2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 40 Below Zero!

[T Smith]

What are you doing for the cold weather?



My brother in Fairbanks just got a '94 with auto trans, and he says at ~ -20 the block heater is barely keeping it warm enough to start. He's kind of worried about what might happen when it starts getting cold around there.



Is anybody using 2 block heaters, or oil pan heaters, or any other suggestions?



Also, he's not getting very warm temp in the cab heat, sounds like a common complaint. He's got the electric (Horton?) fan turned off, and the radiator blocked which helps some, but thinks the thermostat might be weak since it seems to be opening too soon by the temp guage. He's going to replace it with the updated OEM t-stat, we'll see if that helps any.



Thanks for any help.



TSmith (in the banana belt, SE Alaska)

 

[fox]

It has been a long time since I've seen it that cold!

He needs to make sure the batteries are good, it will make a lot of difference. Also a synthetic oil is a good idea.

With those two will make a big difference.

One those occasions it may be a help to use a heat gun to warm the intake air when first started.

Tell him to replace the thermostat, and block more radiator air!!

 

[Double J]

If I lived in Fairbanks I'd definately have an Espar heater. It may be a little spendy but, I was up there last Jan. (not with my truck) and at -30 I'd hate to turn the girl over with out one. You also may want to check this thread out to help warm things up on the road. Blanket

 

[wlowe]

I lived in Fairbanks for 12 years, well, actually North Pole which is twelve miles east of Fairbanks. All my rigs were gas which definitely run warmer in very cold weather. If it was my decision I would park the diesel and drive a gasser in the winter. This is what I used when I lived there: battery blankets, block heater, therm-o-pump coolant hose heater, radiator cover, oil pan heater, transmission pan heater, synthetic fluids in everything.



Other than that the best thing to have is a heated garage. Oo. Espar heaters are also nice.

 

[GLanduyt]

You just can't beat and Espar for cold starts. You don't have to worry if the circuit breaker blows like with the electric heaters.



Greg

 

[swhalen]

Hi TSmith:

i lived in fbks for 14 years and had no problems w/diesel trucks and cars. here is my advice: attach a junction box to the inside wheel well and run a single cord out the grill. put battery blankets on both batteries. this is imperative cause they sure get lazy in the cold weather. do not use the battery pads, use blankets. pads can toast the electrolyte. paste an oil pan heater on the bottom of the oil pan. if i could choose only one cold weather crutch,this would be it. just set a can of 15-40 in the snowbank at -50 and see how easily it pours. this is your lube @ startup. now plug the block heater and these three units into your junction box and presto, one plug gets everything going. buy a timer and heavy duty, arctic-rated electrical cord. replace all front and rear gear oils with synthetics. 4-5 hours is good enough to get you going in the morning. buy a winter front from alaska tent and tarp (in town). they will install the snaps cheap, if it is too cold to do so and no garage is available. final piece of advice: before labor day every year, go over your vehicles stem to stern and pray all winter to the vehicle gods cause it ain't fun laying in the snowbank @-50 turning wrenches. don't ask me how i know. regards, steve whalen

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

and pray all winter to the vehicle gods cause it ain't fun laying in the snowbank @-50 turning wrenches. don't ask me how i know

Tell it Brother. Can I get an Amen? Can I get a Witness? :-laf

 

[monkeyman]

I agree about the Espar, I never plug my truck in. And no matter how cold it is out its about 90 degrees inside when I leave! And even my WIFE loves that option!

 

[WyattEarp]

if your out all day and running the truck another option and this was told by my shop teacher i had in Highschool which was stationed in Alaska with the military, he was a mechanic, each day they would pull the trucks in, drain all the oil, transmission, transfercase, and both differential oils, store them inside and fill them back up in the morning, he said there was nothing worse than trying to unthaw a rearend with a heater can sitting under it before the truck could leave out.

I agree the blankets, a good winter front, espar heater are all in order for that kind of weather.

 

[JR2]

I agree with most of what has been said. An ESPAR is the ideal solution for the engine, but a heater pad for the transmission will really help it out. I work in the oil fields of AK where it has been known to get a bit colder than you talk about, all we do is plug our trucks in and they are fine. We only have an oil pan heater and the block heater.



I have a buddy with a smaill plane (PA-11 modded to a super cub) and he has been known to drain the engine oil into a can and take it into the cabin at night. Not real practical for our trucks but for small engines it works good.





I once saw a couple of mechanics change the transmission in a Nodwell Track Vechicle at -50 F. They worked really fast and got really cold.

 

[Msilbernagel]

What are you doing for the cold weather?



My brother in Fairbanks just got a '94 with auto trans, and he says at ~ -20 the block heater is barely keeping it warm enough to start. He's kind of worried about what might happen when it starts getting cold around there.



Is anybody using 2 block heaters, or oil pan heaters, or any other suggestions?



[... ] TSmith (in the banana belt, SE Alaska)

I haven't seen anyone mention keeping the fuel from gelling at those temps... are there sufficient additives in the fuel to keep it going when it drops to -20F and below?



Anyone insulate the tank and fuel lines?



Jus' wonderin...



