Idling Car

I started my 86 Toyota Corolla SR5 up to charge up the battery. I forgot about it, and left it idling in the driveway for a couple of hours.

Did I do any damage to it? I have plenty of oil in it. I am concerned about oil pressure.

Thanks.

Reply to
Buck Turgidson
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Probably not.

About the only damage you can do to a car by letting it idle for awhile is if it is on a hot day. It might overheat. Otherwise, oil pressure doesn't 'pump up' over time. Tt gets to its max 'pressure' within 30 seconds of starting the car, and stays there (or decreases slightly once it warms to operating temp).

-phaeton

Reply to
phaeton

Er.... i meant "oil pressure doesn't 'pump up' or diminish over time"

doing too many things at once...

-phaeton

Reply to
phaeton

Normally, no damage would be done by idling like that. Many vehicles are idled for long periods. However, running the vehicle to charge up a badly discharged battery is not such a good thing for your alternator. A separate charger is the best way to handle that. And if you need a battery, buy one. If you merely started it because it had been sitting unused for a period of time, you have no problem.

Reply to
Al Bundy

No one mentioned the aspect of the cylinders and pistons only being lubricated via 'splash oiling'. This may or may not be an issue. I keep telling myself while I am sitting in my car anytime that requires idling for any amount of time - "relax. the top half of the piston sees very little oil anyway. don't rev it. don't rev it."

I tap the accelerator anyway. Just to spin the crank a tad faster just to throw that little bit extra oil onto the bottoms of the pistons. Am I paranoid? Yes, I think so.

Police cars do a lot of idling...

bob z. ps: yes, my car is very quiet and no one knows that i am slightly rev'ing my engine in the drivethru :~)>

Reply to
bob zee

Unless you have a Briggs motor under your hood, you're getting more than splash oiling going throughout the system.

Reply to
51_racing

Or a Chevy straight six :-p

you're getting more than

True. There are small holes at the junction of the connecting rod cap and the rod, which squirt oil on the underside of the piston crowns as the crankshaft oil hole rotates past (on V-type engines). On inlines, there may be a drilled hole in the conrod, or a dedicated oil squirter, or just the leakage flung out of the sides of the conrod bearing under pressure.

Reply to
Steve

-begin sarcasm -

Really? I wondered what all of those gun-drilled passages were for...

-end sarcasm -

:~)>

bob z.

Reply to
bob zee

That is the part I like. The leakage being flung around. I mean, it works, right? How many times does one piston go up and down during the average lifespan? How many straight line miles has the piston traveled inside the cylinder. Pretty awesome stuff if you think too much about it. If you are a paranoid, anal freak like me.

bob z.

Reply to
bob zee

In terms of oil circulation, the Toyota 2TC is only a small step above the Briggs lawnmower engine. Incidentally, these things are notorious for oil pump failures so always keep an eye on the gauge.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

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