I have a 1994, F-350,4x4, 5 spd.,reg. cab, long box, factory turbo diesel. At the college I go to we don't have outlets to plug in diesels. When the temp. gets below 30 degrees my pickup won't start. Any add ons to help it start in cold weather?

 

Maybe try some aftermarket glowplugs other than that I suppose you could get a generator and fire that up so that you can plug it in.

 

Long extension cord

 

My neighbor has a friend who visits sometimes with an older Ford diesel. They have to use starting fluid to get it going if he's been there for more than a few hours. But I don't think that's the best solution to the problem. Changing the glow plugs won't be fun, however.

 

Try cycling the key til the glow plug light on the dash goes out a few times. If this does not help you could have a weak glow plug relay. the relay is the weak link in the system and should be around 20-25 bucks. worse case you could have a bad glow plug or two, but I would look at the relay first.

 

Bad glow plugs are most likely and are no harder than spark plugs to swap out, but, if they are fried, the tips might be swolen and hard to remove, but it can be done.

Also the glow plug relay timers can be swaped for one with a longer cycle time for colder climates, cycling the key will also work but it's nice not to have to.

 

Starting fluid is by no means the best answer since it washes the oil off of the cylinder walls. It played a role in the early death of my dad's 6.9L diesel.