Well i went out to check somethings, even though our winters are mild, el nina is supposed to make a party this winter, should be fun.

coolant, check
electrical, check
fuel filter, check
oil change, check
air filter, check
batteries, check
cables, check
battery terminals, ummm ****

they were overnight seemingly trashed. wtf? i went to lordco and bought four new ones and installed. Oh my god, what a difference! charging is solid as ever, ignition is instant, it was fading a bit and sometimes sounding sluggish. ALL GONE!! so check your rig before it is problem and you are on your back in the snow wondering what is wrong! cheers fellas!

 

hehe, Lordco is my favorite too.

My winter check?

*looks outside*

Yup, the truck's still there.

*goes back in*

I suspect I might have one weaker glow plug that I have to look at, but it still is running within the first full turn on coldstart.

Crawl under and check for any bare patches in the undercoating and make note of where the oil in the body is leaching out.

I greased the front end today, and I can already notice an improvement in the tracking.

Also have to take off the fan hehe.

I tend to look for changes and listen to the truck everytime I use it and make changes regardless of the season. I finally got around to replacing the throttle cable after it jambed on me AGAIN when coming home one night.

 

That's awesome! I like it. This is the winter for my truck to renew friends faith in diesels around me. They all say it'll never start. 30°F in the morning and not even close to making me think it's near needing to be plugged in. With working GP's, new injectors, and new IP with working high idle and internal advance she starts like a dream. I figure I should be go to 0°F or so before I have to plug it in.

 

coolant - no puddles under truck, so it must be still in here

electrical - I flip switches, engine runs, must be good then

fuel filters - you kiddin me, that primary is over $30!!!

oil change - not due any time soon

air filter - fairly clean

batteries - 3 or 4 years old, will pull through this winter too

cables - firmly attached on bothy ends

battery terminals - bolted down good, and spray-painted

In all honesty tho, I noticed that lately my truck's being a bit slow to start, plugs are good and stay on for like 15 seconds, so it's either starter or batteries, likely the batteries... But I got a block heater and electric hookup at any house I may visit, and while I'm on the road I simply never shut down, I may be taking a 2-hour nap and she'll still be idling

 

ahhhhh...... glad i dont have anything special i have to do during the winter.

 

i thought you broke out the t shirts with sleeves to wear in the winter??

 

I just switched oil to a 10w-30 synthetic from dyno oil. I am gonna change the oil and filter again this weekend and go to 5w-30 for the rest of the winter. I flushed and refilled the coolant system with Fleet Guard (70% mix). I had new ip, injectors and return line kit installed over the summer as well as all new GP system (GP's, contoller). I live in MI now and I do not want to be on my back in this kind of cold.

My truck was bought in MS and therefore has no block heater on it. I have been worried as to what to do about that. I am pretty sure my truck would start without one even if it was 10 degrees outside but i was worried about oil not circulating and causing engine damage because of that. I bought one of these the other day at carquest:

Kat's 1153 MAGNETIC BLOCK HEATER 200 watts: eBay Motors (item 250578651132 end time Nov-07-10 16:55:42 PST)

It is magnetic and I just stick it on my oil pan when I get home at night. It has been in the low 30's every night this week here in MI. My truck has been starting like it was a warm summer day with this little gadget. Surprising how well this thing works.

 

to winterize my trucks, i take the street tires off and put aggressive tread mud and snow tires on.
then i fill the windshield washer fluid bottles with non freezing fluid, and put the snow plows on.

 

didnt know there was battery terminal paint to prevent corrosion, hmm learn something new each day. gotta see who carries it now haha.

 

napa carries it. it looks to me to be clear coat in a spray can

Store Locator | NAPA Online

 

i just check to see if the truck is still there and no puddles under the truck

 

This is gonna be a long winter......

No 4x4 for having fun and not getting stuck......

No more diesels to go outside 2 hours before leaving to plug it in, or let warm up for 15+ minutes. lol

 

you get used to the no 4x4 thing after a while lol

 

Oh I know, only time I would use 4x4 is when I would go where i'm not supose to.


I'll still get around fine, just can't go where I would with my 4x4 F250.

 

yea i hear ya. At least your gassers 2wd and ur diesels not. You know how bad those 2wd diesels suck for traction? lol