Getting Ready for Winter
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Elder User
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 893
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From: Lawrenceburg, TN
Getting Ready for Winter
I know it may be a little early, but ive been thinking about making shure my truck is ready for cold weather. I dont like working on vehicles in the cold so i wanna get this stuff done ahead of time. This is my first diesel and im not shure what may need to be done to get ready for the cold weather. I know im gonna change the coolant, flush rad, and install a new thermostat. The coolant thats in there looks pretty funky and the temp guage on the dash dont even reach the "N" in normal, and the heater dont blow verry warm. I bought a retractable cord reel and put it on the front of my shop to make plugging the truck in easier. How can i make shure the block heater is working? How do i test the glow plugs? I know how to test the GPR just not the actual glow plugs. What else might i need to look for that is diesel specific? Ive always winterized my gassers in the past but the diesel stuff is new to me.
Playing in the Dirt
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,302
Likes: 1
From: Southwest Georgia
When you do your coolant flush and fill don't forget the SCA. Test the block heater with and ohm meter. You can ohm out each individual glow plug from the valve cover harness connectors, (this also thest the UVC wiring) the two outside pins are for the glow plugs. Ohmed to a ground they should be below 6 ohms. Make sure you drain off any water that has collected in fuel filter housing. Others will be along to add their thoughts.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 9,010
Likes: 5
From: Johnson City, TN.
Plow covered it pretty good. Although in TN. I wouldn't worry about plugging your truck in in the winter. I never do. The only time I did is when I was working in Long Island, NY and the snow was brutal.
Playing in the Dirt
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,302
Likes: 1
From: Southwest Georgia
SCA = Suplemental Coolant Additive. Or it's called DCA = Diesel Coolant Additive. It's and additive for the coolant that prevents cylinder wall erosion from the cavitation. You can get it from a Ford dealer (FW-16 I think) or NAPA.
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,207
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From: Kearney, Nebr
How much SCA do you mix with your coolant? I'm needing to top mine off and unsure as what exactly Im supposed to put back in.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,835
Likes: 3
From: Silver Lake Dunes, MI
usually the bottle will tell you recharge and charge amounts. If you get the ford stuff i would bet a half a bottle would be plenty but if it doesn't tell you how much to add. add some drive a few days then retest repeat until it got the right amount in. Coolant test strips can be bought at most part stores, as well as ford and IH.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,835
Likes: 3
From: Silver Lake Dunes, MI
you can either for with Green anit freeze and add sca till its good or buy Ford Gold or Xerez G-05 formula and those both have SCA in them. You would still need to test the Gold to make sure its a good level.
Playing in the Dirt
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,302
Likes: 1
From: Southwest Georgia
Farm69, like TJ said, go to NAPA, Ford, etc. and ask for the diesel coolant test strips. Follow the directions on the test strip package. Once you test the coolant, you compare the strip to a guide on the package and that tells you how much SCA you need to add. It's not hard to do, just make sure that you follow the time guide lines.
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,835
Likes: 3
From: Silver Lake Dunes, MI
here you go. read about cavitation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitation
the key is in the last part of the "problems" section for us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitation
the key is in the last part of the "problems" section for us.