My truck sees a good bit of high idle time, sometimes as much as 15-30 mins around 3-5 times per week in the summer.

Is there any extra maintenance I should take having this higher idle time? Change oil more often, etc?


Thanks.

 

I would say get the radiator flushed and transmission fluid changed more often.

With regards to oil, I had a master mechanic tell me add 1 virtual mile per 2 minutes of idle. That's 400 "extra miles" per month for you. So if you count the extra miles, you'll end up with 1 extra oil change per year.

That's always worked out for me and the oil is usually clean.

 

I usually try to change my oil 250 miles before it needs to be changed.

I too do extensive idleing... it wastes more gas to restart the truck than it does to leave it running for a few minutes. Especially during the winter.

 

Ha, well I just let it idle mostly because I want to take a nap and I'll roast in the 90+ degree weather in my work clothes.

Thanks for the replies although I don't see why the extra idle time effects the transmission.

I'll keep the tidbit about the oil in mind. Thanks!

 

Cuz the fluid is still circulating. In older models, where the trans cooler is built into the radiator, this is especially true. The newer models with seperate trans cooler may not be "as true" .

When in idle, your truck's trans fluid is still moving, and still heating up.

 

Ah, I gotcha. Well, I did have the fluid flushed at 30k and I just hit 60k and I'm planning on changing it again very soon.