Old timer told me to let my Cummins idle for 5 minutes before shutdown every time

I was working at a fleet shop in Phoenix last summer and a retired guy who used to drive long haul kept yelling at me to idle my truck before killing it. I figured he was just set in his ways so I ignored him, but after my turbo seals blew at 180k miles the shop foreman said I cooked it by shutting down hot. Has anyone else had a mechanic give you advice that sounded like old wives' tale but turned out to save your engine?

2 comments

2 Comments

mia74815d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way with my old 7.3 Powerstroke. Was hauling a load of gravel up a long grade in July and pulled off to grab lunch, shut it down while it was still screaming hot. Next morning I had coolant puking out the degas bottle and a cracked head. My dad who drove trucks in the 80s just shook his head and said that's what happens when you don't let them cool down gradual like.

gavin_kelly9115d agoMost Upvoted

Shut it down hot like that after a long pull? That's brutal. Cracking a head on a 7.3 is no joke, those engines are tanks but they still need a cooldown. Your dad probably learned that lesson the hard way too back in the day.