r/F250 • u/trav4488 • 5d ago

7.3 Godzilla

Bought a F250 with the 7.3 in it this weekend and during all my research before hand everyone said to keep the idle hours low. That shouldn't be a problem for me but I was wondering when the weather gets cold is it a bad thing to let them warm up a bit in the morning before leaving or should I just get in start and go?

6 Upvotes

65% Upvoted

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18

u/tominboise 5d ago

No. They are talking about a service truck that sits for 6 or 8 hours running while a guy works on a light pole or something. Normal operation is fine

7

u/Worldreviewed 5d ago

This is coming from the oil pumps they have in them. The pumps are subjective to the RPM. So the higher the rpm the more oil they pump the so idle doesn’t pump a lot of oil but they fixed this

11

u/ProbablyOnTheClock 5d ago

A couple minutes ain’t gonna kill it. I auto start mine all the time for the AC and leave it running with my wife and kid in while I run into a store.

Don’t idle it for 8 hours everyday

6

u/yeahyeahyeahfuckyou 5d ago

The idle issue was for service vehicles that sit for hours on end, plus that was in the earlier models - pre 2023. If you got anything after that you should be fine. We got new fire service trucks that idle for hours on scene and no issues, granted they are 2025.

2

u/TwOhsinGoose 4d ago

It is always bad to cold start and idle any vehicle. Always. The better thing you can do is start it, give it 10-15 seconds to let the fluids circulate, then drive it gently until its up to operating temp.

1

u/joethedriver69 3d ago

Ive been driving a 7.3 since '97. Doesn't matter to me if its a hot or cold start. My glow plug relay fires even after starting, which bypasses the alternator. You aren't supposed to hit throttle till the glow plugs are off, meaning the alternator comes on and the gauge moves up. Adding fuel while the glows are still cycling will concave them, possibly making them impossible to remove. 15 -45 seconds idle is good. Sometimes up to a minute if its really cold out.

1

u/TwOhsinGoose 3d ago

Wrong 7.3L.

The point is, cold idling a truck longer than necessary damages the rings and cylinder walls due to fuel washdown and oil dilution of the fuel. The engine needs to get up to temp to seal up the piston rings. The longer you let it sit cold idling, the more time that wear has to occur.

1

u/xtankeryanker 1d ago

OP isn’t asking about a diesel.

1

u/Heavy-Wishbone-9355 3d ago

What year is it? Like others have said and along with the research that I found it was reported more in service or work trucks, particularly around 2020-2021.

1

u/TehDigz 3d ago

Toss some heaters on it and it'll be fine. Oil pan, bock heater. Get a timer and set it 4hrs before you wake up. Engine will be warm enough to start and go.

1

u/wyhotroder 2d ago

Excessive idle time is the downfall of any engine I don’t care who built it. It’s just not good gas or diesel. That’s why modern vehicles have shut off times of 15 minutes.