Where to obtain oil/engine temperature; how hot before driving?

[CrazyStain]

Hi,

This has to be a very basic question, but I can’t find this answer in the forum, Google, or the Owners manual. Where can you get the engine oil temperature and how hot should it be before you start driving?

There’s a bunch of threads where people are commenting how hot their Broncos are running, but where are they getting this information from? All I see below my speedometer is a gauge, but it just has bars (no measurement °F). I have a 2023 Sasquatch Outer Banks with Lux if that helps.

Is there a set number of bars I should let my bronco obtain before I start driving it? It was 29°F here in Raleigh this morning and I let it get to two bars first. After driving it at low speeds for a minute or two, finally three and four bars finally showed. Is this a good enough approach? This is a brand new bronco and I want to be nice to it.

What is the common rule for heating up your vehicle before driving? Back when I took driver’s ed like 1 million years ago they said keep it under 35 until it warms up. Is this still true? I’m heading up to Buffalo and I may face much colder temperatures.

Also, if there are any general guidelines for breaking in a brand new vehicle that I should follow please let me know.

thanks!

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[Neigh]

There's a selectable display in the instrument cluster that'll show numeric boost, oil temp, trans temp, and voltage values.

Modern cars are designed to be driven within seconds after startup. If you're that worried, wait 30 seconds for everything in the engine to get good and oily and then drive normally.

My personal preference is to not get into any serious boost, and stay away from redline until I've got oil temps around 180F.

 

[Jruta]

I give mine a good five minutes when it’s really cold out. Warmer weather? A minute or so. Better waste the little bit of gas than damage anything. And I despise getting in a cold vehicle lol.

 

[BlueBronco]

I’m heading up to Buffalo and I may face much colder temperatures.

While in Bflo I would give it a good 5 minutes to warm up, more so you are not getting in a cold vehicle. There are also settings for the remote start for the hvac system to 'return to last' or 'automatic.' Depending on your options this can include preheating the seat and/or steering wheel for you as well. But yeah, you don't need to keep it under 35mph until it warms up.

And Go Bills!

 

[SHANUT]

Hi,

This has to be a very basic question, but I can’t find this answer in the forum, Google, or the Owners manual. Where can you get the engine oil temperature and how hot should it be before you start driving?

There’s a bunch of threads where people are commenting how hot their Broncos are running, but where are they getting this information from? All I see below my speedometer is a gauge, but it just has bars (no measurement °F). I have a 2023 Sasquatch Outer Banks with Lux if that helps.

Is there a set number of bars I should let my bronco obtain before I start driving it? It was 29°F here in Raleigh this morning and I let it get to two bars first. After driving it at low speeds for a minute or two, finally three and four bars finally showed. Is this a good enough approach? This is a brand new bronco and I want to be nice to it.

What is the common rule for heating up your vehicle before driving? Back when I took driver’s ed like 1 million years ago they said keep it under 35 until it warms up. Is this still true? I’m heading up to Buffalo and I may face much colder temperatures.

Also, if there are any general guidelines for breaking in a brand new vehicle that I should follow please let me know.

thanks!

You can drive immediately but take it easy until the engine is up to full operating temperature.

 

[Aonarch]

I give mine a good five minutes when it’s really cold out. Warmer weather? A minute or so. Better waste the little bit of gas than damage anything. And I despise getting in a cold vehicle lol.

This is very antiquated thinking back from the carburater days.

Modern vehicles are designed to be driven within seconds of start up.

All you need to do is wait for there to be oil pressure, which again is basically instant.

Just start driving, it will warm up faster and this is more efficient.

 

[Phil Brown]

This is very antiquated thinking back from the carburater days.

Modern vehicles are designed to be driven within seconds of start up.

Disagree, that the EPA's BS there. The less time that your engine runs the less out of the tail pipe. Thats why you have that auto start/stop for red lights as well. As things warm up clearances within the engine change. Those clearances were designed for a certain temp to minimize wear of the internal components
Want lots of mileage out of it let it warm up for a few min.

If you feel that they were redesigned to be driven cold maybe explain what changes have been made that make driving a cold motor good for its longevity

 

[Aonarch]

Disagree, that the EPA's BS there. The less time that your engine runs the less out of the tail pipe. Thats why you have that auto start/stop for red lights as well. As things warm up clearances within the engine change. Those clearances were designed for a certain temp to minimize wear of the internal components
Want lots of mileage out of it let it warm up for a few min.

If you feel that they were redesigned to be driven cold maybe explain what changes have been made that make driving a cold motor good for its longevity

We just had this thread about auto stop start. It is for fuel economy and based on testing can improve fuel economy 4-7%. Modern engines and oils are designed for ASS.

An engine under load will warm up significantly faster than at idle with no load.

 

[Phil Brown]

An engine under load will warm up significantly faster than at idle with no load.

With a HUGE amount of internal wear
The lie is all about lowering the tailpipe emissions

 

[thesocalexplorer]

I usually take it easy and under 3000 RPM until oil temps hit 165-175, after which I'm comfortable giving it WOT.

 

[Boreal]

TLDR: Start, Set your song, buckle up, and take off like your grandparents going to church on Sunday.

If its cold enough to use the block heater, than I will give it about 2 Minutes of warm up idling. Other than that, it’s enough time to set the music, buckle up and limp off the line, maybe ~45-60 seconds. A vehicle will always warm up quicker under light load, avoiding “medium” boost till the oil has hit atleast 40C/100f.

