Idling in place of driving

[erogers]

Hi folks. I'm new to BITOG and hope to get to know everyone soon. I have a question that may not be so difficult, but I'm not sure of the answer. Here goes...

I have a 1989 Jaguar XJ6 that I am slowly restoring (I'm finished with the body...now on to the suspension!). I want to clean up the engine with some Auto-RX, but I only drive this car about 300 miles per year. I was told by Mr. Miller at Auto-RX that I could either do the 1,500 cleaning cycle and 2,500 rinse cycle, or idle the engine for 150 hours (cleaning) and 250 hours (rinsing). The problem is, I've always heard it's bad to idle an engine for an extended period. Is this correct? I don't see exactly how idling an engine could hurt it (waste gas, maybe, but hurt it?). Any thoughts?

 

[moribundman]

That topic comes up on occasion. Okay, all the time. Unfortunately this forum's search function isn't working anything resembling normal.

If you car does not have fuel injection, and even it it has fuel injection, the engine idles with a more or less rich A/F mixture, resulting in some excess fuel ending up unburnt in the oil (fuel dilution -- ambiguous term: isn't it oil dilution?

). While FI minimizes that, it does happen even on modern cars, depending on the design and engine management.

Besides fuel dilution (oil dilution!), there was another reason why low rpm and low load was bad for wear on some parts. The details elude me, but there were reasonable explananations. Of course, now people will say taxis and cop cars idle all the time without ill effects. Maybe it depends to a large degree on engine design?

Don't forget you get exactly 0 mpg while idling.

 

[erogers]

Thanks. I did many different searches before posting, but couldn't find the kind of answers I needed. I know it seems like a waste of gas, but until I get the car in the kind of shape I want it in, I can't really drive it too much.

 

[vronline]

I would wait until it's restored and you're able to drive it before you do the Auto-RX treatment... if you really feel you need to do it.

 

[va3ux]

Quote:

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I would wait until it's restored and you're able to drive it before you do the Auto-RX treatment... if you really feel you need to do it.

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That would be my recommendation too. You're not going to accomplish anything with 300 miles per year, and idling for 150 hours is just foolish.

 

[Steve S]

Drive the darn car .A car that you don't drive is not worth having. May as well get rid of the car and get a picture. Kick up the rpm to around a 1,200 rpm then the engine isn't idleing.

 

[erogers]

Believe me guys, I'm going to drive this car. I just want it to be mechanically sound first. I figured while I'm working on the other parts of the car, I could be cleaning the engine. Then when I'm ready to start taking long drives, the engine would be clean. I just wanted to make sure that if I do choose the idling technique, I wouldn't be damaging the engine. I'm probably leaning toward just driving it on the Auto-RX after I'm done working on it, but I wanted to know if there were any risks should I choose the idling method.

 

[moribundman]

In my opinion, idling the engine will do no good but certainly worse than not running it at all.

Where would you idle the engine for a total of 400 hours?

 

[erogers]

It would idle in my garage with the door open (of course). However, I'm pretty well convinced to just wait until I can drive it. No point in running the engine unnecessarily. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Curious Kid]

Even with the door of the garage open, is one to assume no one is in it during such periods, or in a loft above? I recall a death or two in the papers where others did otherwise.

If the engine cooling system is minimized like it was on a motorcycle of mine whose fan was engine driven, idling can cause it to over heat unless there's aux. air flow. I don't think coolant flow is per say optimal either at idle, though the heat development rate isn't as high as if the engine were laboring. Just something else you would want to monitor over the loooong idle periods.

I still think a a more labored with varied RPM operation is going to be of better effectiveness, but that's just my opinion. I would wait till things are ready for more everyday use.

Take care.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

Prolonged idling is also hard on the emissions systems. Catalytic converters have been known to clog from this, as they do not get hot enough to keep themselves clean. Carbon buildup in the combustion chamber, on valves and throughout the exaust system are probably side effects.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I would use it as a great excuse to get out and drive the dang thing. You could put the required miles on with a few day trips over several weekends. Sounds like a small price to pay, overall.

 

[Cutehumor]

Frank said to idle the car for 150 hours???? that's a new one

 

[mechtech2]

Idling the car for that long is nonsense.

If you start to drive the car, use a cleaner in the oil.

 

[XS650]

Idling an engine that long for the purpose of cleaning it is just plain dumb for the reasons given by CBD, Moribundman and others.

 

[daman]

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Drive the darn car .A car that you don't drive is not worth having. May as well get rid of the car and get a picture.

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So all these car collectors and classic muscle car owners(including myself)should get rid of our cars??, yea right.

 

[Dr_No]

If you decide to do the idle procedure, go down to your local mechanic and ask for some exhaust tubing, it just goes onto the end of your muffler and directs the fumes away.

 

[Lonnie]

Your lubrication system works better with a bit more heat. The cylinder walls need the heat as do the rings and the pistons. The boundry layer lubrication works best with a load on the engine and also protects the oil in the pan from excessive blowby. By idling I think that running at an engine speed of about 2.5k rpm would work if there is no other option. In your case, go drive the car or take up a different hobby.

 

[Mighty HD]

People say idling is bad. I'm sure it is.

My work truck...it idles 8-13 hours a day plus a 2 hour interstate trip round trip each day. It's been doing this for 85k with no failures of the engine. Burnt up a fuel pump because of bad gas but that's it.

The truck before this one ...I did it for 81k, and it's got 175k on it now and still runs fine.

It's all in how you take care of them. I change the oil every 2-3k ...it's clean as a whistle.

My truck is my office, the guys in the building don't shut the air off when they walk out of their office, so mine stays on from when I leave the house until I get home at night.

 

[daman]

Dam that's allot of idle time.