Good morning guys, this advice has probably already been written up but I'm having trouble finding it and a direct answer, and I'm having tons of trouble getting this thing started in cold mornings, I'm killing my new HUGE agm batteries, and am afraid I'll ruin my starter. Also when I do get it started it will hardly go down the road and is like a slug for about the first 20-30 minutes. It seems to take forever to warm up. People behind me on the road beep because I can have it floored and it hardly can go up any sort of incline out even really nice down the road pulling my chipper, I mean it is SO SLOW after warming up for 10 minutes,

My main questions are:
A.) When living in a cold winter climate like New England is it crazy not to plug your truck in at night in winter? Will it kill the motor prematurely? (btw, I use dello from walmart)
B.) Will it really cause your truck to take 20-30 mins to warm up every morning if you don't use it, should this be the case? In other words if I were to use the block heater plug-in would my engine run a lot easier right off the bat, or do you guys think there's probably a lot more wrong with my truck than just that?
C.) Does it sound like there's prob more wrong with my truck than just the cold if it will hardly move for 15-20 mins after its been started?
D.) Should I def plug in the truck?

Btw, I just added a diesel fuel additive finally before I parked it last when I filled up.

Lastly, let's say it's been running for 15 minutes....I'll shift it into drive, and it won't go...I have to basically . floor it just to get it to move and pull it out of its parking spot! I'm worried that this is bad for the transmission. It seems it needs to build up some sort of pressure or something -I will floor the pedal....it revs really high......nothing yet.....then it will finally after like 15-20 secs after floored start to creep. It seems something is wrong, or something is very very cold, or both. I'm really worried this is putting some bad stress on some inner transmission part or it'll start slipping by having it floored for nearly 15-20 seconds without the truck moving at all.!??

This is all when very cold first of the day. Would plugging the truck in prevent all this? Again I'm also worried about the transmission

 

Something is definitely wrong, beyond just a hard cold start situation. Once the truck starts, it should warm up within 5-10 minutes not 20-30, regardless of ambient temperatures.

That whole having to floor it to move is not normal no matter the temp either. There is definitely something going on.

What type of (if any) gauges do you have or diagnostic tools (code reader, or scan tool) do you have access to?

 

My truck is a complete pig when it's cold. There's a combination of sensor temperature readings that when below a certain temperature will derate the engine's power, or at least that's others here have said. One of those temperatures is the transmission. It shouldn't take flooring the throttle to get it to move, though. You've got something else going on that needs to be properly diagnosed. In the meantime, plug it in overnight and see how much difference it makes.

 

Just for comparison -

We've started plugging in the '99 PowerStroke 7.3L about 2-1/2 hours before starting the truck, when the temps are below (or are going to be below) 35 degrees.

Since temps are going to be not-so-low, soon, this fall/winter I'm going to use a HD timer so that we just plug in the heater each night and "fuggitaboutit".

This truck has 228,000+ miles on it, and it starts/runs like a new 7.3L!!!



OP: Just a thought - When was the last time you replaced your fuel filter?????

 

You could have a stuck open thermostat like I did recently. I could drive all over town and my engine oil temp wouldn't rise over 140*. New thermostat... Problem solved. Plugging in doesn't hurt a thing either IMO, cept maybe your electric bill.

I'm not much help on the other issue... It does seem like it'd be transmission related though.

 

We had some pretty cold temps in Western NY this season (-10 to -15 at times) and I recently traded my 6.0, but before I did I was religious about plugging it in whenever I knew it was going to be a cold start. I set it up on a cheap WalMart garden timer to kick in 3 hours before I started it. World of difference. I know what you mean about running like s***t until it warms up. Started up nicely and was warm and ready when I let the car starter run for 15 minutes. I don't think using the block heater cold be a bad decision.

I'm not saying you may have other issues but I would heat it if I were you.

 

You've got something else wrong.

I've started my truck several times -15 F, no block heater, let it idle 5 minutes (high idle and exhaust back pressure valve going) and then drove and had engine temps up to "normal" with in 5 minutes and heat coming out of the vents.

I also use white jug power service every winter fill up.

I normally always run the block heater 3 hours before start, temp gauge will be coming off the peg with engine running a few minutes before I leave. Makes a big difference.

I can't help on the 4R100 as I have a ZF-6, but the ZF-6 and clutch DO NOT like the cold, clutch is twice as stiff and trans shifts harder until it warms up.