Re: [A/S] Engine pre-luber

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gary,
  While those gadgets sound good in theory, I question how much life 
they'll add to an engine. I've torn down 2 or 3 VW Diesel engines that 
had high mileage, the most recent having 261,000 miles on it. The lower 
end (crank and bearings) looked like brand-new; I wouldn't have been 
afraid to run the bearings another 200,000 miles.

If the engine often sat for long periods between starts, it might be of 
more use, but I believe that there's enough residual oil in the bearings 
to protect them if it's been only a week or so since the last start. The 
worst thing about your situation is the cold starts and the fact that 
the engine doesn't get warmed up. This causes cylinder wash-down from 
unvaporized fuel and acid formation in the oil. Getting the OIL warm 
(about 8-10 miles of driving) will drive off the moisture in the oil, 
but just driving it out of the garage doesn't do that. If you're driving 
the truck on a trip of 20+ miles once/week, you're probably not doing it 
much harm, but you almost certainly are hurting it otherwise. A 
pre-oiler won't help this situation, either.

This kind of operation is also hard on the battery and the exhaust 
system. If it were me, I'd try to figure out how to avoid the entire 
thing if possible. If you can't, and can't get the engine completely 
warmed once/week, you should change the oil every 1000 miles or so to 
get the acids out of it.

On the same subject, if you have an engine that gets seasonal use and 
sits for a good part of the year, you should change the oil before the 
"idle" period. This would include your lawn mower, a motor home, or tow 
vehicle that you use mostly/only during the Summer. Leaving the old oil 
in the engine over Winter will leave the acids in the engine, eating up 
the bearings, so it's important to change to fresh oil BEFORE storage.

All of that said, I'd like to have a pre-luber on my genset engine. It 
sits for a month at a time and goes immediately to 2400 RPM upon 
starting, no idling while the oil pressure comes up. See 
http://www.oldengine.org/members/jdunmyer/genset/

                                <<Jim>>