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.
Obviously someplace where the Global Warming is totally out of hand.
Granted, its not available everywhere, but I use 0W-20 both for the turnover and to get the oil pressure up faster.
Diesel is the way to go!
I am in northern Manitoba and it got to -40 the night before last with a -49 windchill. My gear shift froze. I let it warm up for 2 hours and was just able to shift. Got my erands done, came home and am staying put till it warms up to -20 on Friday (hopes).
5 years with this car, this has never happened. And that is with winter gas, synthetic oil and plugged in block heater and battery charger.
Hope you figure something out.
Changing the plug wires on a diesel is difficult - best ask your dealer to do that...
Ah...yeah. Missed that. Boy, do I feel stupid. That happened to me on my gas car back in the ‘70’s....
I was up in Fairbanks with a rental car and just set my alarm and went out and started the car a couple times. Finally started it at 3AM and just left it running.
My diesel pickup had a factory installed block heater and a radiator cover.
Get some “Diesel 911” (the red bottle) Add to your tank and fuel it.
Use your spare key, leave it running and lock it up.
Also, make sure your antifreeze is up to snuff in case you do shut it off.
Warning:
If you do shut it off and can’t get it started, expect using a salamander heater and a tarp tent over the front of the vehicle, or having it towed to a heated facility to sit overnight.
Hair dryer on low (that will give you about 500 watts of heat) pointed at the engine block. However, if your fuel is not blended for -40 it is going to be jellied. Fill up you tank with the local blend.
Now that you have had the practical advice ...
Have Al Gore come and lecture on the evils of fossil fuel and how the oceans are rising and carbon credits must be bought (from him) to save the planet. That should keep things nice and toasty.
PS: if he freezes, stick a carrot over his nose and wait for spring!
I've done the old "hibachi trick" It warms up the oil, but it didn't always work (and that was on a Ford 240 six.
Easiest to just let the bugger run all night, but you could try a heavy duty extension cord, 100 watt incandescent bulb (assuming you have one pre-ban), run from the house to under the hood and set next to the engine block (or put in the oil fill opening if it’s wide enough), and left on all night. This worked back in ‘77 when we had minus 20 temps, but no guarantees about minus 40. Freepers from the Dakotas, Alaska, etc. might have better suggestions but they probably also own real block heaters.
Use your spare key, leave it running and lock it up.
Also, make sure your antifreeze is up to snuff in case you do shut it off.
Best advice on the thread. The "Diesel 911" will insure that the fuel doesn't gel. It won't hurt anything and starting your engine cold will do your engine no good. Whatever you do, don't spray any either in it!!! You can't always trust the refiner to get the mixture right and get enough #1 diesel in the mix. I have had local fuel gel more than once. Back in the day, I would mix a little gasoline in with the diesel on the coldest days. I wouldn't do that with a modern diesel though.
Get a can of spray silicone. Spray that into the intake before you crank the engine. That will give you an edge. Don’t use engine starter on a diesel. Since a diesel needs the heat from compression to start, the faster the engine cranks, the more heat you have for igniting the fuel. Silicone doesn’t need as many RPMs to light off.
“Take the battery indoors with you.”
That sounds like a better idea than keeping the car running all night.
GSC - are you sure there is no indoor parking available?
“Truckers without plugins would run the engine every 2-3 hours for 15 min.”
Well, I’ll remember this thread if, heaven forfend, I’m ever in such conditions. But you don’t get much rest having to do that, do you?
PFL
The coldest weather I ever experienced was -17 degrees and that was bad enough. I want nothing to do with -40!
I agree with driftdiver, leave it running.
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