-40 winters and starting

crabbypaul

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I have seen those temps in Minnesota and always run 15-40 oil. The trick to dependable starts is good batteries and glow plugs. The engine should start instantly now at 40 degrees with the glow plugs if not figure out why when it is warm enough to work on. I would be careful with a winter front if the fan clutch locks up and the fan is getting air only threw the bottom or one side it seem to ruin the water pump bearings
 
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IDIBRONCO

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From what I’ve read about wabasto heaters is that you’re best setting them to a timer for just a few hours tops to keep coolant warm so I doubt you’d have to worry about draining the battery
I haven't done any research on the Wabastos, but if they're like the Chinese versions, they only have a relatively large current draw when the glow plug is in operation. After that, the current draw is minimal. Of course if you're running a trickle charger on the batteries, it's kind of a moot point.
 

hce

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From what I’ve read about wabasto heaters is that you’re best setting them to a timer for just a few hours tops to keep coolant warm so I doubt you’d have to worry about draining the battery
Not worried about the webasto drawing power, but as long as it is heating up the coolant it would be nice if the vehicles heater blower motor was running. Nice warm cab, no window frost, no rock hard seat.
 

Black dawg

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What do you guys do for fuel at -40??
I have used my truck when high temps were in the low single digits with lows down to -30. Never had any issues getting it running if it could be plugged in.
 

Booyah45828

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Curious how many people posting to this has experienced -40? Not windchill vehicles do not cool to windchill temp only cools at the rate of windchill to the non windchill temp.

Good batteries as said.
Engine should start instantly in warmer weather.
Get your glow plugs up to par.
Add a switch to burn glow plugs longer, but leave the stock timer intact. Just have to trigger the glowplug relay
Injector and pumps need to be in good shape.
No weak compression.
A good starter that spins fast, I have experienced old ones that start turning slow.
Treat starters and glowplugs as consumables.
Anti gel additive, stanadyne green, blue works also.
A good block heater is enough if everything else is up to par.
Let it warm up, pumps act kinda weird at -30 and below.
I like the idea of a webasto, instant warm heat wherever it is parked. Do they make them with a small 12v generator to run the blower?

My only experience is -35 windchill. No, it might not be like -40 ambient, but still cold enough that **** better be on point.

The webasto's that I worked on all had a timer module that would shut them off after 2 hours I think. They also had a date and time function that could turn on at a set time certain days a week. These were all school buses, so the heaters could be automatic on monday-friday mornings.

Those heaters will pulse the burner once coolant outlet temps get to 160, As said before, power draw is minimal when the glow plug is off. Even with it on I think it was less then 20 amps max draw. Even with it drawing the battery down, the starter takes way less power to crank with the engine warm, so it's still a benefit.

None of them turned on the blower, but they did turn on a coolant pump, so it wouldn't be hard to turn on the blower motor with another relay and some additional wiring. Then you'd have your automatic defrost/heat that you want. But that would be additional power drawing on the battery, so I'd be careful with it. Truthfully, it wouldn't take long to defrost windows when you already have hot coolant, and you'll get a little bit of defrost from the natural convection out of the vents.

They worked great when they worked, but make sure the fuel feed line is leak free, because they suffer from air intrusion much like the idi's, and they take forever to reprime themselves if they do leak down. I typically hot wire the pump and pulse it manually when they do because of it taking so long.

The chinese heaters are cheaper then genuine ones, but they don't include the timer module usually. If I were looking for one, I'd look at used school buses in the north.
 

kpj

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I've had 5 kw Eberspächer for over a 10 year now, which equivalent to Webasto. That might be enough for a smaller engine to heat in those temperatures, but these are heavy engines with a lot of coolant in them so it doesn't really get the engine hot as the smaller engine. If it's very cold I usually run it for 50 minutes or so and the engine is about hand warm. But I thinks it heats up the engine enough, it doesn't really need to be hot as long it is warmed up a bit. Eberspächers wire harness has an option to control the blower motor also. At start it only heats the engine and if I remember correctly when the coolant heats over +30 celsius it triggers the blower motor to heat the cabin too.
But keep good batteries with these and I do not recommend any Optima etc. batteries, which does have very good cranking power, but the overall ah rating in those batteries aren't much. For now I have two 88 ah batteries.
If i would have to buy a new diesel heater, i'd probably buy this 14 kw heater. Don't know do they even sell those over there. But have heard that even in cold temperatures it only takes 15-20 minutes to heat the engine to normal temp. https://autoterm.eu/en/shop/moottorinlammittimet/autoterm-flow-14тс-12v-mini-gp-kyocera-plug/
 

hce

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What do you guys do for fuel at -40??
I have used my truck when high temps were in the low single digits with lows down to -30. Never had any issues getting it running if it could be plugged in.
Mostly fresh #2 with a dose of stanadyne blue. The only time I see gelling are engines that where filled up in the summer and then started in the -20f and below or trucks coming from the south. Seems to be a difference between summer and winter #2. I agree with the block heater being enough, could eliminate glow plugs and a battery if it was plugged in every stop. Its the 10 min shut off period that turns into an hour and half that is problematic.
 

Black dawg

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THe pumps here show a 50/50 #1/#2 diesel here, and although I have never had a full blown gelled fuel in tank issue, I have had no starts (when truck wasn't plugged in over night, but an hour or two before it was needed)and several times of trying to pull a loaded trailer and having filter restrictions.
 

hce

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Remember filling up at the old town pump in Big Timber. The sticker on the pump listed summer #2, winter #2, #1#2 blend, #1, with gel points or some other info can't remember other then summer and winter #2.
 

CDX825

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Being that cold I would highly recommend sythetic oils from front to rear. Especially engine oil. Sure you can use 15W40 conventional but unless you are using an oil pan heater its going to be working against you. Being up north you probably have access to 0W40 diesel oils. 0W40 or 5W40 would be the only way to go in my opinion.
 

CADHOWDY

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I get that a regular block heater might not be enough if it gets cold enough. I have a plug in circulation coolant heater that gets the engine hot enough you can feel the heat radiate from it in -15 weather. It’s plumed in down low on the frame with an auxiliary coolant port underneath the passenger exhaust manifold and a Y in a heater core hose so the heat can naturally rise up in the system. I think It helps also if all the factory insulation is still there on the hood and fenders.
 

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We get -40 or colder every winter, sometimes for weeks. I use synthetic 5W40 in the engine, synthetic 75W90 in the differentials, synthetic ATF in the transmissions.

I have a 150W stick on heater on the engine oil pan, a working block heater, a 100W stick on heater on the automatic transmission, and a trickle charger on the batteries. If the vehicle is plugged in for at least an hour, it will start. Let it idle for a few minutes before putting a load on it.
 

Suddenly

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Well it’s getting colder here, at least last week it was. -11c starts just fine without plugging anything in. I have noticed that the truck idles lower when it’s this cold. The high idle only brings it up to around 700rpm instead of the usual 900rpm when it’s warmer. Is there a fix to this or is it intentional? How does the high idle work on these trucks? It seems to turn off around 106 degrees on my coolant gauge that’s all I can tell.
 

nelstomlinson

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I expect my trucks to start without being plugged in down to around -20F, if the glow plugs are all working. I wouldn't do that deliberately: those cold starts are ******* the engine.
 

IDIBRONCO

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Is there a fix to this or is it intentional?
I would guess that whatever moves to let the plunger pop out gets a little bit sticky at those types of temperatures. Maybe it would come all of the way out so the engine idles faster if you bump the throttle after it runs for 5 minutes or so?
 

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