Mark

-

 

[JFaughn]

Most of the electric heaters every body mentioned hocked to one outlet, but when it realy gets cold [ I've been in -65{without windchill} ] , but whats missing so far is use an old moving blanket over eng. under hood and a fullsized[4x8] 1 1/2-2" pice of foam insulation and block up until it touches bottom , it your going to make heat then keep it at some point you can not make enough to warm up the outside.

 

[swhalen]

Mark

my experience re fuel/gelling has been that the distributors in northern climes seasonally have appropriate additives for #2 to keep from gelling. in many places the bigger stations have #1 as well, so no problem if you don't trust the #2. watch out, however, if you head north in midwinter and fuel up w/#2 somewhere much farther south. i know of several occasions where folks did just that and had gelled fuel. distributors adjust fuel to local conditions. regards, steve whalen

 

[SnoKing]

When I was in Fairbanks years ago with NCR (early 70's), the local tech had me crank the old chevy six for a minute and then wait a minute or two before trying the second time (-45). First time it hardly turned over, second time it cranked slow but started. So I asked about the wait between the tries and he said the first atemp cause a great current flow in the battery, and during the wait the battery was heating it's self up from the large current draw. So at the second cranking the battery was much warmer and could provide more power. Oh yet the guy was a really good pool player also. SNOKING

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

at ~ -20 He's kind of worried about what might happen when it starts getting cold around there.



TSmith (in the banana belt, SE Alaska)

Wow I kinda thought that that was cold I looked up two years ago at my overhead thingy and we all know that Wind chill does not affect readings.



#ad






For that month I used about 1/4 to 1/2 bottle of howe's #ad
at every fill up. (Oh and keep that tank full) and on the coldest morning (-26*) it was still outside and I swear you could hear the snow evaporate and trees shatter :-laf Anyways went outside as the truch had been plugged in for a SOLID THREE DAYS that I was at the cabin hit the key and the Cummins fired right off without a song and dance so to speak... ... allmost as if it was just shut down (Only a little klankier)

 

[DMcLeod]

I live in Fairbanks. Good advice posted here.



I use the following:

#1 diesel (i also like Howes additive)

winter front

block heater (immersion)

battery blanket on each battery

high idle/3 cylinder feature enabled (98 & newer trucks I think)

synthetic oil throughout

heated garage (when possible)



I initially thought my thermostat was weak also, so I changed it (cummins part), but no difference. Now I have a spare.



Some folks have removed the fan. I will be adding an exhaust brake and Espar type heater very soon.



When it's about -20 and colder, the Cummins will not maintain enough heat when town driving. It has no trouble maintaining 190degF on the highway. So when left idling while at the grocery store or restaurant, the temp gauge will indicate cold (140 is my lowest gauge reading) upon return to the truck. The high idle feature, exhaust brake, and espar will help it maintain heat.



swalen has a good point about setting a can of oil in the snowbank at -50. The 5W30 synthetic engine oil I use pours easily. The Mopar "cold wx" pwr steering fluid from the dealer is another story.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Yes VERY important! Do NOT Idle the truck to warm it up , or at the store etc ... The cylinder temps drop off to about 160 if left idle for say 5 minutes or so. This can lead to (Altho not proven ... yet) Cylinder washdown but more importantly WILL cause varnish deposits to build up on exhaust valves which if left to accumulate too long can cause valves to hang causing a power loss and rough run condition.



The reason is that the injection pump at idle is set to inject enough fuel to maintain a 800rpm idle. With a diesel there is not any restriction like throttle plates to make the engine work against itself to generate heat. For a direct injection diesel engine you must put a load against the engine to create heat. I. E Exhaust brake or PTO driven accessory or just plain drive it.



With my Exhaust brake on at idle I can maintain 450-600 all day long (Depending on outside temps. ) And do not run the truck with the heater plugged in as the imersion heater can break from being hot and vibrating in the current flow of the coolant.

 

[Nate]

When I was working night shift in Alaska in the winter, I would get to work and fire up a truck (Dodge 2500) and let it run until I needed to go out. Sometimes it would stay running for 4 or 5 hours. If I had known then what i know now...

 

[DWeiler]

Is HOWES OK by the members here for cold weather,i used Stanadyne but too hard to find, have used Power Service a bit,have to drive a bit to get it. Howes is available down the steet,should i keep using it for antigel/lubricity/winter care ect. Any opinion/suggestions greatly appreciated. ---DW.

 

[Woodenhead]

Keep it simple

I've spent plenty of time in Canadian cold weather and saw 2 weeks in Alberta when it ran -35 at night and -25 during the day. I had my grill inserts in and have a manual push/pull type throttle cable. At night I'd just plug in the block heater and it'd fire up no problem in the morning, bump the idle to 1100-1200RPM, run the exhaust brake and the cab would be toasty when I came out 20 minutes later. During the day I wouldn't plug it in at work and it'd still fire up after sitting at -25 to -30 (no sun) from 7AM until 9PM (long days). It'd run a little rough when starting after not being plugged in but it'd still start. Always had plenty of heat driving around town with just the inserts. I run Howes year round and have never had a problem with gelling.



If it'll crank, it'll start.



I'd say winter front, exhaust brake (if you have it), high idle, good batteries synthetic oil and Howes.



Mike