I’ll agree that the engines are designed to work in almost any temp. -40°C/F to +40°C(104F). Let the build oil pressure and you are good to go. Where I live, we are often so cold in the winter that the vehicles barely manage to hold operating temperature at highway speeds.

What most forget is that there are many other rotating components that don’t warm up while you are sitting there idle. Diffs, CV’s, Hubs, Transmission, Seals, U Joints, Transfer Case, Etc. Sit there and idle all you want, it doesn’t do anything to benefit the warmup of the rest of the rig.

Start off slow, and let it all warm up as you get up to speed. Jumping straight onto the highway is the worst thing you can do for the entire drivetrain longevity.

During a cold start, the high pressure direct injection systems paired with the rich high idle will flood the cylinders with fuel. This causes a cylinder wall washdown effect as well as fuel blow by(fuel getting by the piston rings). This washdown will remove lubrication from the cylinder walls causing MORE wear rather than taking it easy and driving while cold. The fuel that blows by the piston rings (and also washes down) will dilute the Engine Oil, lowering its flashpoint, viscosity and general lubrication characteristics.

To sum it up, cold starting and idling to 10+ minutes is an antiquated thought process and is counterproductive to the longevity of the entire vehicle. Use a good full synthetic oil, give it 2 minutes and go.

The temp gauge is under “My Gauges”, some others have pointed you in the right direction already.

And as far as break in goes. Drive it like normal but avoid heavy loads/towing/hard boost/WOT for the first 1000Miles. Most would also advise to get an early oil change done around 2000-5000Miles. This gets rid of any break in metals that have accumulated early on. It also allows you to swap from the factory semi-syn to a full-Syn oil (should you choose), giving you better wear protection, temperature variability and carbon deposit mitigation from the get-go!

 

[ksdon]

No really knowing if it is needed, we wait until the start up (noise, higher rpm etc) stops and the engine settles into it's idle. Doesn't take very long so not much is wasted and is not being driven as the cold engine procedure takes place. Seems a balanced approach.

 

[the poacher]

Hey CrazyStain,
As you can read, you are going to get a lot of different answers to your two questions. Rather than read all of these wide ranging answers, look to the experts. Popular Mechanics for example states:

Warming up your car in winter before driving it is actually terrible for your engine. Driving your car right away is is the fastest way to warm up your engine, and will actually prolong the life of your engine instead of letting it sit idling before driving. By letting your car sit to warm up, it’s actually putting extra fuel into the combustion chamber, which can get onto your cylinder walls. Because gasoline is an excellent solvent, too much on your cylinder walls can dissolve the oil that lubricates your cylinders, leading to shorter life on crucial components. Driving your call will warm up your engine and car, faster than idling.

As to breaking in your engine, your Ford Bronco manual clearly states:
Your vehicle requires a break-in period. For the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km), avoid driving at high speeds, heavy breaking, aggressive shifting, or using your vehicle to tow.

 

[Rydfree]

TLDR: Start, Set your song, buckle up, and take off like your grandparents going to church on Sunday.

If its cold enough to use the block heater, than I will give it about 2 Minutes of warm up idling. Other than that, it’s enough time to set the music, buckle up and limp off the line, maybe ~45-60 seconds. A vehicle will always warm up quicker under light load, avoiding “medium” boost till the oil has hit atleast 40C/100f.

I’ll agree that the engines are designed to work in almost any temp. -40°C/F to +40°C(104F). Let the build oil pressure and you are good to go. Where I live, we are often so cold in the winter that the vehicles barely manage to hold operating temperature at highway speeds.

What most forget is that there are many other rotating components that don’t warm up while you are sitting there idle. Diffs, CV’s, Hubs, Transmission, Seals, U Joints, Transfer Case, Etc. Sit there and idle all you want, it doesn’t do anything to benefit the warmup of the rest of the rig.

Start off slow, and let it all warm up as you get up to speed. Jumping straight onto the highway is the worst thing you can do for the entire drivetrain longevity.

During a cold start, the high pressure direct injection systems paired with the rich high idle will flood the cylinders with fuel. This causes a cylinder wall washdown effect as well as fuel blow by(fuel getting by the piston rings). This washdown will remove lubrication from the cylinder walls causing MORE wear rather than taking it easy and driving while cold. The fuel that blows by the piston rings (and also washes down) will dilute the Engine Oil, lowering its flashpoint, viscosity and general lubrication characteristics.

To sum it up, cold starting and idling to 10+ minutes is an antiquated thought process and is counterproductive to the longevity of the entire vehicle. Use a good full synthetic oil, give it 2 minutes and go.

The temp gauge is under “My Gauges”, some others have pointed you in the right direction already.

And as far as break in goes. Drive it like normal but avoid heavy loads/towing/hard boost/WOT for the first 1000Miles. Most would also advise to get an early oil change done around 2000-5000Miles. This gets rid of any break in metals that have accumulated early on. It also allows you to swap from the factory semi-syn to a full-Syn oil (should you choose), giving you better wear protection, temperature variability and carbon deposit mitigation from the get-go!

^^^
Solid info right there...

 

[cbrenthus]

I get in, hit the garage door button, then start, and sit while the door opens. When the door opens, I go. But I take it easy and try to stay off the boost until I get up to around 180 oil temp.

I agree that letting a vehicle warm up a bit is a good thing, but I don't think you need to let it idle for 5-10 minutes before driving, unless you want to for comfort (which I have done). I also think warming up was more important for older vehicles for 2 major reasons, carbs and oil. I've had carbureted vehicles that were difficult to to keep running when cold and you had to fiddle with the choke. And today's synthetic oils work so much better when could vs dino oil.

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