know who was a mechanic in the army. he says to keep a car's engine perfect when it starts up, its best to get it rollin straight away instead of leaving it to warm up - obviously taking it easy though and not using the full rev range

true?

 

[joyriderhazz]

I cant see that an engine would get damaged from idleing as its not under any stress! dont think it matters, i normally get goin streight away but take it easy but thats just because i dont get up early enough in the mornings to have time to warm it up idleing.

 

[V1NNY]

i think its better to keep it ideling for a minute or so

 

[edde]

I don't see it mattering hugly. Getting the car going asap is best though least the cars having some throttle not sitting there taking ages to wam up isn't good though.

 

[White16valver]

As edde says, idling takes longer to warm up so more damage is done, so you just have to drive sympathetically until it's warmed up really.

I tend to idle mine for about 20 seconds to make sure the oils worked round nicely, then pull off but keep it under 3k until it's warm. Got s**t oil in there at the moment though so it sounds like a noise diesel 'til it is! lol

 

[RichMcc]

the manual says just drive carefully for a few miles

 

[BenR]

It wont, if you drive it afterwards.

There is a case where engines that are idles for excessive periods dont get the oil hot enough before they are shut down again. Acid can form with the water and vapours and can attack the block over a long period of time, but its only in extreem cases.

 

[clio__chris]

i let mine idle for a few mins then take it easy for a while

if i have enough time i let it idle until the temp needle gets off rock bottom so i know theres some heat in it

dont think it makes any difference really...... oils still cold

 

[GordonD]

You want it to warm up quickly, but not be over-stressed while it is still cold.

In a cold climate the best way to warm it up quickly is to drive it.

Leaving an engine idling in a cold climate is NOT good for it.

 

[Friction]

i thought leaving it idling wasnt a good thing. At idle, the oil pressure is low, thus starving the engine to an extent?

could be wrong, but i wouldnt leave it idling for longer than i had to before driving