ya sry, i ment grid heater not glow plugs. Also could always by a new truck and do the EGR and DPF deletes, just did them on my brothers 2007 dodge and gets better mileage and more power.
Diesal vs gas
- Thread starter zr600
- Start date
I've never noticed a problem with wind one way or the other. Vehicles don't feel wind chill, only actual air temps....Only reason I try and stay out of the wind is so it doesn't get covered/packed/surrounded by snow.
One thing nobody has mentioned is OIL. Good luck starting your truck in the cold with 15w40 summer oil. I run 0w40 all winter long and have started the truck all the way down to -40(c or f) and it hasn't left me stranded yet. It sounds something aweful and you might want to keep it from going into high idle for a few minutes when it's that cold.
Fresh batteries, always use additives and keep your fuel filter clean.
I've also hard wired a battery maintainer in under the hood to keep the batteries topped up if I'm concerned about starting and have a place to plug in. Usually I don't
Fresh batteries, always use additives and keep your fuel filter clean.
I've also hard wired a battery maintainer in under the hood to keep the batteries topped up if I'm concerned about starting and have a place to plug in. Usually I don't
Yes and no. You are correct it can't get any colder then the actual temperature but it will get there a lot quicker if you park it out in the wind. With our semis if you park them outside in the wind when its 0 and -20 with windshield parked in the wind by morning they turn over pretty slow. If we park them inside our uninsulated shed that is the same temp as outside but out of the wind they start a lot nicer.
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likinit2
Member
Ok, here goes..... This is more likely for the midwestern crowd here due to the elevation power loss of the gasser. I bought a new 08 and went with the gas instead of the D-max. I bought a 3500 crew cab single wheel with 4:10 gears. It does a very good job pulling, doesn't constantly hunt for gears and when it does downshift it isn't a major event like the old 4 speed automatic. oil changes cost less than 20 bucks. no fuel filters to keep changed. ALWAYS starts and actually gets pretty decent mileage going down the hwy empty. Very happy with my choice.
Now, if I was to do alot of towing or hual a trailer for a living a diesel in a no brainer. On top of that If I was to buy used, the old gassers pretty much suck and suck gas and I would search for a D-max as my first choice.
Now, if I was to do alot of towing or hual a trailer for a living a diesel in a no brainer. On top of that If I was to buy used, the old gassers pretty much suck and suck gas and I would search for a D-max as my first choice.
I have always ran Rotella 15w40 even in sub zero temps and have never had any problems. And I have honestly never seen 0W40 on the shelf....intresting, I'll have to look next time.
Rotella 5-40 synthetic. I used to run the Rotella 15-40, now I run the 5-40 synthetic year around. The difference is unbeliveable when it gets below zero. Turns over so much faster, starts easier, much nicer on things. Yeah it costs more, but I run longer between changes.
Agree'd on the oil thing. I run 5-40 synthetic Mobil, or Premium blue extreme, and its two different trucks in the cold. Obviously HEUI injection will benifit the most from this, but either way having a little big better flowing oil on startup is nicer on parts.
Yep, I agree now that I think about it some. I just thought you meant parking outside in a parking lot or something like that!
Something about that shelter DOES make them roll over that much better. It's like that up at my inlaws, uninsulated machine shed (door open) and the vehicles DO roll over that much easier in the morning when it's colder than a witches brass tit. Gotta love ND, huh? Yep, I agree now that I think about it some. I just thought you meant parking outside in a parking lot or something like that!
Yeah at the moment I don't like ND weather to much bad when it gets up to 0 for a high and you think its good and start shedding layers. We've spent the last week and a half combining corn with several days the high being only -20f and seen and heard of a lot of things breaking that weren't supposed to on red, green and yellow machines with the worst being cold gearlube thats cracking cases.
Anyway I have learned two usefull things atleast.
1. I trust Howes antigell additive completely now. We've been running all straight #2 fuel some of it coming out of our 10000ga tank that is gelled(don't ask how we got it out) adding howes and dumping it straight in our equipment without ever gelling. We have several neighbors running #1(must be contaminated) that are gelling.
2. Sams club batteries are absolute junk. We had one of our 3 identical semis that had 3 1100cca Sams Engerizer batteries that refused to start even plugged in. Replaced with NAPA batteries and it starts like a champ now.
"Hydraulically-actuated, Electronically-controlled Unit Injectors (or HEUI injectors for short)"
The Powerstrokes, some of the CAT motors, international use them. Picture these injectors like a syringe, fuel inside, and high pressure oil is used to push the plunger down, controlled by a solenoid.
This is why a good synthetic, (5-40), or decent thinner multigrade for winter does them a world of good. Your average 15-40 gets pretty thick when it gets cold, nevermind when its near the end of its service interval, so it just doesnt flow nice for cold firing the injectors.
Thats about the best that i can sum it up, I noticed a HUGE cold start difference on my 05 6.0 Stroke going from dino 15-40 to 5-40 synthetic. Its always started well in cold weather, but it just cranks faster, sounds alot more friendly when it flashes.
Brian
likinit2 - What are the mileage numbers you are getting with your 08 Gasser?
