RPMs

[rancherman84]

how hard do you guys run your engines?i know redline is 3,400?
i try not to get the old girl above 3,000.
i was raised on IH inlines,414,436 and 466's,they topped out at 2250-2600.
this engine has never been touched and has just shy of 200,000 on it.it needs to last me a few more years with no major problems.
guess my question is really should i worry more about turning alot of rpms and hurting the valve train and bottom end,or worry more about the BIG C.
has anybody ever seen an IDI throw a rod?
oh yeah,the turbo is still on the shelf,but it is going on as soon as i can afford to spend the money on banks y-pipe.

 

[Russ]

I've seen two IDI's with rods tossed out the bottom, Yoohoo Goat boy.... I've run mine up to 3300-3400 a time or 5 and I've got just under 200k The bottom ends are massive, but if you get too many rpms there is a lot of mass swinging around those crank journals.

 

[LUCKY_LARUE60]

Come on guys, it's a diesel and made to work, I red line my truck quite a bit of the time and I have just under 200,000 on the clock. Quit babying a diesel, they were designed to work and that is the reason the bottom end is so big. Besides they will carbon up and run sluggish if you don't get after it once in a while. Run it up against the governer and watch you exhaust pipe and the black smoke that rolls out, do it 2 or 3 times and the smoke will start to clear up and the butt-O-meter will tell you it runs better.................. Jim

 

[Exekiel69]

Come on guys, it's a diesel and made to work, I red line my truck quite a bit of the time and I have just under 200,000 on the clock. Quit babying a diesel, they were designed to work and that is the reason the bottom end is so big. Besides they will carbon up and run sluggish if you don't get after it once in a while. Run it up against the governer and watch you exhaust pipe and the black smoke that rolls out, do it 2 or 3 times and the smoke will start to clear up and the butt-O-meter will tell you it runs better.................. Jim

I agree with that, if you run it hard a few times, in a normal basis, the smocke does clear up. You still can see smocke but it is not as black. As I said normal driving conditions. :Sly

 

[budtoh3zo]

Mine has over 200,000 and its been run up to redline lots in the mud.

 

[rancherman84]

Come on guys, it's a diesel and made to work, I red line my truck quite a bit of the time and I have just under 200,000 on the clock. Quit babying a diesel, they were designed to work and that is the reason the bottom end is so big. Besides they will carbon up and run sluggish if you don't get after it once in a while. Run it up against the governer and watch you exhaust pipe and the black smoke that rolls out, do it 2 or 3 times and the smoke will start to clear up and the butt-O-meter will tell you it runs better.................. Jim

working your diesel doesnt really mean you have to red line it all the time.
i know they are heavy duty and made to work.
i dont have alot of cash to work with and worry(maybe to much)that it will just let go with little or no warning.
it also worries me that two of my friends have gotten about 200,000 out of there IDI before they needed major work,just kinda seems like that these engines arte really good up to that 200,000 mark,then its a guessing game after that.

 

[The Warden]

For the record, there are quite a few IDI's out there that cruise on the freeway at RPM's near the governor. Any 6.9l, or even a 7.3l with an auto up to '88, didn't come from the factory with an overdrive...and if the truck has 4.10 gears (as many of us have), this means that if you cruise at 65 to 70mph, the engine's turning 3000+ RPM's (with my T-19 and 4.10's, I hit the governor at 75 mph). Before I swapped my T-19 for a ZF5, I ran at freeway speeds all the time...and even before I had the truck, the truck spent much of its life on California freeways...and no bottom-end related problems yet.

I wouldn't try to run the engine right at the governor, but I wouldn't be afraid of higher RPM's either. Like Jim and EZ said, if you keep the RPM's too low all the time, you'll get soot build-up and carbon build-up in the engine, and that's not exactly healthy either. I knew a guy off STD (who never made the transition here) who refused to bring his engine above 2000 RPM's. I drove his truck on a freeway run (long story), and drove it the way I would drive my truck...the truck had more power and seemed happier in general, AND did better on fuel.

Just my $.02...also, keep in mind that not all diesels are meant to be low-reving. My Mercedes diesel governs out at 5000+ RPM's, and the power band doesn't even begin until 2500...

 

[sassyrel]

in all reality-you should be able to put the truck against the governor all day long--with a load--diesels dont like to be free spun without load--any brand--thats why you have a governor---and im not talking about those of us that have altered the governor-------------------------------------

 

[The Warden]

thats why you have a governor---and im not talking about those of us that have altered the governor-------------------------------------

What about those of us who recalled our governor?

 

[OkieGringo]

I've also revved it up at the 3k mark with a 10,000lb 5er on back pullin up a mtn or two. Coolant temps stay right at the 200deg mark, but if I let it get below 2600rpm the coolant temps go up FAST. So I use the throttle and gears to balance coolant temps and EGTs. OkieGringo

 

[f-two-fiddy]

I bounce off the govener when I don't pay attention to rev's while shifing.