Are any members switching to 10/30 weight engine oil from 15/40 to aide cold weather crank speeds? Also, is anyone getting away with starting fluids in small doses? I noticed on my air filter housing a warning not to use starting fluids. I perfer to use a block heater in cold weather but sometimes I am caught with no access to electricity. I know the Mercedes diesel engines we have at work are not tolerant of starting fluid. The extra denontation stretches the head bolts.

 

starting fluid can go "BOOM" when it hits the grid heaters. you could disable the grids to allow the use of starting fluid...

i believe you can go to 5/30 in the winter, or stick with a synthetic 15/40

 

do not use starting fluids. your truck is equipped with grid heaters (wait to start light) the starting fluid could be ignited by the grid heaters before it gets into the engine. at least that is what i understand

 

Just make sure you use a diesel rated oil. Others will chime in with the details, but AFAIK conventional gasser oil does not have the ability to suspend the soot created by a diesel. As long as your battery is in a good state of charge, she should pop off in all but the coldest of weather, even w/out the plug. That sign on the air cleaner is NOT just for decoration.


EDIT: Welcome to DTR Glad to have 'ya

 

Like the other guys said, grid heaters + ether = kaboom! If you disable the grids you can use ether safely, but if the engine and the battery are in good shape it will start fine down to zero or so.

If you are concerned about low temp cranking, get a 5W40 synthetic made for diesel use like Mobil 1 Truck & SUV or Shell Rotella T Synthetic. The Mobil is about $20 for a 5 qt jug and the Shell is around $13 a gallon at Wal-Mart. It's really not necessary until you start getting into situations where it's below 10 degrees and you can't plug the truck in.

 

I run a 10W30 in my truck thats specially for diesel motors. I can start my truck fine below -20C without being plugged in. BUT it takes 3-4 cycles of the grid heater and I have two group 31 batteries(1800CCAs total) under the hood to make sure I still have some juice to crank the engine after running the grid heaters.

 

I do alot of short very trips with no loads with my truck in winter, I have used 10W-30 during the cold season. The engine rolls over easier and is slightly louder, oil cunsuption may go up slightly also, but otherwise it works fine. I change it back to 15W-40 in the spring.

But if I were pulling loaded trailers at highway speeds all day I would stay with 15W-40 and plug in the block heater instead.

 

ive never pluged my trucks up and i have never had any problem with them starting. i might dump some kro in the tank on the coldest nights, but she always starts in the morning

 

Sir, Southwestern Virginia has nothing in common with Northern Minn.

 

You ain't kiddin'! I grew up in Chicago, and that's nearly tropical compared to MN and ND. And Canada - whew!

Shell does make 10W30 Rotella T, but it's a little harder to find. Personally I'd go with a 5W40 synthetic due to the oil consumption Jim mentioned. 10W30 is a little too thin once you get the engine warmed up, but the 5W40 is just right.

 

i use 10 w 30 diesel oil in mine dont use starting fluid instead put another batterie thats what i did and i work in the woods no electricity there and the old girl never refused i just flip the ignition 2 times and there she goes just by switching oil youll see a big difference i did

 

An old trick I learned when I was a pup is to turn on the parking lights for about 5 minutes before trying to crank a cold engine > plugged in or not <.

What this does is get the juices stirring in the batteries and they will have about twice the strength that they have without using this trick.

The first time I was told this, I thought "yeah--right--drain my battery when I need it the most"; but when I started turning on the lights on the tractor before I fed in the morning, it would start on mornings that before the batteries wouldn't even turn the starter.

Now I do this all the time in cold weather.

 

Yep, I'd switch to 10w30 max for the winter. I run 0w30 semi synthetic in mine for the winter months. 15w40 in summer.

However, i once got caught at a hotel where the big Dodge truck wouldn't fit in their heated underground parking. Parked it out front. Sure enough, late Sat afternoon a cold front moved in. Temps were around -35. Truck had 15w40 in the pan. Cycled grids twice. Fired right up. Ran like crap until the combustion chambers warmed up, but it lit no problem.

So I would think occasional cold starts wouldn't be a big issue except for all that unburned fuel for the first few minutes. With a block heater, there are no issues.

And run a winter front. Makes a HUGE difference to in cab heat. These Cummins aren't famous for making a lot of heat. Good in summer, not so good in MN or CDN winters.

Oh yeah. Welcome to the board!

 

I forgot about the grid heaters. Those heaters would not be very compatable with starting fluids. I don't do much long winter driving so I may use the diesel 10/30 weight engine oils. I do agree synthetic would be best as it would have the best cold flow characteristics if I want to spend the extra bucks. It is great to hear how you guys handle the cold weather.