Life changes and not commuting long distances for work.

[Tornado Red]

I wonder if the reason short trips without the engine reaching normal operating temperatures is bad or not depends on how the engine computer adjusts injection timing according to coolant temperature. Obviously all engines operate more efficiently when properly warmed. But are short trips bad for the engine? I would think as long as the oil is flowing then the engine is being properly lubricated.

 

[CANADADIY]

17 miles isn’t short tripping in my opinion. Cummins engines aren’t hard on oil. We have a fleet of 10-12 trucks at work and some of the older trucks would idle for days on job sites early in their lives. The company has only had one engine failure and it was before I started there and I don’t know what actually failed. We typically retire the trucks after 12-15 years and/or at 500-600k kms and it’s usually because of head gasket, transmission or turbo issues, never issues with the actual block. My personal ‘17 Cummins is now emissions free and I’m coming up to another oil change soon. My commute is 18 kms each way with some and go and done highway. I’m curious how the oil analysis will look being emissions free but with less highway driving compared to the last one I did (no more camping trips). The oil is black still but it doesn’t smell like used oil like when it still had emissions.