How long should i idle my 2002 ford ranger fx4 off road in the morning if its below freezing outside

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Most M5OD's don't have a NSS.

My 2004 M5ODR2 only has a switch for reverse.

This, lol.

@Brain75 There is a switch on the clutch pedal I believe, but that only registers clutch position and not if the manual transmission is in gear or not.

 

[JoshT]

You’re just trying to make me look bad because my newest car is a 97. I’ve only heard about the remote start things in fairytales and YouTube stories. I’m not even sure they really exist.

I installed it but it was a "dealer add-on" system. It might have the Kia logo on it, but is essentially the same as any other decent remote start system out there on the market. I can almost gurantee that I could remove it from this car and with some studying install it on that 97. I wouldn't do that, but a system could be installed that does the same.

Years ago someone on here put one on their manual third gen. It worked well until he left it gear once, he found it buried in a snow drift in his neighbors yard.

And that is why they recommend against installing an aftermarket remote start system on a manual transmission vehicle. It can be done, and I've toyed with the idea of doing it myself, but it comes with it's own set of issues.

Safe soonest: When your idle drops down to normal. This ensures your oxygen sensors have warmed up enough to close the feedback loop in your ECU and the car will fuel correctly. Sooner than this risks carburetor-style long term damage.

Soonest to use full rev range: When your engine oil is up to temp, or your gauge reads the same pressure as known hot idle. This is when your oil is flowing at the designed viscosity through everything. High RPM use before this risks inadequate lubrication to stuff.

Close/open loop thing is not an issue. I'm scratching my head over this "carburetor-style long term damage" you're referring to.

Problem with waiting for the gauge to tell you that the oil "reads at same pressure as known hot idle" is that the OPG on 90% of Rangers is a dummy gauge. If the engine has more than about 5 PSI, the gauge will happily sit dead still in the middle of the sweep.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Back when carbs were a thing, most winter starts involved a choke. Either manual or automagick. Most times the airfuel ratio was out of wack until the engine was fully warm. So running pig rich which washed the oil off the cylinder walls and promoted excessive wear, or running lean which caused pinging and potentially broken parts. That isn't a problem anymore with efi.

 

[JoshT]

Back when carbs were a thing, most winter starts involved a choke. Either manual or automagick. Most times the airfuel ratio was out of wack until the engine was fully warm. So running pig rich which washed the oil off the cylinder walls and promoted excessive wear, or running lean which caused pinging and potentially broken parts. That isn't a problem anymore with efi.

It wasn't a problem then either with proper tuning and choke usage. My first vehicle was a carbed 2.8L with a Holley 4bbl. We had carbed vehicles up into the late 90s. My 68 F-100 was on the road with a carb until 2006. I put a Sniper EFI on it when I revived it in 2018, but the bottom end in it is all original '68.

Yes, EFI is more efficient and cabable of adjusting to changes in operating condition and environment, but carburetors aren't the evil that people make them out to be. Most of the problems with carburetors connected back to user error. Either lack of proper tuning and maintenance, or lack of knowledge about that and operation. They weren't "set-it and forget-it", and they didn't tell you when something was off. I'll be the first to admit that the F-100 got the Sniper because I trend towards lazy and have no interest in tuning a carburetor when other options are available.

 

[broncc]

it doesn't increase the temp of the ... manual transmissions etc.

This is super pedantic and I would understand if you lock me from commenting on this thread again for this but both the mazda and misubishi transmissions are constant mesh. The input shaft and counter shaft always spin unless the clutch is in. You are correct about the rest of it and I don't know enough to comment if the differential even cares.

I do know my mitsubishi transmission with 80w90 oil did not go into gear until it warmed up in the winter.

I also daily a carbureted car when the roads aren't salty. I recognize that they're mostly fine and even like them. Cars did gain significant longevity with EFI, though.

 

[JoshT]

This is super pedantic and I would understand if you lock me from commenting on this thread again for this but both the mazda and misubishi transmissions are constant mesh. The input shaft and counter shaft always spin unless the clutch is in. You are correct about the rest of it and I don't know enough to comment if the differential even cares.

I do know my mitsubishi transmission with 80w90 oil did not go into gear until it warmed up in the winter.

I also daily a carbureted car when the roads aren't salty. I recognize that they're mostly fine and even like them. Cars did gain significant longevity with EFI, though.

I'm pretty sure he's talking about from idling. You can let it sit there at idle until the engine is at full operating tenperature and oil pressure, but the transmission is not engaged. The shafts may be spinning, but with no load they aren't going to be creating much friction to generate heat. On an automatic transmission, the fluid passes through a heat exchanger in the radiator which serves to bring up oil temp by borrowing heat from the engine.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I'm pretty sure he's talking about from idling. You can let it sit there at idle until the engine is at full operating tenperature and oil pressure, but the transmission is not engaged. The shafts may be spinning, but with no load they aren't going to be creating much friction to generate heat. On an automatic transmission, the fluid passes through a heat exchanger in the radiator which serves to bring up oil temp by borrowing heat from the engine.

Yeah, thinking about it in my head I don't know if just splashing the oil on the cold aluminum case will warm it up or make it colder lol.

If someone's kid needs a science project, that there would be a fun one.

 

[oldgeek]

wha??!

I thought once of bolting a popsicle stick crosswise to the key and leaving it in the ignition, and then tying a nylon string to the popsicle, stick and running it under the front door of the house. Then I could pull the string and it would crank.

A button on the wall next to the bed opens a trap door for a mouse to get out. An owl sees the mouse and swoops down upon it, causing a cat to rear up, rubbing it's back on a balloon. The static electricity from the balloon lights a candle. The candle burns a rope holding a weight. As the weight descends, it turns a wheel. An arm with a glove on it's end is attached to the wheel and moves back and forth, shaking your significant other. When she wakes up, tell her to go out and start the pickup...

