Found this interesting. Made me think of some of @Poindexter’s comments, over the years.
Cold weather car prep
- Thread starter Ashful
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I saw that yesterday! Then started searching for that vehicle, lol. For something like $22k, one can be yours!
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
I think the main thing I do, a bit outside the mainstream, is ask the dentist for whatever the least favorite flavor of chap stick is. usually fruit punch. Late summer I apply the free chapstick to the weather stripping on all the doors to my truck, door side and cabin side. If I had a car with a trunk I would do the trunk seals also. Don't forget the hood so you can check your oil year round.
While it is -occasionally- cold enough for whatever rubber to stick to paint directly, it is also handy for gasket preservation in the shoulder seasons when I have the freeze/thaw / freeze thing going on every day.
For plug-in "head bolt heater" mine is one plug (110/120 vac) on the front bumper that splits into three. One goes to a warmer pad under the battery, one to a replaced bolt on one cylinder head with a hot wire on it, and the third, on my truck, goes to the oil pan. When plugged in, my truck draws about 1000 watts to heat (warm) the battery, two of the engine cylinders and the oil in the pan. My system is on a timer to come on about 2 hours before a cold start. When I used to take a lot of hospital call I would leave the head bolt heater plugged in all night so the vehicle would be ready to go anytime my pager went off. Keeping diesel from gelling can be an adventure, and some vehicles have stick on warmer pads on both oil and transmission pans.
With a broad brush, vehicles made after y2k do not generally need radiator shields to reduce airflow- around town - at any temperature. Long haul highway vehicles -might- need radiator shields. The defining factor up here is does the engine come up to temperature or not. If the engine simply does not come up to temperature, a piece of cardboard over part of the radiator will block some airflow and might solve the issue. Cold engines of course run rich and waste fuel. If the vehicle reaches and maintains ordinary operating temp you don't need a radiator shield.
In general vintage vehicles up here, say throttle body fuel injection or carburetion, are summer time vehicles in storage during cold weather. Or kept indoors. I keep both my carb snowthrower and carb chainsaw in the climate controlled garage.
While it is -occasionally- cold enough for whatever rubber to stick to paint directly, it is also handy for gasket preservation in the shoulder seasons when I have the freeze/thaw / freeze thing going on every day.
For plug-in "head bolt heater" mine is one plug (110/120 vac) on the front bumper that splits into three. One goes to a warmer pad under the battery, one to a replaced bolt on one cylinder head with a hot wire on it, and the third, on my truck, goes to the oil pan. When plugged in, my truck draws about 1000 watts to heat (warm) the battery, two of the engine cylinders and the oil in the pan. My system is on a timer to come on about 2 hours before a cold start. When I used to take a lot of hospital call I would leave the head bolt heater plugged in all night so the vehicle would be ready to go anytime my pager went off. Keeping diesel from gelling can be an adventure, and some vehicles have stick on warmer pads on both oil and transmission pans.
With a broad brush, vehicles made after y2k do not generally need radiator shields to reduce airflow- around town - at any temperature. Long haul highway vehicles -might- need radiator shields. The defining factor up here is does the engine come up to temperature or not. If the engine simply does not come up to temperature, a piece of cardboard over part of the radiator will block some airflow and might solve the issue. Cold engines of course run rich and waste fuel. If the vehicle reaches and maintains ordinary operating temp you don't need a radiator shield.
In general vintage vehicles up here, say throttle body fuel injection or carburetion, are summer time vehicles in storage during cold weather. Or kept indoors. I keep both my carb snowthrower and carb chainsaw in the climate controlled garage.
