Diesels in the winter

[ascaps]

I've been thinking about getting a diesel pickup to use as a daily driver and tow rig, but at work there's nowhere for me to plug in a block warmer, and when I leave work in the morning, it's been around -10* out...

How do you guys deal with starting your oil burners up when it's cold out, and you're unable to plug in the block heater?

[The Jerk]

just say no to glow plugs... he he. i dont live in that cold a weather. but guys who do with dodges have no problems. run a good fuel conditioner. have a dual bat set up and cycle the grid heaters and should fire right up. jiMMy

[ChiXJeff]

My 99 Dodge CTD works pretty well down to zero or so.

For an alternative to a plug in, look at http://www.webasto.us

[DSI]

we haven't had a morning abouve approx 20-25 degrees in over a month, if i don't plug in, my truck will fire just fine if i cycle the key a few times, but usually runs rough for the first few min, like it's waiting to pick up the last cyl or two. the only time i've had a cold weather hard start was at approx 0 degrees, took a few min to get it to go, and when it did, it smoked and knocked pretty hard.

i haven't been using any standyne or fuel conditioner's until this last tank, it helps!

[Gouky]

i DD an f-250 with the 7.3L

strong batteries and it always starts, bitches a little for the first minute or two sometimes but it always starts.


i'm considering a diesel fired coolant heater to get the engine up to temp faster, but it's for me, not the engine. the diesel takes a while to warm up those 4 gallons of oil without help.

[Jrod-13]

My dad's 83' F-250 with a a 6.9 always started just fine at -40 with no block heater.
His 89' with a 7.3 is fine till around 0, then you need to plug it it in. After the -20, -30 mark, it needed ether at times to get it started.
Everyone I know with newer PSD's and cummins have no problem getting them started at forty below, you just gotta plug them in. The diesel fired coolant heaters like mentioned above are getting popular aswell.

[ascaps]

The problem is that it's gonna sit in the parking lot while I'm at work for 9 hours in below 0 weather without anywhere to plug it in. Is there an on-board solution to getting the engine warm, or keeping it warm so that it starts and doesn't damage anything (I'm a diesel n00b)? If not, I may have to go gas, just because of the nasty weather and lack of block warmer.

[ChiXJeff]

Yes.... see http://www.webasto.us like I posted above. You're looking for the BlueHeat package.

You can set it to start the heater at a specific time, or remotely start it with a key fob.

[DRM]

Good batteries go a long way.



Why nowhere to plug in? You park that far from the house or something?

[Bill4rest]

My Duramax, does just fine here in the winter

[Toyota_Jim]

My dd with a C9 cat and it started today when it was 0 out. I usually park inside though at night.

[Bill Collins]

i was in north nebraska for christmas,got to -6 and my 01 ford started right up that morning...

[82F100SWB]

I've had no problems with my PSD this winter, and there's been a couple days it was -30 out, and I hadn't plugged it in, BUT, I run 0W40 synthetic in there. Glow plug engines do tend to start better in the REALLY cold stuff, but, an intake heat engine will still start, they just are less happy about it. I've seen both start unassisted at -45 with the 0W40 in them.
A Webasto or Espar or such is NICE, but pricey.

[ascaps]

Thanks for all the replies, but I think I'm just gonna go with a gasoline truck, considering I don't really need a diesel as a daily driver.

[RgdL]

Temperatures here get COLD. We just came out of two-week stretch where the temps didn't get above -25C. I always plug in at night with my timer set to come on about 4 hours before I start my '04 F250.

But I can't always plug in during the day, so what I do is hit the remote start a couple times throughout the really cold days just to cycle things. Heats up a cold motor and prevents it from getting too frozen throughout the long day.

[Bigred84cj8]

My 04.5 CTD starts just fine every time in below 0 weather. My apartment has a deck so I can't plug in either. The F250 I had before this truck required a new glow plug relay every winter. Rude suprise when it goes out and you can't get it cranked. It seemed to do a good job of waiting till Jan Feb every year to go. My Dad's Dmax has been good as well.

[DutchTJ]

good batteries and cycling it 2-3 times (in case you can't use the block heater like stated)

[Vermin]

No problems in the winter here.. but it's 75 out today

[ddestruel]

I never had to cycle my cummin's trucks more than once, becasue they have an intake air temp sensor, keeps it on as long as it needs it, i guess because down to -35* i have always been able to fire them even without plugging them in down at hunting camp and letting them sit for a week or so. i did carry a small portable torch for heating the fuel filter and lines for when i had #2 in my tank and it got too cold, otherwise i would just hold the throttle a little and keep the rpms up to insure that she didnt die out. 1000 rpms or so. oil be damned the engine lasted well past 400k miles in those kind of conditions like that for years. 15/40 rotella every oil change. i recommend plug in below 20 degrees just to be nice to the truck but its not necessary. i used to run 50/50 in the winter in one tank and then had 15 gallons of straight #1 in the front tank, if it was getting cold id flip the tank before i shut her down fill the system with #1 and i was good to go the next morning.

[64Trvlr]

For you guys that think you don't need to plug your diesel in when it's cold. Try a few weeks of cold starts then run an oil sample and see what it says.

[elacruze]

Originally Posted by 64Trvlr

For you guys that think you don't need to plug your diesel in when it's cold. Try a few weeks of cold starts then run an oil sample and see what it says.

What will it say? I assume that fuel will get past the rings into the oil, but I'd be interested in pertinent information. I keep mine plugged for what it's worth, on a wall timer so it's only warm when I may need it. It's a '85 GM 6.2, with two dead glow plugs. The difference between barely starting at +20 and starting grudgingly at -10 was 0w40 Mobil 1. (without heating) Anybody have a link to fuel heater website?

[ScottFJ40]

I will be sending an oil sample into Blackstone Labs in a week or two. I was on a 5K mile drain interval, but in their last report to me, they said try 8K mile. That's this one.

I have a 98.5 24valve, and I had a mix of cold starts/plugged in starts. I'll post up any interesting results.

[rockcrawler304]

Originally Posted by Vermin

No problems in the winter here.. but it's 75 out today

LMAO

We have the same problems here to. Sometimes it gets down to about 25* at night!! But that is when it's REAL cold. On the down side though, I won't talk about our summer time temps.

[Rip DeLips]

Originally Posted by 64Trvlr

For you guys that think you don't need to plug your diesel in when it's cold. Try a few weeks of cold starts then run an oil sample and see what it says.

Do tell! It doesn't get all that cold here in NC, but I plug in when it's gunna be around 20 or below. It's an '02 7.3L PSD, and doesn't have a bit of trouble starting at 10 degrees (coldest start so far without the block heater) if I've forgotten to plug it in...but I always try to plug it in at 20, just cause I think it makes for a happier truck. lolllllll

Any good websites for diesels? I'd like to keep this one in good shape for a lonnnnnnnng time.

[smitrock]

rip de lips check out this site

http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/