Posted on 01/01/2014 8:32:17 AM PST by Gay State Conservative
My dilemma...tomorrow night my diesel and I will spend the night in a town where it's forecast to drop to -40F overnight.I'll have no garage,no battery charger,no oil pan heater...nothing.Does anyone have any experience with diesels at that temperature? My previous diesel once started after a night of -30F but I'm concerned about this.As on the previous occasion I plan to fill up with locally blended Shell diesel when I arrive but my car maker forbids the use of *any* fuel additives (it's still under warranty).Thanks in advance for any advice.
I’ve used baked potatoes or water bottles filled with very hot water inside a sleeping bag. I even read an article by a lady researcher who works in the Antarctic. She does the same thing.
Leave it running.
Ditto
Buy a couple cases of beer. In case your truck does not start, drink the beer.
Yep. There's ways to keep warm if there's no access to electricity.
We make "quilted" type corn bags for sore muscles or just to deal with winter night chills because they're easy. The corn is sewn into small square pockets to keep it evenly spread out. Sooooo toasty warm!
This is entirely out of my range of experiences, but perhaps a trip to the local pub and a plea for advice over a scotch with a local patron might reveal the answer to the problem. That’s what I’d do.
While taking the battery inside might very well allow starting the next morning,something to consider is how practical this will be. Depending on the vehicle,it may well have dual batteries,neither of which will be particularly easy to remove/replace at -40F. I’ve done this before under those conditions w/satisfactory results,but it was a gas car w/ single battery.
In an emergency keep a bag of charcoal an old pan and charcoal starter. Light the charcoal in the pan and when the flame goes out and you have a pan of hot coals, slide the pan under the engine block for about an hour, then crank you truck.
well... you could do like i read the Germans did on the eastern front during the war when it got to -40 in that they drained the diesel fuel and crankcase oil out of their tanks at night and kept it warm but it's prolly easier finding a heated dipstick or keeping it running all night 8^)
Thats what I was thinking. I’ve done that along with a tarp over the front of a truck to keep wind out and hold the heat in.
“slide the pan under the engine block for about an hour, then crank you truck.”
I’ve done this before, on tractors, and it does work. Don’t know if he will be able to find charcoal some place that will be -40.
I have used a radiant electric heater pointed up from under the engine compartment, but I like your idea.
It should increase the temp inside the engine compartment by 20 to 30 degrees, maybe more if no wind.
There is usually no wind when it gets down to -40.
I would also recommend starting the vehicle first thing in the morning, if it was not left running overnight.
If the vehicle is parked in a garage I would find an unused electric heating pad and place that in the engine compartment.
I think that would do the trick if your minus a block heater.
You shouldn’t have to set the temp up too high either.
You're making the right move by filling up in the local area. The fuel stations will try to have the correct blend for the local weather. However, make sure you drive it for a while before stopping, so that the new fuel mixes old, and also clears through the filter.
My cousin thought he would be smart, and left his Mercedes running. It survived just fine, but ruined my dad's garage door, since it was backed up against the garage to protect it from the wind.
At 40 below, I would use three: two 100-watt underneath the engine facing up, and one under the hood.
Ran a hotel for 6 years in MT where -40 was common in winter. Truckers without plugins would run the engine every 2-3 hours for 15 min. Never saw that fail but plenty that didn’t bother couldn’t get started the next morning.
Good luck.
I remember well the struggles starting carburated V-8's, filled with heavy mineral oils back in the 70's. Within ten years we had fuel injected fours with synthetic oils that actually turned over.
A trickle charger will use the resistance of the battery to keep it warm, but at the temperatures you are expecting, bringing the battery inside is a better idea.
We also put our tools inside an oven to warm them up before going outside to use them.
They make magnetic mount engine heaters. You can stick them to the bottom of the oil pan, the block, wherever. You can use several and take them off when you no longer need them.
Another warning that almost got me. Get some lock deicer and keep it outside the vehicle. Don’t set the e brake either. Good luck. I don’t own a diesel.
But listen up, run down to Pep Boys and get a block heater. That's what they are for.
Via info gleaned from this thread, and some personal experience, being from the North....
If you can get 110V to the car with a long extension cord, that would be helpful. A trouble light is good, and since they have 110V taps on them, a dip-stick heater would be a good idea too. If you can’t get the 110V, I like the idea of the burning charcoal. Don’t let it get too hot! You don’t want to crack the oil pan (or more likely the plug gasket).
Either way, blocking the front end with sheets of corrugated cardboard is a must, because if there’s wind, there will be a tendency for the powdered snow to blow up into your engine compartment, which will cause complications with your electrical system. You don’t say how old you car is, you may consider changing spark-plug wires now because extreme cold kills them.
Let the car idle a good half-hour before you drive it. (This one’s a bit of a “duh.”)
Another item I haven’t seen mentioned yet: Using a Hygrometer, verify the concentration of your anti-freeze. Drain water and add AF if you must. Blown freeze-plugs will screw up all your careful plans. If you don’t have cloth seat covers, thrown some towels over the leather or vinyl to help keep them from cracking. Sit on them as little as possible until the car warms up.
(I fixed all this years ago by moving to AZ....lol)
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