I do not have a diesel yet. I was looking at a 2005 to 2006 with the 5.9L..
I was told that living in Ontario with our cold winters it takes forever for the diesel engine to warm up and put heat in the cab. Is this true?

 

Takes a long time for the T-stat to open, but you will get heat before that.
I warm the engine 60 sec in cold weather and then drive it with light throttle till the coolant temps come all the way up!
I might go 2-5min in Ontario. We don't get that cold down here!
I believe the 05's & 06's have high idle on demand, which would help a lot.

Plugging it in below 40*F is recommended anyway.... and the best way to get instant heat!

RJ

 

I live in Cincinnati, OH and it gets in the teens and 20's here at night. I rarely plug my truck in. I simply turn the key and wait for the light to go out. Then fire it up and usually let it run for a minute or so. Heat works great in the truck and usually warms the truck up within a couple minutes. Luckily, I have the heated seats which I completely recommend. Makes it nice and toasty on cold mornings. Good luck on your search for a diesel.

 

My area gets down into the high 20's low 30's on cold winter mornings. I plug her in and use my high-idle she'll have respectable heat in a few minutes. Without either of those it's probably 15-20 minutes into my commute before I have respectable heat.

 

In southern Maryland we usually see temps in the 20's to low 30's in the mornings, and high 30's to low 40's in the afternoon. Whenever it gets below 40, I'll plug the truck in because it makes a BIG difference in warm up time. Another thing that will make a big difference in warm up time is to outfit the truck with Mopar's "cold weather cover". It's a nice piece of vinyl/cloth combination that fits under the hood over the radiator, and restricts the flow of cold air to the grille and engine compartment. There's a square, about 12" x 12", in the cover that is centered over the radiator. It has 4 flaps that can be opened and close to control the amount of air that comes through the hole. If you plug the truck in, and use the cover, it will heat up pretty quickly. But, from a dead cold the truck will always take a while to warm up. To me though, I have no problem waiting for heat. Gassers may produce heat very quickly, but that's the only thing that they "kind of" have going for them, IMO.

 

Same here. . .

 

Doesn't get that cold here, maybe 20s occasionally at night in the winter. But the best thing I did for cold starts was going to Rotella 5w40 synthetic oil. When I ran 15w40 it sounded rougher cranking it in colder temps. The 5w40 seems like a nice warm spring day.......even in the 20s.

I let it idle for a minute or two....then drive slow and get the oil pressure going good. Then drive normal. It will warm up.

..

 

One must have for cold winter temps is a nice Dodge winter front :
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...7&d=1239227686

 

You'll get heat in about 2 miles in the Winter if you plug it in. If you don't then you won't until about 6 miles. I'm talking below 0 F here. -33 F is as cold as I've had the overhead show on my truck and that was cold but it still started right up and I had heat within a couple miles. Not sure how it would have been without plugging it in. I have left my truck at the trailhead all day while snowmobiling with a high of -18 F and it started but it wasn't happy about it. You could tell it turned over quite a bit slower and it took a while for the heat to come but it eventually did. In those temps the factory high idle at 1k RPMs comes on whether you want it to or not. My truck is coming up on 5 years old in August with almost 48000 miles and the original batteries with no problems yet.

 

A lot of people will say to plug your truck in at different temps. For me I wouldn't even consider it unless it was -0F. For the fastest warm ups besides plugging your truck in, install a exhaust brake and turn on the high idle.

 

The 40*F recommendation comes from Cummins!
Also, engineers on this site have posted about the geometric increase in frictional coefficients below 40*F.
It's not about "will it start", IMHO. It's about making it last as long as possible...... and about getting the heater working!

RJ

 

I live in ND, so I have started my truck a few times out in the cold.
Not everyone has a plug in where they work or for everyplace they plan to stop during the day. I was Just throwing out another option that no one has mentioned why is that not OK with you??I gave my opinion of the temp I will plug my truck in if it is sitting out. Why is that not OK??

I do agree with the increase of frictional coefficient's grow higher as temp falls. But it is not only the engine but the transmission, differentials that are affected .

My truck sits in a heated shop set at 60 after all it is about making things last as long as possible!!

 

Sorry if I sounded critical. Was just trying to share what I thought was important info that some might not know!(the original poster was looking at his first CTD).
There are many on here that brag about their trucks starting at xx* below zero. They brag about not having to plug in, and how it's totally unnecessary!
I was probably too quick to think maybe you were one of these .... since there seems to be an endless supply!
My mistake. Glad you are not!

RJ

 

In the winter, morning temps commonly hover around 0*. I plug it in on a timer, so the heater runs about 3 hours in the am. Then I use a remote starter, and let it idle about 5-8 minutes. I also use the winter cover from Dodge.

To be honest, I not really sure any of that works. It still take 3-4 miles of driving to really get the heat going. If I let my gas engine run for 8 minutes in the AM, the windshield would be completly thawed and the cab was warm.

I havn't owned the truck long, but this winter I'll experiment with things and see what works best. But, so far, I'm not impressed with the block heater.

 

Thanks for all the replys. I have a concern that the heater will not melt the snow and ice off the windshield for those first 3 to 5 miles of driving.My truck will have to stay out side in up to -30C with bone chilling winds .I would plug it in at home but at work there are no plugins. Might be a problem .