Cold weather and diesels

[john hd]

Finding my plug-in was a mystery.

you are most likely correct bob, chevrolet does and exceptional job of hiding the plug.

i have the snow plow option also, best 150 bucks i ever spent. can hardly buy the battery for that. not to mention bigger torsion bars, bigger radiator, oil cooler and big altenator.

when you retire it from towing you can always plow snow like i do with my 98!

my grandfather used to heat his crankcase oil in a big pot on the stove every morning, much to my grandmothers dismay. he lived in marinette wisconsin and had no garage.

as the old family story went, he spilled the oil one morning setting the kitchen on fire. he had a heated garage the next year.

i was also told that building a charcoal fire under the car was common in those days too!

john

[BillTex]

For anyone else looking for their Duramax block heater plug-I found this at the diesel forum:

Dmax block heater cord

Also put on the top half of the winter cover-should be all set now!
Thanx everyone,
Bill

[HiHoAgRV]

A couple of side benefits from plugging in are the cab heat comes up a little quicker and with some heat already in the engine, the fuel consumption is more reasonable during the first 15 minutes.

[HiHoAgRV]

Oh yaeh, the owners manual for my china built dozer offers some solutions such as above, preheating the oil, but also draining the coolant and refilling with boiling water repeatadly until the engine reaches 12 degrees C

[overlander63]

Just a quick note:
If you don't have a lube oil heater with your coolant heater, make sure you let the engine idle for a longer time than you normally would. This will help warm the lube oil so it will flow to and through the turbo, and othr small axccess points, and not cause scoring of oil-fed components.

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by BillTex

For anyone else looking for their Duramax block heater plug-I found this at the diesel forum:

Dmax block heater cord

Also put on the top half of the winter cover-should be all set now!
Thanx everyone,
Bill

Bill, you've done more than good! Poking around on your link, I found info on Allison Grade Braking to throw into another thread here -- http://www.airforums.com/forum...tml#post334044. Don't spend the karma all in one place!

[ticki2]

FWIW....diesels don't warm up very good at idle . Some of the new ones have a high idle feature built in , check your owners manual. It's usually activated with the cruise control while in park. If you don't have the feature you can use a short stick wedged between the seat and the and the accellerater peddle , bring it up to about 1500 rpm for 5 or 10 min and it will make a world of difference in cold weather .

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by ticki2

FWIW....diesels don't warm up very good at idle . Some of the new ones have a high idle feature built in , check your owners manual. It's usually activated with the cruise control while in park. If you don't have the feature you can use a short stick wedged between the seat and the and the accellerater peddle , bring it up to about 1500 rpm for 5 or 10 min and it will make a world of difference in cold weather .

Yeah-the Duramax has a high idle feature built into the DIC.

[norbert]

Originally Posted by john hd

i have started my '98 6.5 turbo in -22 degree weather without pugging it in.

mine is PUGGED in tonight....it was real hard to start this afternoon in 6 degree weather....almost didnt make to the tavern....block heaters make it nice for almost instant heat, and it easier all the way around on the equipment.
norby

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by BillTex

Yeah-the Duramax has a high idle feature built into the DIC.

BillTex:

It's too darn cold and I'm too darn lazy to go out and check my 2003 for that feature! Do you know whether or not it's on the 2003?

[ticki2]

Originally Posted by Cracker

BillTex:

It's too darn cold and I'm too darn lazy to go out and check my 2003 for that feature! Do you know whether or not it's on the 2003?

No it does not , but it can be added . Check The Diesel Place and do a search for high idle mod .

[thecatsandi]

because of so much towing i am now using 5w-40 syn for winter season...


2air.
I was talking to the ford service person at a large dealer near orlando yesterday. I asked him what I need to do to keep my truck as trouble frre as possible. His reply, do all the scheduled maintanence and never use synthetic oil. I did not ask why but I typically do not synthetic.

I plug in below +40F. We preheat our aircraft engines when it gets that cold. It never hurts to have the oil warm before you start the engine. it flows better quicker. this is important to reduce startup wear.

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

because of so much towing i am now using 5w-40 syn for winter season...


2air.
I was talking to the ford service person at a large dealer near orlando yesterday. I asked him what I need to do to keep my truck as trouble frre as possible. His reply, do all the scheduled maintanence and never use synthetic oil. I did not ask why but I typically do not synthetic.

It sounds like the ford service person might have an axe to grind with respect to oil use! There's just about an equal number of pro-con advocates for dino vs synthetic. With respect to cold weather, IMHO the available data seems to give synthetic the edge. I seriously doubt if your service person could back up his position with sound facts.

[thecatsandi]

The reason I did not ask was I usually chaged my oil before the regular maint period. At least in aircraft engines it keeps the sludge accumlation down.

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

because of so much towing i am now using 5w-40 syn for winter season...


2air.
I was talking to the ford service person at a large dealer near orlando yesterday. I asked him what I need to do to keep my truck as trouble frre as possible. His reply, do all the scheduled maintanence and never use synthetic oil. I did not ask why but I typically do not synthetic.

Just because he turns a wrench doesn't mean he know about oil properties.

In my new truck at 2300 miles I switched to synthetic, now at 7600 miles my oil percent guage reads 63% left on oil life. So at this rate the oil may go 10,000 miles. The dip stick shows clean. I'm using 5/30 in my 8.1.

