So I have to say thanks first of all to the guys that responded to my other question you guys all have great ideas and it really helped out regarding the garage door and engine block heater... I got another question if anyone would like to help out I greatly appreciate it... I recently bought Kats battery warmers for my 6.7 liter diesel... I opened it up and they were almost too long, I didn't think anything about it until I read the side of the warmer that says do not overlap... In all honesty what is the worst thing that can happen if I overlap it?? again thanks for all your help. Tim

 

First of all you won't need battery heaters if you install the block heater. The motor will radiate enough heat to keep the batteries warm. Most cars don't have heaters for the batteries at all so don't bother with them.

 

Not sure, I've never used a battery warmer before. Guessing that overlapping them can cause heat to build and burn them out.

Just out of curiosity, where do you live? I never needed any kind of winter prep before, and my '11 6.7L truck would happily start at -10* without so much as a plugged in block heater. Others up in Canada have reported their 6.7L trucks starting unassisted at -35* without issue.

 

overlapping does trap heat.. and will burn it out..

some years ago... negative 20 here in ohio.. car started right up.. and it was old.

what about tie back the extra.. not touching anything. like a flag.

Like Tom said.. where do you live,,,,,,, and why do you feel you need this type of protection.

OIL Fields near the north pole?


back when batteries had Tar Tops.. in winter we used a 60 watt light bulb to keep battery warm.. but NO block heater.

 

i live in Milwaukee but travel to Fargo North Dakota area quite often during the winter it gets bitterly cold up there also the engine will keep things warm for a period Of time but I'm assuming once it's sitting for a day or two in temperatures that don't get out of the -20 degree range I can only imagine that it might need a little help.

 

I think you'll be surprised.

The engine will only keep things warm for a couple hours; once that block cools down the battery will be as cold as everything else. But remember that you have two large batteries to crank that engine. These aren't the diesels of yore; high-pressure common-rail injection means these things will start effortlessly in cold weather as long as they can turn over. I've never heard of anyone with a 6.7L starting problem in -20*, whether they plugged the block heater in or not.

Ford recommends the block heater below -10*, and that's all you should need unless you're relocating to Alaska.

 

I spent a winter in ND with my 7.3. I would leave it set all week then fire it up to take it home on the weekend. Most I would do is plug it in if I knew I was going to need it, otherwise I would just let the glow plugs go before I turn the key.

 

0W30 and 0W40 are specified for the entire operating temperature range in the 6.7L diesel supplement. 5W40 has a floor at -20*f, the normal 10W30 at 0*f. It should start fine with either three of the 0W or 5W weights. You should be using 5W40 synthetic full time as the recommended weights for severe service/B20 biodiesel.

You'll need an anti-gel in the fuel though, that's significantly more important. I wouldn't 100% trust the state requirements, especially if there's a sudden drop in temps or a storm disrupts supply. Colorado requires minimum level of winterization treatment depending on the month, but that's based on average and not unusual conditions. If I drive across zones going north I always treat because there's no guarantee what I got will be good where I'm going, and I fill up right away when I get up there.

 

If I switch to the 5 w40 during the winter months would it be okay to go back to the 10w30 during spring and summer?

 

Yes, engines don't have a memory, and all CJ4 oils are completely compatible.