I read about a few guys that do this on another site. I was wondering if anyone here does it. It makes sense to me, but I'd like the majority opinion from y'all!!!In really cold weather, they start their trucks, and then put the transfer case in Neutral. They then put the tranny in Drive, or if a manual in "direct".......4th or 5th depending on your tranny type. They claim it helps warm the truck a bit faster if you don't have an EB. I can definitely see how it would help a manual tranny warm up a bit.So what do you's guys think about it??

i dont see how that would put such a small load if any at all on it!

I used to do that with an older (1976) F-150 I had. Made the 4 speed feel like summer!

Don't see how it would create a load being the shaft is free spining...

Its funny I have been driving 4wd trucks since I was 12 and had never even thought of it until I read about it a few days ago. I don't for one minute buy that it will do anything to increase the coolant temp any faster (at least at a worth while rate), but I do beleive it will help warm the trans and may get better shifting on a manual. I don't think I would try this on an auto thou. Have you ever put a auto in D with the xcase in N, then tried to get the xcase back in gear without shutting the motor off? I have done it, and have never had it work. I am going on a hunting trip next month and it will probably be COLD, I may give this a shot.

One thing it might do is to help the tranny warm up faster, making it a little easier to shift when it is really cold out, and the truck has been sitting in the cold all day/night.

I do this on my Dakota. Can't say the engine warms up any faster. However the transmission is a bear to shift when first started cold on a 0-20 degree day (5-speed) and it certainly seems to shift much better after running for about 5-10mins like this. :smart:I have been told that idling a 24-valve in below freezing weather is a recipe for disaster. Something about the heads running too cool in this weather. So I just start my Ram and wait for the oil pressure to stabilize then head off. After being on the highway for about 5mins I have 180*f.

I was elk hunting the last 3 days and the temps were about 0 every morning and I did this just to give it a shot. And it does help the trans shift easier sooner. I don't think it added much load to the motor but even just 1 minute in 5th gear made a difference.

I will have to give this a try next time I get off work when it is really cold, just to see what happens.

It does not load the engine enough to even be noticed, but it does warm up the transmission to make way easier to shift.