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Thread: Too cold for my Ford -6f
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01-29-2020, 04:52 PM #21
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North of the 48th parallel it's pretty obvious you need anti-gelling winter fuel. South of the 32nd parallel it gets a little more vague. So when you travel from Houston to Ontario it's wise to make sure your fuel is completely changed out.
PS, we loved Quebec City last summer, and had a blast on the Via Ferrata at Montmorency Falls Park...Dallas
2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750
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02-02-2020, 09:38 PM #22
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I know the OP has had his truck serviced, but just a couple of facts that might help someone out. I am an ASE Certified Master Tech and my hobby is diesels. I have learned over the years on what happens when the temps drop below 0 to diesel trucks. First, always add fuel additive when your fuel is warm, like after a drive. After driving for a while, the fuel is heated by running through the engine and injection system. Fuel additive will not have the desired chemical reaction if added when the fuel is too cold. This information comes from Power Service. Second, left over fuel that was not winter rated probably caused your fuel filter to wax up. After waxing up, if the fuel is heated, the filter will flow again. If the filter is already dirty, it might not come all the way back and could require replacement. Plugging the engine in doesn't do much for the fuel, the fuel systems have fuel heaters that can help to keep the fuel moving in cold temps. Summer diesel will start to wax at about 15 degrees, winter diesel depending on the location typically has an additive, but normally is blended in varying amounts with number 1 diesel. Typical blend is 60/40 or 50/50 in extreme cold, straight number 1 is required. Ask anyone in Alaska. When the temps drop to where I think they will be below 0 I keep my fuel treated. I use Power Service winter in the white bottle, there are others that work equally well. There are some you tube tests that show most of the additives not working well at all, nothing beats a blend of number 1. Not all stations treat there fuel the same, you can ask, but a lot of people that work the counters won't have a clue. Truck stops are better, they usually have straight number 2, 50/50 and straight number 1 in the rocky mountain region.
The next issue is DEF. It freezes below 15 degrees and even though the tanks have heaters in them, sometimes the heater can't keep up and the tank won't thaw and can throw an emission code. Trucks that sit outside in very cold weather for extended periods of time can have this issue.
Always keep a spare fuel filter with you in cold weather environments in case you have to change it to get going. The engine block heater warms the engine block making cranking easier and helps the oil to warm up faster, but believe it or not, the oil in the pan doesn't warm up much from the block heater because most of the heat from the heater rises.
I live in Northern Wyoming and we just had a very mild January. The last time we had a January this mild, we hit -40 in Feb and diesel trucks were dropping like flied including my Cummins powered Suburban at the time. It quit as I was driving up the driveway at work. I towed it into a heated shop to let it warm up all day and all was well.
I run 5w/40 synthetic oil in the winter because it is easier on the engine and 15/40 doesn't flow very well below 0. I change back to 15/40 after winter. I run a Duramax and that is all that is required. I can't speak on the new 6.7 Powerstroke. Oil requirements are usually stated in the owner's manual and diesel oil is established as the "C" rating on the container. The latest diesel oil rating is CK-4.2023 GMC 3500HD CCLB DRW Duramax L5P, Banks Derringer/Idash/CAI 60 gallon fuel transfer tank
2018 Solitude 310GK with Kodiak disc brakes 4000 lb Dexter springs, frame stiffeners
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02-03-2020, 09:05 AM #23
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Nuffsaid, excellent write up. I've settled on Optilube XPD. Not sure if I need it with the new 2019 powerstroke engine. You would think that some of these traditional problems with diesel would get engineered out. Would you happen to know if the 2019 Powerstroke has the Cp4 fuel pump?
I never even thought about the warm weather region transition to cold weather region thing, that won't happen again.
+1 on the DEF freezing. I had that happen with my Chevy, fortunately the dealer was right next door. Turned out the heater in the tank failed, there had been some type of recall on the 13 DEF tank heater so it got replaced under warranty. The tech told me never to top off the DEF tank in cold winter, they have had some tanks come in split.
Another cute trick I learned that winter; -22f, I forgot to plug the block heater in. 6am, went to start the truck, it wouldn't start. It threw codes so I took it into the dealership the next after it started. The diesel tech told me I wasn't alone, they had several diesels in with similar problems, he told a trick when it's really cold out is to turn the glow plugs on for pre-start, then turn to off, repeat 2 more times and then start. I don't know exactly what that does but adding any warmth to a really cold engine made since to me.Dallas
2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750
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02-03-2020, 04:00 PM #24
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D2Reid,
I used to have to cycle glow plugs a lot on my older diesels to get them to start, can't say I ever had to with a duramax though. I have seen some 2002 era 7.3 power strokes that wouldn't start if they weren't plugged in when the temps dropped below 0. I believe the 2019 powerstroke still uses the CP4, but I believe the 2020 uses a different injection pump. Optilube is a good product.
Years ago I was a service manager at a New Holland Tractor dealership. One winter we had a load of small tractors show up from the Chicago area and not one of them would start, the fuel was all gelled from the trip out, probalby from non winterized fuel in Chicago to very cold weather in Wyoming.2023 GMC 3500HD CCLB DRW Duramax L5P, Banks Derringer/Idash/CAI 60 gallon fuel transfer tank
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02-03-2020, 04:20 PM #25
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It sure would be nice if they would post the gel-point temperature on the pump so you’d have an idea for how winterized the diesel really is when you fill up.
2017 F-350 CCSB 6.7L
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previously - Reflection 28BH, Intech Pursue
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02-03-2020, 05:07 PM #26
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Years ago, the NAPA store in Worland had a listing each year of all of the local refineries and their cold pour point and cloud points of their diesel fuel. It was very interesting and they were not all the same.
Here is an article that explains some diesel characteristics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_diesel_fuel2023 GMC 3500HD CCLB DRW Duramax L5P, Banks Derringer/Idash/CAI 60 gallon fuel transfer tank
2018 Solitude 310GK with Kodiak disc brakes 4000 lb Dexter springs, frame stiffeners
RETIRED Maint Supervisor, Certified Welder, ASE Master Tech, Owner tire shop
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