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zr600
Member
Everybody tells me to buy a diesal in my price range except one buddy that just hates them, he is in love with his ford v10. I pull a 5th wheel camper every to every other weekend in the summer and enclosed sled trailors ranging in size from 7x29to 8.5x35 to the mountains 2-3 a year. Will an diesal without a dpf get any better mileage with the new low sulfur fuel than a v10 or chevy 8.1? How do the 8.1s pull i would maybe consider one of these. I don't think the 6.0 has enough torque.
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redbarchetta
Member
I have an 08 duramax and last yr went to the snowies and it was -40 F when we left truck was gone 6 hours total between riding and warming up in lodge and the truck fired right up with fuel additive and 15-40 rotella when we loaded up. The newer diesels with good batteries will start anytime a gasser will.
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twistedtunnel
Member
i had an 03 duramax for 3 years never garaged in winter, never plugged in, always started on the coldest of days, but i did put some new batteries in it one time. I got some buddies with 7.3 powerstrokes that have been having problems I don't know what thats all about. I traded the duramax for an 8.1 now and saved alot of money, and i don't really need the diesel any more but they are nice.
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WeRideCats
New member
diesel vs. gas
Over the past 15 years I've had 5 diesel work pickups all of which have been trouble free. I've owned 1 personal diesel and 2 v10's. Over the years each time they have increased the power of the diesel and put more on for emisions they have less mileage. I currently get 15 empty and can't quite get 10 with a big trailer. The v10 was a dually and got 12 empty and 8 with a trailer. I pulled a 38 foot 5th wheel through the mountains with my v10 that weighed about 15000 pounds with no problems. Now the new trannys got a couple extra gears that would help the v10 even more.
For 2 miles less economy I can't justify a diesel any more. Consider fuel prices and availability. Consider upkeep costs. 29.99 to service a gas or 150 to service a diesel. Diesel fuel filters are over $100 and should be changed often.
I think in those 15 years I have gelled twice. Once was last Tuesday with lots of additive and some number 1. Not fun.
Also consider how long you are gonna run this ride. Diesel motor life is great but I like em under warranty cause they are spendy to work on. However most diesels should go 200,000 trouble free where I would probably look at getting rid of a gas after 100,000 miles.
Starting has really not been a problem for me in all those years and I live in SD. I don't plug mine in unless its below zero either. I'v started them under 20 below as long as your glow plugs and batteries are good.
That being said I'll be the first to admit there is no towing experience like towing with a diesel. I think you need to have a trailer behind 80% of the time to make it pay though.
Just a summary of my experiences.
Good luck with you new ride.
Over the past 15 years I've had 5 diesel work pickups all of which have been trouble free. I've owned 1 personal diesel and 2 v10's. Over the years each time they have increased the power of the diesel and put more on for emisions they have less mileage. I currently get 15 empty and can't quite get 10 with a big trailer. The v10 was a dually and got 12 empty and 8 with a trailer. I pulled a 38 foot 5th wheel through the mountains with my v10 that weighed about 15000 pounds with no problems. Now the new trannys got a couple extra gears that would help the v10 even more.
For 2 miles less economy I can't justify a diesel any more. Consider fuel prices and availability. Consider upkeep costs. 29.99 to service a gas or 150 to service a diesel. Diesel fuel filters are over $100 and should be changed often.
I think in those 15 years I have gelled twice. Once was last Tuesday with lots of additive and some number 1. Not fun.
Also consider how long you are gonna run this ride. Diesel motor life is great but I like em under warranty cause they are spendy to work on. However most diesels should go 200,000 trouble free where I would probably look at getting rid of a gas after 100,000 miles.
Starting has really not been a problem for me in all those years and I live in SD. I don't plug mine in unless its below zero either. I'v started them under 20 below as long as your glow plugs and batteries are good.
That being said I'll be the first to admit there is no towing experience like towing with a diesel. I think you need to have a trailer behind 80% of the time to make it pay though.
Just a summary of my experiences.
Good luck with you new ride.
What ever deisel you buy, just be sure and take care of the battery connections. I just got through replacing cables on my 01' cummings because I thought it would "be cool" to see how long the origional batteries would last. I bought the truck new in 2001 and replaced the origional batteries 4 months ago. They still cranked over just fine but I could not keep the acid off the terminals. Yeah, I know, typical U-Tard. After replacing the batteris, I had trouble starting the truck on cold mornings. Found out the power feed to the manifold heater was rotted from the acid. Replaced the cables/wires and she starts right up in cold weather agian.
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Schism
Member
Try searching for a thread on thedieselstop.com to be 100% sure.
Going from memory the relay is located on the top center of the engine. To check, the temps need to be cooler (below 50F I think) use a test light and check the power supply to the front side of the relay. Turn the key to the "wait to start" (on) position and check for power going across the relay with the test light. If the relay is good you will have power on both sides of the relay, if it's bad, you won't have power on the back side.
It's a very simple test to perform. I was having cold weather starting issues with my 7.3L and found that I was not getting any power across the relay using the method I described above. I changed the relay and my problems went away.
Hope this helped.
-Schism
You won't find much sitting out on the shelf. . maybe a few 1 liter jugs or something. If you go to any oil distributor (ie shell, Esso, etc) its very common. I have always run Esso XD3 0W40 (now Mobil Delvac but same juice) and my cummins fires to life no problem @ -40 temps.
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