Mountainman wrote:
Just had a thought! It happens every now and then. Anyhow, a lot, maybe the majority of these engines have been run long term below the designed temp, right? I'm just thinking that this might have contributed to some of the premature wear on rockers (bearings too?). You get a lot more junk in the oil if you have less complete combustion right? Maybe this is less of a problem on diesels?
Just curious mostly
The issue is more the forced oil system on the top end combined with the Afterthought-EGR valve putting back acidic garbage into the intake to be re-combusted. Not to mention the original spray pattern in the initial tuning which wastes a lot of fuel so the EGR has a purpose to begin with.
Yes, you should use your block heater when it's below 32 F, 0 C. ESPECIALLY if you do not have a tune which eliminates the EGR.
I would also strongly recommend 4500-5000 mile oil changes, at the MOST.
A lot of people experience failures because they run the CRD like a sports car, and it's tempting because it's torque-ey. I believe a lot of people use the wrong oil (expense) or the wrong coolant (expense or ignorance) and ruin these engines.
It doesn't help with the unforgiving EGR and other issues.