You can't get that many miles on dyno, let alone be clean.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

I was talking to the ford service person at a large dealer near orlando yesterday. I asked him what I need to do to keep my truck as trouble frre as possible. His reply, do all the scheduled maintanence and never use synthetic oil. I did not ask why...

hi michelle

that doesn't surprise me. opinions on oil are as varied as politics and religion...

and with just as little evidence...

when i showed up for my last oil change (at a large ford dealer) with 4 gallons of rotella t 5-40 syn,
the head diesel mechanic AND the service manager found me.
they wanted to say "thanks to a customer who obviously cared about his truck."

without knowing why your guy said 'no syn' i don't know how else to reply.
and i'm clearly just an enthusiast car guy....

-all of the other lubricants in your truck are full synthetic from the factory.
-synthetic oils have a proven record for many auto applications.
-i can think of only one auto/truck engine maker that specifically advises against synthetic engine oil.
-many high performance cars now come with synthetic oil from the factory.
-the extended drain intervals many europeans use are based around synthetic lubricants.

-the issues with turbine/aircraft engines are different that piston engines. shear isn't a problem but heat build up after shut down is...
also service intervals tend to be better followed on aircraft. as i recall most early synthetics were developed FOR the aircraft industry.

it is my opinion that for car/truck engines that have turbos coking is a bigger issue than sludge;
so oils with higher flash points and better base stock are a good thing.

there are some issues specific to the 6.0 liter psd too....
-the fuel injectors rely on engine oil for operation and at very high pressures (500-1500psi)
-so the anti foaming agent in the oil is critical. IF the afa is depleted the oil can foam up, which will reduce injector pressure.
-this leads to poor performance and wear issues.
-we must use service rating Cl-4 oil, syn or dino.

-soot and other suspended wastes build up in all oils, and even with syn this is an issue.
-anyone considering prolonged oil change intervals SHOULD have an oil anaysis done midway; again regardless of oil brand.
-the 'ford recommended' interval for oil changes is 7,500 miles. severe duty 5,000 miles.
-they don't offer anything more specific for towing full time.
-ford also recommends 5w30 for temps below 20 degrees f, but 15w-40 for towing.

so in MY case (towing and cold weather) i opted for 5w-40.
-all of the 5w-40 diesel oils are synthetic as i understand.
-the switch to 5w-40 showed immediate improvements in start up and fuel economy.
-i've got 40,000 miles on the truck in 20 months...and usually change oil at 4,000 miles. so i've done nearly 40 gallons of oil changes!
-with the syn, i plan to do an oil analysis at 4k and change the filter.
-IF the oil analysis checks out, i'll extend the change interval to 8k and add the ford antifoaming agent IF needed.

i waited until the diesel engine was 'broken in' to go with syn...
and will be interested to learn what the oil analysis shows....
for the warm season i wil go back to 15w40 syn...

i make no comments on the cost/economy of syn/dino...need a spreadsheet with so many variables
my dealer only charges 19$ for an oil change IF the customer supplies the oil.
i can't buy a filter AND recycle the oil for that price.

sorry to sidetrack this thread.

oil can be a very touchy subject, and clearly your mileage may vary...

and lipets...IF this was a 'service person' rather than the mechanic, he/she may not turn any wrenches!
i've found that many big shops only have 1-2 trained diesel mechanics hidden somewhere...

cheers all
2air'

[Kevbo10]

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

The reason I did not ask was I usually chaged my oil before the regular maint period. At least in aircraft engines it keeps the sludge accumlation down.

the last i knew, say a syn oil like Mobil 1, is not approved for piston aircraft by the FEDS. last i knew. if the FAA says no, there must be a reason, and it's not about sludge.

key words, "last i knew". which ALWAYS gets me trouble.

i have'nt heard any different, which does'nt mean anything.

and as noted above by mr. air, my corvette and all new corvettes come w/ syn oil (Mobil 1), as do a lot of new cars and trucks. several things make syn oils work well in autos is no ash (not carbon based), and the molecules are all the same size (again not carbon based). but you knew that.

kevin

[AirsDream]

At least some aircraft engne mfrs. have dropped synthetic, and the "given" reason was that some (especially privately owned) aircraft engines have operational regimes with long periods of non-use. During those weeks of hangar sitting, the "slipperier" syn. oils dripped off of e.g. camshafts, leaving little or no residual oil film, with big wear on start-up and fewer engines making TBO. Thus, risk of catastrophic failure, increased warranty costs, etc. I "suspect" that it would be a different story with engines run often, but don't "know."

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by LI Pets

Just because he turns a wrench doesn't mean he know about oil properties.

In my new truck at 2300 miles I switched to synthetic, now at 7600 miles my oil percent gauge reads 63% left on oil life. So at this rate the oil may go 10,000 miles. The dip stick shows clean. I'm using 5/30 in my 8.1.

You can't get that many miles on dyno, let alone be clean.

I've got an '06 GMC D/A Sierra. As I understand it, preprogramming in the onboard system suggests oil life remaining. That point is linked to the number of startups, length of trips, and pattern of use tabulation. It does not actually measure the remaining characteristics of oil function. IMO it is totally dumb & ignorant on judging performance between dyno & synth.

[Kevbo10]

Originally Posted by Canoe stream

I've got an '06 GMC D/A Sierra. As I understand it, preprogramming in the onboard system suggests oil life remaining. That point is linked to the number of startups, length of trips, and pattern of use tabulation. It does not actually measure the remaining characteristics of oil function. IMO it is totally dumb & ignorant on judging performance between dyno & synth.

that is correct. it's based on an algorithm, in a ROM, contained in the underhood black box. this first showed up in the 1990 corvettes, in the GM lineup. most if not all HIGH END cars and trucks have this feature, if for no other reason, than it drives business to the dealers for service.

but thats all based on "last i knew".

kevin