DD'ing a Diesel for winter!?!?

[8v-of-fury]

 

So i just picked up an 81 with a lot of road under her belt   408,000kms to be exact

I was wondering, what are some good tips for winter reliability in starting a diesel?

I will most likely be swapping out the Glowplugs, and running a Big Battery (from my old F-350),I was thinking of even going as far as to have the starter rebuilt to ensure I have maximum cranking power! ( or is that over board !? ) lol

Now it has been a while since I delved in to the timing of an IP. I remember how and all, but I don't clearly remember what. More advanced makes for more power and more emissions.. Does retarding make for Easier starts? or was that also an advantage of advancing? Because the cold start lever "Advances" the pump manually right.. Oooh I just had a revelation! lol More advanced is pretty much good all around, screw the tree huggers lol.

If i Time it to the higher realms of N/a timing.. say 0.039" or 1.00mm would that suffice in helping me out all around? the car was owned by an older male who has done all the work on it since new.. and im sure it has been kept timed at the stock setting of an N/a 0.88mm  

Early Chassis:  (1977-1983)

1.5l non-turbo 1977-1980                                        0.88 +/- 0.05 mm

1.5l non-turbo 1980 with yellow dot                         1.15 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l non-turbo  1981, 1982, and 1983 pickup            0.88 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l non-turbo  1983 Rabbit and Jetta                        0.95 +/- 0.05 mm
1.6l non-turbo  1983 Vanagon                                  0.90 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l tubo diesel (1982-1983)                                       1.00 +/- 0.05 mm

Why on earth was a 1.5 N/a in 1980 factory timed to 1.15!? isnt that insanely advanced!? like even for performance turbo engines?

Would I be safe to advance my 81 1.6 to 1.05mm? or would that be too much advance and really not doing anything more than 1.00mm would?  

Many performance tuners use the following:

-         non-turbo pumps:  0.95mm to 1.00 mm  (0.037" - 0.039")

-         turbo pumps:         1.00mm to 1.05mm (0.039" - 0.041")

What other tips do you guys have for happy Dieseling during the winter months?

oh btw, where I live it will be winter from mid November-April.. I love Canada  

[maxfax]

What other tips do you guys have for happy Dieseling during the winter months?

Buy a Prius..... 

[cyrus #1]

I would run a nice synthetic oil at least for the winter months.  It really helps with cranking speeds and saves wear on your engine during cold starts. 

Just beware if the engine is full of sludge or has been neglected...

[Kantdrivefast]

The issue I had with my jetta in the winter was the handling. Front of the car goes where you point it, but the rear end was all over the place.
The 88 F150 4x4 is my winter rig for that reason.

[rabbitman]

Block heater, oil pan heater and your good to go

If the timing is too far advanced it'll crank slower due to injecting sooner. A nice big battery will help.

[rallydiesel]

Timing is also affected by stuff like pre-combustion chamber size, squish area, compression, compression ratio, etc. etc.

All good tips so far. If you are in an extremely cold area (regularly below -35C), you might also want to toss in a battery warmer. Make sure to pack a winter survival kit if you do a lot of secondary road commuting.

[clbanman]

I'm in Cambridge, only a little warmer than Orillia.  I have done nothing the past couple years other than making sure I had good glowplugs, good battery (I'm partial to Interstate - don't use Exide) and use a good synthetic engine oil.  No problems so far, but now that I've put it down in writing I'm sure that will change in short order.

[Op-Ivy]

Take your starter out and regrease the inside. Also make sure the connections to the starter are tip top!

[jack's lack]

move south 
mine starts everyday all winter no problem. Of course we get less than a week of below freezing days here.

[macka]

I put a tarp on my work truck to keep the wind out of the engine bay and off the oil pan. That being said, I run a lighter oil in the winter, have a block heater, oil pan heater and a battery blanket. On really cold nights, I try to get the truck inside and if that isn't possible I make sure it is out of the wind, and that all the heaters are plugged in. Once at a bush camp I even had a coleman heater running under the block all night.

[8v-of-fury]

move south  
mine starts everyday all winter no problem. Of course we get less than a week of below freezing days here.

Dude, i would kill myself if I didn't get my fix of WINTER lol.. seriously I get like atleast 6 months of below freezing temps

I put a tarp on my work truck to keep the wind out of the engine bay and off the oil pan. That being said, I run a lighter oil in the winter, have a block heater, oil pan heater and a battery blanket. On really cold nights, I try to get the truck inside and if that isn't possible I make sure it is out of the wind, and that all the heaters are plugged in. Once at a bush camp I even had a coleman heater running under the block all night.

I have heard of crazy people (such as you T-bay'ers lol) running Colemans under their pans. I don't think I will get this car on the road before the snow flies the brakes just started to get soft, and go to the floor and not stop the car, ****! I haven't had a chance to get under and see what the dealio is yet.. but i assume a pin hole in a line.. as i got a few good drives out of it before this happened.. and it stopped good up until then.

I also dunno if I quite want the hassle this year or not of it not starting on me one morning when i need it too you know? I am pretty much undecided! I love diesel but.. argghh lol

WWJD?

I have a block heater, oil pan heater and a battery blanket.

Those sound nice I am not sure if this engine has a block heater or not.. I wasn't really looking.. but what diesel owner wouldn't have one from factory especially in CANADA!? Is a pan heater pretty much the exact same thing as a block heater? but instead it heats the oil up in the bottom of the pan for faster lubrication? Also a battery blanket, is this too also run from an outside power source?

I just thought of something! Take those three things, and even add in a small trickle charger that when plugged in provides the battery with like 1-2amp. Have all these four components (Block heater, Pan heater, Battery blanket, and Trickle charger) wired together so when you plug in the one plug hanging over your headlight (lol) it turns on all of them. Your engine will think it is 90F How does that sound? any flaws you can see to this? Oh also set it on a timer, 2-3 hours before you leave in the morning.. and then just leave it plugged in at work all day (because you don't pay for it there lol)

[diesel smoke]

While I do think it would work, and is a good idea, I think it is a bit of an overkill. I've always got my diesels going with nothing more than the block heater/coolant heater even in -45* weather.

[rabbitman]

Those sound nice I am not sure if this engine has a block heater or not.. I wasn't really looking.. but what diesel owner wouldn't have one from factory especially in CANADA!? Is a pan heater pretty much the exact same thing as a block heater? but instead it heats the oil up in the bottom of the pan for faster lubrication? Also a battery blanket, is this too also run from an outside power source?

I just thought of something! Take those three things, and even add in a small trickle charger that when plugged in provides the battery with like 1-2amp. Have all these four components (Block heater, Pan heater, Battery blanket, and Trickle charger) wired together so when you plug in the one plug hanging over your headlight (lol) it turns on all of them. Your engine will think it is 90F How does that sound? any flaws you can see to this? Oh also set it on a timer, 2-3 hours before you leave in the morning.. and then just leave it plugged in at work all day (because you don't pay for it there lol)

A pan heater is a little pad that sticks to the bottom of the pan, a block heater goes in one of the frost plug holes.

I've heard battery blankets will shorten the life of the battery due to boiling, I would pick the trickle charger over the battery blanket......

I have mine setup so the oil pan heater and block heater connect to one cord and I use a timer. Works perty good, so far down to -54F.

[jtanguay]

starter starter starter... for the longest time i thought my battery was crap. turned out to be that the starter was on its way out (for about 2 years  ) it was almost night and day comparison!

[macka]

The trick with the battery blanket is to put a thin layer of insulation between the blanket and battery. I used some 1/4"plywood to shield the battery. Its also plugged into a timer, so it doesn't get used for long periods when its cold.