truck sitting forawhile,,, what to do?

[Dieselram]

Hey guys, i am going to utah for a week here in about a month or so. . my truck will be sitting in a carport in the cold (30's or less) what do i need to do before starting it when i get back?

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Nothing special. Let the grid heater run a cycle and hit the key. Make sure you have the tank FULL of fuel that is winter grade or has some kind of anti-gel added. My truck starts every day in temps colder than that just fine. I have started my truck as cold as -22 without being plugged in, and -41 plugged in. Never had a problem with gelling fuel. I run Power Service in every tank.

 

[GerryDrake]

Cold

Nothing special. Let the grid heater run a cycle and hit the key. Make sure you have the tank FULL of fuel that is winter grade or has some kind of anti-gel added. My truck starts every day in temps colder than that just fine. I have started my truck as cold as -22 without being plugged in, and -41 plugged in. Never had a problem with gelling fuel. I run Power Service in every tank.

Just watched the news today... it is -54° in Duluth today ?... YIKES !!!

It's about 50° and rainy here... .

 

[Duluth Diesel]

-54 was with the wind chill, -38 or -40 was the actual air temp. I've had people say that they have experienced -10 degree wind chills and they think that once its that cold that it all feels the same. Believe me that -54 is a whole different level of cold. Even with the Cummins plugged in, everything else is pretty stiff. Power Steering, Clutch, Brakes, trans... When it is this cold, I start her up and get her idling fast, I put the transfer case in neutral and shift the trans into 4th gear and let the transmission spin for a while. Letting the transmission warm up before driving and shifting it keeps it from grinding when it is that cold. And since my '02 has a live front axle (no disconnect) you can really tell how stiff that front end is (thick fluid). On ice with a stiff front end, I pretty much spin like I'm power braking. I have to put her in 4hi just to get the truck to move without spinning. Fun fun. A heated garage is on my wish list.

 

[Dieselram]

I had a really hard time getting my truck started today. . it was about 3 and -20 with the windchill... i tried to start it 4 times and it just died after about 4 strokes... the only way i could get it to start was the give it a little fuel and keep cranking for about 25 seconds,, is this normal when it;s this cold? I cycled the grid 3 times before i tried to start it the first time.

 

[WBusa]

Dieselram, hard-starting/dying is definitely not normal at 3*. Mine has been starting right up at -9 lately, and others here swear they can start at -20.



I bet you're having a fuel gelling problem. A fuel additive in the winter is a real good idea... lots of threads here on this topic. Stanadyne's what I use, but many others are fine, too. NAPA stocks Power Service, which is convenient.

 

[DBogo]

I had a really hard time getting my truck started today. . it was about 3 and -20 with the windchill... i tried to start it 4 times and it just died after about 4 strokes... the only way i could get it to start was the give it a little fuel and keep cranking for about 25 seconds,, is this normal when it;s this cold? I cycled the grid 3 times before i tried to start it the first time.

did you have the block heater plugged in?

 

[Dieselram]

did you have the block heater plugged in?

Nope. . i am sure if i had it would have started right up.