thanks everyone i really appreciate the help im still new to the diesl world so i just wanted to make sure it wasnt going to hurt anything and i should not have a fuel issue i just recently replaced the injector pump as well as the lift pump they both went bad once it hit 100,000 mile so they are new ones

 

I'm in the far north and even at -20 or more my truck fires right up. I would recommend synthetic oil though. You should be OK.

 

Running a good fuel additive is also a good practice. Around the freezing mark you can get some condensation in the tank that drops out and lays in the tank. Using a good additive like Stanadyne or similar helps keep things flowing.

 

If you are gonna let it run for a couple minutes before driving it, get a stick or something so it will idle at 1000-1200 rpm. It will help get some heat into it quicker.

 

If its really cold and you dont have access to electrical power, you could get a webasto coolant heater. theyre not cheap however.
Ive been thinking of making such a beast myself from a 12v oil burner head off of a hot water pressure heater, but theyre hard to find.
Youd need to fiddle to get the air/fuel ratio right and youd have to fabricate a bunch of parts.
Synthetic is the easiest thing you can do for the truck and its cheaper than a webasto.

 

It'll start, but it won't like it. It will make all kinds of clacking sounds.

 

that's t-shirt weather, i never plug mine in untill it drops to -20

 

One step better is to put in a exhaust brake if you can afford it. Start the truck turn on the brake and in a few minutes your windows wont need to be scraped.

 

There appear to be two sets of suggestions going on here. There is one set aimed directly at the original poster which can be summed up as check your batteries and put in synthetic oil and don't worry about it. Then there are a lot of people make suggestions that would be great if you need to regularly start at -20F which is not the case in Virginia. Heaters and exhaust brakes really are not worth it for a place that really doesn't get cold. There will be some chilly mornings but it isn't a big deal. The $1000 spent on a heater could be much better spent somewhere else.

There are many trucks that have this same situation but are in much colder climates. My truck has never been plugged in in the last 4 years. I have probably only done the trick of cycling the grids twice three or four times and that was when it was -20F or worse. As long as the OP's truck is in good shape, there is nothing to worry about.

 

you shouldn't have any problems. i've run my truck to -30 celsius without plugging it in and no problems running on regular 15 40 dino oil.

jam a stick in the accelerator and seat and keep the revs up for a bit after you build oil preasure and you should be good to go.

if you want faster warm up you can always enable 3 cyl high idle at the dealer.

 

Sorry -30*C is way to cold for 15w/40. At -40*C it will take more then 90 seconds for engine oil to circulate through the engine. Use synthetic 5w/40 in the engine/ trans/ front and rear diffs. An exhaust brake will warm the engine up faster. Have a winter front on will also be very good for it. Let it idle for 15 mins before throttling it. Then bring it to 1300. I have a stick cut to length for that. I maintain that the temp gauge should lift off the bottom before an engine should be throttled.

 

I have to disagree with you on the idling for 15 minutes. These engine do not produce much heat at all at idle. It is worse for the engine to idle while really cold for 15 minutes than to high idle it right off the bat and only do it for 5 minutes. Honestly, what I do is wait till I have oil pressure then drive it really gently so that it will come up to temp. The big problem is running them not at temp. I can understand putting it in neutral for a few minutes with an auto, but I don't have one.

You need to put a price on everything including your time and decide what works best for you. To me, the amount of time that it would take to futz around with running it for 15 minutes and the amount of fuel it would burn is simply not worth it, even if it did prolong the engine's life considerably. Not to mention, the neighbors would hate me because of the noise and emissions. You need to be smart with your truck but you also need to use it to get a job done.

 

Where are you getting your information that "you maintain." If you look in your owners manual, it will reccommend times of idle (and yes, the engine is off low idle by a few hundred RPM during these times). This should be your guide. Not to be rude, but letting a truck run for 15 minuites in the cold simply isn't good for it, the enviroment, or your neighbor's sanity.

 

And check your sun visor for the Cold Start procedure. My 03' says to run the throttle up to 1000rpm & let it return to idle, right after starting in the cold.

A guy I met at a Travel Plaza in Maine, told me that he used to work at the main Cummins Plant in Indiana. He said that the weakest part of these Dodge Cummins drivetrains was the Automatic Transmission failing when it's really cold. He said that the best thing to do, is to let it idle for at least 5 mins. before driving off ... longer if your towing.

John Good

 

Put synthetic oil in it, make sure you have good batteries. If it lets you down during the winter look at doing something else like an espar or webasto heaters. I bought an espar and that is the best money I have spent on the truck,but I think we get a little colder than you do.