Tier 4 idle question

[Catchad81]

Yes, I would be concerned. I retired from the diesel truck and tractor sales and service business after 40 years (note my "handle") as a factory rep for a major manufacturer and later in the retail business. What I've seen from idling diesel engines has made me very conscious of not idling a diesel engine. Cylinder wall "wash down" from unburned fuel is more of a concern than diluting the engine oil; however, idling a diesel long enough will eventually dilute the oil. If you leave your tractor idling, speed the engine up to 1,200 to 1,500 rpm which will reduce the cooling effect along with reducing the amount of cylinder swash down and oil dilution. The extra fuel consumed won't be noticeable.

Bill

What is idling in rpm's to you? I ask because we run multiple '70 model JD tractors, which are limited not to "idle" below 1000. This was decided due to anything with the engine, but instead the AC compressors. If engine idles really low, compressor cycles on and off more and won't last long.

 

[buickanddeere]

Like a good little tree-hugger i tried abiding with my tier 4. But the tuner in me got irked when I felt power sap off quickly as the DPF filter plugged up requiring frequent regeneration cycles.

As a result, I've decided to defeat my tier4 in my Kioti at some point in the future by removing the DPF filter and installing a test tube as well as fooling the ECU into continually thinking that it has a brand new DPF filter in it. Alternatively, some people have progressively drilled bigger holes through their existing DPF filters so as to maintain the proper back pressure. They are checking this out according the the pressure sensor reference voltage. In other words, look up in the service manual what the voltage should be with a new filter and drill out the filter by trial and error until you get the right reference voltage. The result is the ECU always thinks it has brand new DPF filter installed and you can roll coal.

When I do it, I'll make a video that will be specific to the NX series but I will offer generic advice on how to do it on your new truck, tractor, Volvo wagon, or whatever.

OBDII should throw a trouble code when the particulate filter never plugs. There will be a max hour limit.

 

[john_bud]

Diesel wash of the cylinder walls is much more of a concern with older diesels with the low pressure injectors that couldn't create as fine a mist as the modern systems. I know my 1963 ford diesel tractor will go from clean exhaust to white unburnt fuel if left idling long. But the new Kubota won't. Also, the old timers tale of the engine running was from a time when diesel cost was 35 cents a gallon. Yeah, it was cheap to keep it running, but now that fuel is 3 bucks a gallon (and was 4 recently), it doesn't take long to cost a bunch. And I do tend to shut down and restart if I plan on being off the machine (new or old) for more than a couple minutes. Not a big deal and it does not wear out starters to use them a few extra times an hour. Just my opinion.

 

[Catchad81]

Diesel wash of the cylinder walls is much more of a concern with older diesels with the low pressure injectors that couldn't create as fine a mist as the modern systems. I know my 1963 ford diesel tractor will go from clean exhaust to white unburnt fuel if left idling long. But the new Kubota won't. Also, the old timers tale of the engine running was from a time when diesel cost was 35 cents a gallon. Yeah, it was cheap to keep it running, but now that fuel is 3 bucks a gallon (and was 4 recently), it doesn't take long to cost a bunch. And I do tend to shut down and restart if I plan on being off the machine (new or old) for more than a couple minutes. Not a big deal and it does not wear out starters to use them a few extra times an hour. Just my opinion.

Our old 4020 does what you describe, remember it from when I was a kid, and it still runs today no real difference.

Our farm runs about 14 different tractors. We also used to run an over the road trucking business, but now only run a dump truck or two. Other than shutting the tractors off for lunch time, which is usually an hour, or other extended time away, we will let them idle, at about 1000 rpms. I actually tell my truck drivers, then and now, while waiting in a quarry to get loaded, or whatever the case, not to shut the engine off. We have had our amount of starter problems on trucks and tractors, whether a ground, lose connection, pour charging, etc., and find it best to let the engines idle vs the downtime and costs of a failure to start.

 

[drizler]

It;s sort of a balancing act isn't it? Sure shut it off but with the number of diesel trucks I have seen shut off and discover that moment to find a bad starter sure does account for something. If I was off someplace in the boonies with something rather old I wouldn't shut it off unless I had to.

 

[drizler]

Like a good little tree-hugger i tried abiding with my tier 4. But the tuner in me got irked when I felt power sap off quickly as the DPF filter plugged up requiring frequent regeneration cycles.


That loss of power seems odd to me. My Massey does absolutely nothing any different than usual. The only difference I see is the machine starts to smell like it;s running hot. No temperature or rpm increase nothing just that hot engine smell as I do whatever I'm doing. I thought the Kioti used the blue cow pee rather than DPF screen?

 

[Utopia Texas]

My Tier 4B New Holland T4.75 also performs no different during the regeneration cycle. If it were not for the 2 second beep at the start of the regeneration cycle I would never know it was happening. No difference in power, sound, engine temperature etc. Just like most other folks I hate government intervention in our personal lives but somewhere down the line we are leaving a crapped out world to future generations and I have no intention of altering any exhaust system. Will a tractor dealership even work on a tractor that has been altered? Both my local JD and NH dealerships will already not work on any lawn mowers or tractors if any of the safety shields or sensors have been altered or removed. I assume the same goes for a exhaust system alteration....

 

[eth555]

I double what drizler and Utopia Texas said, my NH T4.105 feels no different leading up to or during a regeneration; if not for the beep when the regen starts I would never know it was happening. I have had it happen when doing power intensive jobs and there has not been a power decrease. I also try not to idle for a longer period of time, I would say greater than 5 minutes; on cold starts I do not run it real hard for the first 5 minutes either. I do let it idle for a short time before shut down, just to let turbo cool and slow down.

 

[jaywdeee]

I don't let either of the Kubotas idle when not in use for many reasons. One not mentioned earlier is that the hour meter is ticking away adding time and lowering resale or trade in because of higher "mileage".

 

[Paystar]

Just a thought. Why don't we all email these guys to show them interest in DPF deletes for the small compacts. They already do agricultural tractors, and their deletes and programs work wonders on big rigs.
Diesel Spec | Engine performance repair & tuning for heavy truck

It would be pretty easy for them to come up with a fix as these small compacts are a lot less complicated than the systems on big trucks.