DIESEL IDLE-ING ... (LONG WINDED)

[peterb]

Well, “hereâ€

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Peter,

You make some very valid points about idling and low engine temps.

The Cat 3208 has been one of the more popular engines used in school buses. You will find few, if any, 3208's coming out of school bus service that aren't real mosquito foggers that are really hard starters.

The problem in school bus service is rarely does a school bus ever really warm all the way up. Consequently, the oval shaped pistons don't warm up enough to round out with the result being the oval shaped pistons wear oval shapes in the cylinders.

I think two things are going to change idling habits in the future. The first is the high cost of fuel. If you are idling you are getting zero MPG.

The other has to do with the anti-idling ordinances going in across the country. Some jurisdictions are really anal about enforcing those ordinances.

If you are running a coach idling has a little more justification. When it gets hot out, it is virtually impossible to cool a coach down if it has been sitting outside in direct sun. Running the engine so the A/C can cool is almost a requirement. The other side of the coin applies as well. When the temp is below freezing it is virtually impossible to warm a coach up to a comfortable temp unless you stuff it full of passengers.

The answer is my book is to run little pony motors to run the accessory drives. Letting the pony turn a generator to provide heat or A/C would be much more fuel efficient than running the main engine. Since the pony would be running at optimum speed it would not have the problem of oil dilution. The pony would also be much quieter and if the exhaust was run up to exit out the roof you probably wouldn't even smell it.

Idling I think has become a thing of the past.

Now if we could just convince the dinosaur thinkers out there about possible alternative solutions...

Mark O.
Castle Rock, WA

[dadeo]

all I can say is a few weeks ago, it seemed we were going to have a warm weekend, so I shut my truck off. On monday, I arrived and it wouldn't start. I tried ether, and nothing. then we tried to jump it.. left it hooked up to a pick-up and another tractor, still nothing. We then tried a fire under the engine (first pants dipped in the fuel tank, burning in a sort of aluminum cook tray, then wood)... finally had to pull it with another truck. Finally started! Later the starter had to be replaced cuz we killed it. We cant plug our trucks in where we park them. In our imperfect world (Detroit) we leave them idling!!!!

Dadeo