winter/cold weather

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Sep 20, 2011 | 02:38 PM

Pokeman

Thread Starter

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Joined: Mar 2011

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winter/cold weather

My F250 6.0 is starting hard with the colder weather. need to let it warm up so the engine will smooth out.

I am new the diesel engines. I have seen people plug them in, but don't know if's that is required or normal. What do I have to do as the weather gets colder to ensure it will start each morning? In NY so it will be 20-35 degrees most winder morning. sometimes goes negative.

Sep 20, 2011 | 03:10 PM

PupnDuck

Fleet Mechanic

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 1,467

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From: Staten Island, NY

I plug mine in when the temperature gets in the low teens to single digits although i've had it start with virtually no problems (other than a cloud of white smoke) after sitting all night in a hotel parking lot at -15.
It seems that the most important thing to consider is the fuel. I've been using Stanadyne in my fuel since day one and never had a problem with fuel gelling or filters plugging up with wax.

Sep 20, 2011 | 03:17 PM

joetech

Senior User

Joined: Nov 2006

Posts: 204

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From: frackville PA

You can try the latest flash which helps the stiction issues. I plugge dmine in last winter and it was fine. I replaced all 8 injectors this summer and I am sure it will be fine this winter with out plugging it in. I would stay away from the "snake oils" They didn't work for me. I knew better but I was lying to myself thinking it would fix my injectors.

Sep 20, 2011 | 04:51 PM

texastech_diesel

Token Redneck

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 9,339

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From: Breckenridge, TX

Running an anti-gelling addative can stop wax crystals from forming in the fuel lines and fuel filters, the white bottle of PowerService (aka DieselKleen) takes care of that. I run a grill blanket if it's around or below freezing, warms up faster and helps on shorter trips. Screw looks, it takes the heater forever without a little help.

Sep 20, 2011 | 06:38 PM

smokersteve

Posting Guru

Joined: Nov 2008

Posts: 1,458

Likes: 2

From: CA Sacramento

Use diesel kleen to clean out the system. The white bottle has Anti-gel and it does everything that the gray bottle does. Walmart has it.

Try a bottle of rev-x to clean out the injectors, they may have stiction(build up on the oil side). There are other products out there that will work but rev-x is proven and widely used(seafoam, Z-Max, Hotshots).

Using a 5w-40 diesel oil over 15w-40 will help the cold starts.

With out the block heater, an in shape 6.0L will not have any issues starting at +20*F engine temp.

Sep 20, 2011 | 09:12 PM

amdriven2liv

I'm hitting easy street

Joined: Nov 2009

Posts: 6,395

Likes: 27

From: Central Oregon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokeman

First, did you find the cord for your block heater?

If you do decide to plug it in, you might want to think about a timer. Use a heavy duty timer, you can find them at Homedepot type stores or even Wal-Mart. The shortest run on the extension cord, and get a heavy gauge.

These engine block heaters are 1000W.

I plug mine in most nights. And all night. Leave your heater temp on high and set to defrost. The heat does rise enough to warm windshield.

Here are some temp readings I recorded last year to get an idea of how long you might want to set the timer for.

Here are temps. I recorded one day last winter.

This morning I plugged the block heater in. My Scangauge read 39 degrees.

1 hour later it was 80 degrees.

2 hours later was 94 degrees.

3 hours later it was 103 degrees.

4 hours later it was 110 degrees.

5 hours later it was 116 degrees.

Yes, 39 isn't that cold to start, but was interesting to see that it went from 39 to 80 in an hour.

Currently my oil temp in hour 3 is 77 degrees. It was 40 at starting point.

Oil temp after 4 hours is 91 degrees.

Sep 21, 2011 | 03:27 PM

rocknut

Senior User

Joined: Apr 2004

Posts: 203

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From: Ohio

Didn't know it heated it up that much. I have mine on a basic light timer and have it set to start about 3-4 hours before I normally head out in the morning. Can't see running it all night. I dread having to start plugging it in soon.