Written by: Emily Joswiak • January 23, 2024• Auto

4 Things You Should Never Do with a Diesel Engine

Diesel engines are known for their power, efficiency, and sound. If you want them to keep working properly, never do the following things.

If you own a truck with a diesel engine, congratulations! You’ve got a powerful vehicle. Diesel engines deliver a plenitude of power, fuel efficiency, and eye-catching (or maybe ear-catching) noise. Working on your engine is a satisfying experience, as well. You get a better sense of what your truck can and can’t do, and you get to discover new ways to improve engine performance.

Whenever you go under the hood to make adjustments or additions, there are certain things you need to watch for and others you absolutely should not do. Otherwise, a powerful, roaring diesel engine can turn into a completely useless hunk of metal. Here are four things you should never do with a diesel engine.

Idle at Stoplights

You might find it impressive to let your truck idle and rumble while waiting for the light to turn green. Some folks even make their trucks louder to demonstrate the power they’ve got under the hood. Unfortunately, idling to excess isn’t good for your engine in the long run. You’re adding unnecessary strain, which can lead to carbon deposit buildup that can impede performance. It can also mess up the cylinder walls by causing mirror glazing. This prevents the removal of oil from the walls, which means more oil is burned, which means you’ll need to change the oil more often. Obviously, low or no oil is never good for an engine.

Forget Filter Changes

If you’re thinking about skipping the next set of filter changes, don’t. Whatever money you save in the short term won’t make up for expensive repairs down the line. Filters keep your engine clean and free of all the nasty grit, grime, and grease in the air and produced by your truck. A dirty filter can’t do its job anymore, so you need to replace it periodically.

Drive Cold

When the temperature drops, remember to warm up your engine before driving. Failing to warm up an engine on a chilly morning can lead to greater strain. When it’s cold, the various fluids—oil, transmission, and so forth—tend to get thicker, which makes your engine sluggish as it tries to push them through the cylinders and various lines.

Overtax It

Straining the engine is another thing you should never do with a diesel engine. Towing heavy loads is a big destroyer of engines, so know the top range of your truck’s payload and stay under it when towing anything. When your engine works harder than it must, you run the risk of ruining the transmission, driveshaft, differential, towing apparatus, and other parts. It might also cause the oil and other fluids to run or burn out more quickly. Test your truck’s limits, but don’t push it past them!

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