John -

A few years ago I dug around in the library to see what the experts said on
this subject.  The couple of articles I read said that idling was hard on an
engine, and for best long term wear it should be run under load.

They recommended that you start off slow, and not accelerate fast or run at
high rpms until you are up to temperature.

But as you say - when the weather is really cold, you do need to bring
things up to temperature or risk damage. (I grew up in Minnesota and North
Dakota)

My feeling is that if it is below about 15 F, I like to give it a couple of
minutes to get warmed up.  If it's warmer than that, I wait a few seconds to
make sure the oil pressure is up, and drive off at a moderate pace.  I
switch from 20-50 to 15-40 oil in the fall.

Also, if I have to wait for a train or a flagman, unless I need the heater,
I turn the engine off.

- Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
Moscow, Idaho
(Looking forward to one of Robert's heaters!)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Date:    Thu, 16 Nov 2000 20:18:26 -0600
From:    John Rodgers <inua@HIWAAY.NET>
Subject: Re: winter vanagon complaint #2

Larry, it would be interesting to get the response of the list on this. I
base my comments on 30 years of experience in living through and driving in
some brutal Alaska winters. I realize not everyone might want to go through
the same routine I have gone through until it is virtual habit. More than
once in those cold climes I have seen  engines seize where the temp gauge
said warm enough to go, but the oil
temp didn't agree, and upon drive off and opening the throttle the bearings
ran dry and the engine seized. But again, that was in an extreme
environment. In warmer climes it may not be necessary to wait that long. But
I personally do like to have full heat online when I start out on a cold
day.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
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