problems at -40 ps vs. cummins

[GSpeed]

I was up in Grande Prairie couple days ago when the temp hit -40

After 30-45 seconds after starting my check guages light came on

and I lost all oil pressure. I think I screamed then I shut down.

After my heart slowed I tried it again . Got oil pressure right away and she stayed good. Next morning same thing happened but took a couple tries to keep it up. Now here's the funny part;

A pretty nice Ford powerstroke was right next to me and the owner came up to my window to see what I was doing.

I told him what was going on and he laughed and said "That's what you get when you buy Dodge". About 10 sec's later his

Powerstroke skipped a bit and died bad(bang! bang!). Wouldn't even turn over.

The look on his face when I left 10 mins. later was priceless.

Got a code P0524(oil pressure) out of it.

Plus I lost my cruise control on the way back to edmonton.

(not a great loss considering he' probably still outside screaming at his truck

All in all an interesting trip.

 

[RobertBolinger]

Another Priceless moment

Fuel to Grande Prairie $50



Coordinate departure so temp is -40 and PowerJoke is nearby $0



Look on PowerJoke owner's face when his rig terminally dies-



Priceless

 

[trucknut]

When I left for work this morning it was -30 F. My truck has high idle, which should be higher(1200) when it this cold. When idling; don't park with the grille facing the wind and turn the heater selector to floor, fan speed to low. This way the engine seems to maintain heat and the cab is warm enough. At least in -30 to-40 F temps. This engine will cool off in low temps Just Idling(2003).



I'am curious what weight oil you had in your engine when this happened. Winter/summer I run 10w-40 S/B, never had trouble with any of the ram diesels( 1998- 2001- 2002- 2003 ).

 

[GSpeed]

I'm running 15w-40 dino recommended by a few cummins owners.

When it's -40 out I tried a trick I read on here.

Place your transmission in drive with the park brake on and you truck will stay pretty close to operating temps .

By the way I'm switching to synthetic before I kill the truck .

 

[jlasich]

Now here's the funny part;

A pretty nice Ford powerstroke was right next to me and the owner came up to my window to see what I was doing.

I told him what was going on and he laughed and said "That's what you get when you buy Dodge". About 10 sec's later his

Powerstroke skipped a bit and died bad(bang! bang!). Wouldn't even turn over.

The look on his face when I left 10 mins. later was priceless.

I hope you gave him a good ribbing "That's what you get when you buy a Power Stroke. " before you drove off.

 

[Briman]

I am trying to imagine what 15-w40 must be like at -40. Way worse than honey, maybe even like taffy. I would'nt be surprised at all if the oil simply was not flowing into the oil pump. At least that is kind of what I envision. Pretty tough duty for that weight dino oil.

 

[Boost]

My 02 did the same thing this morning. About -10F not plugged in. It started fine, oil pressure came up for half a second then went to zero. I waited about 4 seconds and just before I was going to shut it down it went up to normal. No codes set. I am using Rotella 15-40. I have to remember to plug it in. Its only been plugged in a couple times this winter.



Rob

 

[TCDiesel]

STARTS

I have been using S-3000 5-30W HD, Amsoil, 0ver 10. 000 miles have Not notice any consumption,Pressure right away even in extreme temperature's. I will go back to 15-40w Cummins blue in the summer the HD-5-30W smells in high temps ,I do like 5-30W in the winter it does start much better.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

THOSE are the situations thinner oils and synthetics are MADE for!



SIC 'em Wayne!

 

[johncameron]

I run 0w 40 shell rotella t full synthetic up here in Canada. we have had temps as low as -45 this yera and I have not had a single problem. My rig started at -42 one morning not plugged in. I have found that letting it run at idle is almost useless unless you get the revs up over 1400/1500 fange. I just stuff my snow scraper between the pedal and the centre console to bring it up. At 1500 rpm, I;ve got heat in 10 mins or so.

 

[rbattelle]

No offense to anyone, but with temps frequently below 0 I'd switch over to 5w40 synthetic. Like Gary says, synthetic oil is designed specifically to overcome the low-temperature problems with dino oil. Just my opinion.

 

[BillGotthelf]

Got down to 47 here last night-almost thought about plugging in the block heater but then I woke up.

 

[jungledave]

Sounds like you had a cavitation problem in the pickup tube. It is pretty common with really thick oil. Need Synthetic. I can't imagine myself or my truck starting at that temp

 

[WoodChuck]

I think every body ought to break out and read their owners manual front to back at least once. Or check the index at the back when they have a question.



Page 327 in my 2004 manual recommends a 5w-40 SYNTHETIC for temps below 0 F.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

In extreme temps like you guys are dealing with I would go with synthetic even if your engine is brand new and not broken in yet. In your case once the weather warms switch back to dino to complete the break-in period and you should be fine. Better to protect your engine in extreme cold than worry about breaking it in right (and possibly end up completely breaking it).



I have a suggestion for you Albertans (and other cold clime folks)

Next time it looks like you're having one of your -20F or colder nights, go ahead and put a quart of your Delo 400 or Rotella outdoors then see how well it pours out of the bottle in the morning. Might want to bring a knife with you to dig it out



Vaughn

 

[ScottBrown]

I live in Alaska and we get the same temps as Canada, I switched from the Delo 400 15W-40 to the Delo 400 10w-30 this seems to be just fine for the extreme temp. I am not ready to go to the synthetic. The truck has only 6300 miles on her. In March I will go back to the 15W-40

 

[mbaston]

GSpeed, were you plugged in? I had always, year round, ran 15-40 Delo but I always plugged in. However, I have done some traveling where I couldn't plug in and gone to synthetic and have had no problems.

 

[ceastmen]

In cold weather something to keep in mind (there is another post with my reply which I copied to here)







In my experience the thick oil is the culprit! See following explanation:

I've had this problem with super cold temps in gasoline motors, however it's not a function of motor type. In cold temps the oil is a lot more viscous (thick - obvious) and it gets pumped out of the oil pan into the various parts of the motor -but- is very slow to return to the oil pan due to the viscosity.



It is possible to pump all the oil out of the pan and have the pump loose pressure. You turn the vehicle off because the pressure light comes on - freak out a bit - wait for a while and re-fire the motor and have pressure because the oil returned to the pan while you were waiting.



I've had a'79 440 (6-quart motor) pump every ounce of oil out of the pan into the valve covers and valley and then loose oil pressure. The thick oil was the culprit. I waited and re-fired the motor and pressure was back up again. DO NOT leave a super cold motor idleing, after first fire, unattended.



Anyone else have this experience? Am I on the right track?

 

[anomad]

pardon me for posting on the '03 forum...



But here in interior alaska it takes 10-15 seconds sometimes for oil pressure to register. The trick is an oil pan heater. Don't know how to start at -40F without it. I should switch to synthetic and see if it helps.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

15 40 will not flow at -40. Its pour point is around -10 going from memory. Do not use 15 40 if you see these temps often. Chrysler recommends 5 30 synthetic. Has to be diesel rated. I couldnt find any so I got mobil one delvac 5 40 and my truck loves it.



Im under the impression that the PSDs on the north slope run 0 30 full syn in comparable temps. Something to keep in mind.



The reason that guys truck died was his mouth. Karma is a biotch. I enjoy those the most.