Why do we enjoy letting our diesels idle so much? I love it (gas stations, cold days, etc). Mine sits and idles for hours when its frigid outside. I was talking with a truck driver once through CB's and asked him how long his truck has run without turning it off. He replied, "oh....I suppose about 3 weeks". He won! What do you guys do?

'300D-T 205k

I've heard of railroad locomotive diesels that are never shut off, as they are old and lack the compression and starting system to get them running again. Oil changes, fuel fill-ups, etc. are all done on-the-fly.

BCingU, Jim

Umm, though the sound of an idling diesel is like music to me, I tend to turn my car off when not in use...as I would any car.

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Matt
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1995 E300 Diesel (Die Blau Frau)

Diesel engines use little fuel during idling. The air/fuel ratio, if I remember correctly, it can be as high as 80/1 during idling vs. 14/1 for gasoline engine. I do not turn off my diesel car if I am in the driver seat waiting or during refueling. As you may see, the air filter gets dirty faster than gasoline engine.

David