idleing tractor for awhile

[criddlesperger]

i am building a house and using the tractor alot, when i idle the tractor should i leave the powershift and the transmission both in neutral it is a ym2010. thanks

 

[beenthere]

Either/or will/should work, with the park brake on.

 

[BurningBushFarm]

So is it better to leave it idling than shut it off?

 

[beenthere]

Didn't think that was the OP's question.
But would be a decision to make. Depends for me, and there is no rule of thumb for every instance.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Mechanically it doesnt make any difference. Safety wise, it might be better to take it out of gear also. When I park my Yanmar 4220 for any reason that I leave it running, I lower the FEL bucket hard down so it raises the front tires a bit, just so it doesnt wander off just for safety sake. It is so easy to bump the shift lever when getting back on. Whenever I park it, I take it out of gear for safety since mine will crank with it in gear and without clutch depressed. I just keep the habit of shifting the gear shift to neutral just in cas the powershift gets left or bumped into gear. As for idleing times, I will shut mine down if I am going to be off it for more than a few minutes. I dont think you will hurt a diesel by letting it idle, it will blow out a bunch of carbon when you rev it up after setting for a while idling, so it does carbon up a bit. Truckers leave them idling when they stop for meals etc and those with sleeper leave them idling all night while they run the AC to keep cool so I would say as for idling, not problem. We used to have an old D17 Allis Chalmers that never would start right and had to be pulled off nearly everytime. We pulled it off every morning and it ran till we quit at night, sometimes idling for more than an hour at lunch. Never hurt it any.

 

[California]

I usually shut the engine off, for safety.

Several times I've gotten the gearshift lever up my pants leg halfway through dismounting. A stumble at that point could be deadly. It starts easily so shutdown/restart is simple.

The manual says always shut it off before dismounting.

 

[normde2001]

So is it better to leave it idling than shut it off?

Idling causes carbon build-up, not a good thing.

 

[clemsonfor]

The shut down would be after a cool down high idle was done. Sayif you just got off the bushhog, let it idle for a few mins at like 1300rpms then shut it down so all the internal hot parts equalize to a cooler temp.

 

[criddlesperger]

i'm on and off of it so much figured it would be easier on it. just didn't know if i should put the trans and powershift both in neutral, didn't know if it would still pump hyd fluid to all the internals this way. thanks

 

[beenthere]

Nothing stops pumping.

 

[sandman2234]

Just because truckers let them idle doesn't make it right.
David from jax

(A trucker for almost 3 million miles)

 

[California]

Nothing stops pumping.

On these it does. After you put the range selector (an ordinary gear transmission) in Neutral, then nothing is rotating the little hydraulic pump in the Powershift.

The little pump is to engage the Powershift internal clutches - similar to an automotive A/T.

This is unrelated to the tractor's hydraulic system except they share the transmission case as their reservoir.

I don't think you need fluid circulation in the Powershift when nothing is revolving.

 

[criddlesperger]

thanks for the help. i just wanted to make sure i wasn't going to burn up anything.

 

[schoolsout]

Idling causes carbon build-up, not a good thing.

starting causes greater wear!

 

[20 20]

I dont think you will hurt a diesel by letting it idle


This is bad advice a big cause of diesel engine failure is long idle times. There has been research done on this, infact I'd be willing to bet most manuals will say DO NOT let idle for long periods. It's your choice and money, but with todays engines it is better to shut down.

 

[20 20]

starting causes greater wear!

:thumbdown: not true

 

[schoolsout]

I dont think you will hurt a diesel by letting it idle


This is bad advice a big cause of diesel engine failure is long idle times. There has been research done on this, infact I'd be willing to bet most manuals will say DO NOT let idle for long periods. It's your choice and money, but with todays engines it is better to shut down.

I'm not so sure about that

carbon may build up, but as long as it is run at a higher RPM periodically to blow carbon/soot out, you should be fine. Diesels are made to run continuously...

I fish in boats with diesels and much of the time is spent idling or trolling at the very bottom of RPM range...12 hours/day with 2-3 hours at cruise in/out.

I work at a Mack/Volvo/Isuzu dealership and most of what we sell are vocational trucks that do a lot of idling.

 

[20 20]

Schoolsout; is that considered a high idle or low idle. A higher rpm probably would not hurt but a low idle will eventually kill an engine. Back in the 90's{while I was TT driver} there were studies done on this, they proved without a doubt that low idle caused engine failure. In everything that I have read it seems okay to have the engine run at a small rev but not good to leave it idle for long periods. I know if I'm going to let any of my diesels sit then I'll rev them up just a bit, keeps oil pressure up and fluids moving. Some of the diesels have a very low rpm idle, that is where the issue's could/can/will start.

 

[winston1]

As far as Yanmar tractors I say let common sense prevail. Short idle time ok, long idle time, kill the engine.

 

[schoolsout]

I guess I'm just going by what I've always heard, which may/may not be the way to go.