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

It wasn't a problem then either with proper tuning and choke usage. My first vehicle was a carbed 2.8L with a Holley 4bbl. We had carbed vehicles up into the late 90s. My 68 F-100 was on the road with a carb until 2006. I put a Sniper EFI on it when I revived it in 2018, but the bottom end in it is all original '68.

Yes, EFI is more efficient and cabable of adjusting to changes in operating condition and environment, but carburetors aren't the evil that people make them out to be. Most of the problems with carburetors connected back to user error. Either lack of proper tuning and maintenance, or lack of knowledge about that and operation. They weren't "set-it and forget-it", and they didn't tell you when something was off. I'll be the first to admit that the F-100 got the Sniper because I trend towards lazy and have no interest in tuning a carburetor when other options are available.

Your first sentence is the thing. Most people are not car nuts. And would not visit a mechanic until absolutely necessary. I always changed the carb to manual choke because I didn't know enough to set a choke otherwise and too broke for a mechanic. And I'm using my experience to make a generalization, which may not be true...

 

[JoshT]

A button on the wall next to the bed opens a trap door for a mouse to get out. An owl sees the mouse and swoops down upon it, causing a cat to rear up, rubbing it's back on a balloon. The static electricity from the balloon lights a candle. The candle burns a rope holding a weight. As the weight descends, it turns a wheel. An arm with a glove on it's end is attached to the wheel and moves back and forth, shaking your significant other. When she wakes up, tell her to go out and start the pickup...

I see this story ending with a visit to the coroner's office. Cause of death: POW (Pissed Off Wife)

Your first sentence is the thing. Most people are not car nuts. And would not visit a mechanic until absolutely necessary.

Sure, but can't blame that on the carburetor. That is purely on the ignorance or neglect (likely both) of the owner/operator.

You don't have to be a car nut to learn what should be done to maintain the vehicle that you invested in, even if its just learning what should be done to have someone else do it. It's not hard to figure out, most owners manuals include a service schedule table that gives all of this information. Yes, it goes overboard on some stuff, but it is still a good guideline. Even more so if you aren't going to do the maintenance yourself. If you know the service schedule, you'll recognize when the service manager tries to sell you on B.S. like 2500 miles oil changes, or blinker fluid flush. Unfortunately, most vehicles probably end up in the salvage yard with the owners manual never having been opened.

I happened to have owners manual for a 70 F-100 right here on my desk. Every 12 months, check and adjust distributor points, check and adjust carburetor, check and adjust choke, check and adjust ignition timing.

 

[Rick W]

A button on the wall next to the bed opens a trap door for a mouse to get out. An owl sees the mouse and swoops down upon it, causing a cat to rear up, rubbing it's back on a balloon. The static electricity from the balloon lights a candle. The candle burns a rope holding a weight. As the weight descends, it turns a wheel. An arm with a glove on it's end is attached to the wheel and moves back and forth, shaking your significant other. When she wakes up, tell her to go out and start the pickup...

I can see where that might work……

… Once.

I can also see where you come home that night, get into bed, and try to snuggle up against sweet pea……

…… And that’s when you find out what cold really is!

 

[19Walt93]

I park in a garage but still lock my Escape in low and drive slowly for 1/2 mile to the paved road to get things warmed up a little. If I parked outside I'd idle it for 5 minutes or so. When it's -20F even 5w30 or 5w20 flows like molasses and nothing in an engine has the proper clearances at those temps. My son's 23 Ranger has factory remote start that will time out at 15 minutes so I'd say that's how long it should be safe to let it idle.
A properly set up carburetor will start fine at sub zero temps if the driver does it right. One pump to the floor, release the pedal and turn the key. We used to consider stalling once after a cold start then restarting easily to be normal, now people call the tow truck.
Ford's variable venturi carburetors were much maligned but they ran even better than a conventional carb if they were set up properly- following the manual step by step and not skipping any.
EFI is much more idiot proof. Good thing because there are more of them now.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The more I hear about VV carbs the more intriguing they are.

Supposed to be great for elevation changes too.

 

[19Walt93]

The more I hear about VV carbs the more intriguing they are.

Supposed to be great for elevation changes too.

If you don't have the special tool kit you don't have a prayer of setting a VV up right. The new company that bought my dealership disposed of "all those useless old tools".

 

[Rick W]

I’ve had four VW bugs over the years. Three were for that Rollwagen project, and I had one for basic transportation many many years ago. They were all old and in rough condition when I got them. The first and last for the Rollswagen project were cleaned up and tuned up by my mechanic, I called him maestro, a genius with German stuff. The other two ran when I got them, and I did minimal things to maintain or improve them.

The VW bugs are strange creatures. I can’t really ever say that they ran very well, but also can’t say that they ran very poorly. It seemed they got 1,000,000 miles a gallon, but everything else I had was big and was a hog. They were kind of funky to drive around, funky to maintain, funky on your head, etc., etc., but like the Mercedes I had before about 1990, they always ran and they always got you to where you’re going or got you home even when they broke. Maybe not all the time, but 98% of the time. That’s worth something right there.

And I also sold every one for a lot more than I paid for them, including what I put into them. It’s a cult thing.

And I just remembered I also had a diesel Volkswagen truck. People hated them, I loved mine. A couple of years after they came out, their book value was under $1500. They were not a success in the United States. I ended up tossing keys on a Dodge Rampage, remember those little El Camino looking things? Mine was a sporty, red and black model. I wish I had both back!