yay got my 1.6 TD started!!! woohoo

[jtanguay]

i had to drain the oil, and heat it up, then pour back into engine, AND boost it with another car!!! quickly changed it to rotella 0w-40... and now I hear that people use 0w-30 in their car???  Is that good for a diesel?  Brand new diesel I would imagine yes, but an old clunker like mine?  Theres no way I'm changing that oil again for a long time... the oil nut is sooo cold on the fingers

MERRY X-MAS EVERYONE!!!

[dieselpower]

hey,
good to hear you got it started. what kind of car is it. and how cold is it there? my car has troubles starting in like -5* weather :oops: . instead of all that work, couldn't you have just plugged it in? i run 0w 40 in my car. im guessing that people run 0w 30 in their cars because they can get that weight of oil not in a synthetic so its cheaper. i dont know if its bad for it to run such a thin oil, but i dont think it would hurt anything to badly.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Mark

[jtanguay]

thnx for reply mark-- its an 86 jetta 1.6TD (mechanical lifters so no sticky lifters!)

the weather was around -30C to maybe -35C!!!  My shifter was like glue, door wouldnt shut because the handle was stuck open... it was the pits!! I plugged it in, but it didnt seem to do much (i suspect it just heats my water... has anyone heard of a dipstick heater??? any place that I could get one of those still? nobody seems to sell them anymore )

If you can't start at -5C, you're in it worse than me! You might try carrying around some quick start with you (i forget the real name, its the stuff you spray into carbs to get them started)... I think that might do the trick--just spray it into your intake and fire away! From what I hear if your car is timed properly it should start at -30C no problem (with the right oil, and maybe some diesel antigel/cetane booster???)

I find the cold start lever helps too... I just pull it all the way out, and fire her up... catches within 4 or so revolutions.. which is nice (can take up to 10 without cold start pulled)!!  The car was in my buddies garage though, and all the quick start we sprayed in got burnt all at once... left a nice black stain and a thick black cloud LOL!!!

[dieselpower]

haha,
the other night it was -28C. my car was plugged in all night and it started, but everything was frozen or stiff. even my steering was pretty much stuck.

all the new V-Dubs dont come with block heaters anymore. now the heaters go on the bottom of the oilpan and heat up the oil instead. its just strapped on there somehow so i figure it would be easy to put one on an older car.

i also heard that starting spray stuff is really bad to use if you have glowplugs, because it ignites on them.


Mark

[crazybushman]

Hehehe,
So I'm not the only one who has a diesel that doesn't like to start in the winter..... :lol:

I use a magnetic oilpan heater (kind of a pain since you have to take it off before driving), the block heater, and a battery blanket.  The last oil change I switched from cheap CND Tire 15W40 to Mobil1 15W50, not sure if that's a good thing or not, seems like it's just as thick as the crappy stuff in the cold temps.  

2 nights ago I started my car at -34C, it made some funny sounds and I had to let it crank for a while before it lit off.  Last winter my car started at -45C one cold Manitoba morning....  My fuel was gelling up pretty bad though, it kept on wanting to die.  My premium John Deere diesel anti-gel was frozen solid!!!!  I was pissed and went to the dealer to try to get my money back, he told me to add it to the fuel tank in fall before winter, otherwise it won't work :x

I have found the solution for cold weather starting though, here it is:

http://www.webasto.us/press/en/am_trucks_heaters_823.html

I went in to a local semi shop and I can get a new one for $1140CND.  I currently have 5 diesel vehicles, so it is hard for me to choose which one to put it on.....  I will probably buy one this coming summer and install it on the expedition truck, then in 2 years from now if we make it back alive I'll put it on my Jetta.

I've been told these little units warm up a semi engine from stone cold -40 to operating temps in about 20-30 minutes and use about 1/8 of a litre of fuel to do so.  I'll bet it will warm up the Jetta engine in 10-15 minutes.  Initial costs aside, this would be cheaper then plugging in for the night.  They come with a timer or you can buy a remote and warm your car up while you have your morning coffee!  These units are really tiny, until I saw one in real life I always imagined that they were quite big, they look like about the size of a toaster!  You can tell I'm sold!

I know that there are tons of threads about starting diesels in cold weather, and this probably isn't the best method, but here it goes;  You boil a few litres of water and pour it all over the intake manifold.  I read this somewhere on the internet a while ago and didn't really believe it until I tried it.  It was about -12C and I had left the tractor outside the hangar and had to get it in, I didn't have ether, so I gave it a whirl, sure enough, it fired up!  (The tractor didn't have glow plugs, so the water helped to warm the incoming air I'd assume)

Cheers!
Tyler [/url]

[srivett]

Oil heaters are supposed to be a bit of a fire hazard on old oil covered engines.  The Philips and Temro site also says that they are meant to keep warm oil warm, they aren't meant for warming up oil from -40C.

What I'm using is a 1000W engine heater and a block heater of uknown capacity.  Once I figure out the correct length of time to plug it in before starting I'll post some pictures.  These can also be fire hazards...

Tyler:  You may want to call around to see if you can find a transport wrecker that will sell you a heater and all the related plumbing.

Steve

[Patrick]

Used to have one that was gas fired on my Kenworth (Long time ago) "Hot Box" brand. I think this brand is history now.Plugged the truck in at home, used the hotbox on the road. Worked great! Strapped a 5 gallon boat tank down on the deck, it would keep engine (and bunk heater) at 160 degrees all night. 15 or twenty minutes would get it plenty warm to start. Basicly works like the old gas fired heaters in the beetles, just uses a water jacket hooked into the heater hoses instead of air. There's three or four brands available in diesel fired now. Personally wouldn't bother, there's lots of plug in versions available, from frost plug type to the ones that hook into the heater hoses or rad hoses. If you need something that big, go to a truck dealership and find one of the high wattage hater hose ones, THere's some really big ones available. My 92 Jetta fired up monday morning without being plugged in, with a temp of -22c and who knows how bad a wind chill. Good glow plugs and an injection system in good shape goi a long way!

[jtanguay]

yea i just remember one of the key reasons why my car would not start-- i had put wynns stopleak into my engine in the summer.  My car never leaked or burnt up until it wouldnt start