T'is the season...winter vehicle preparation

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:56 pm

Checking the wipers, testing the antifreeze for ph and freeze point, making sure the washer fluid won't freeze, installing the snow tires and or wheels.

What else do you do?

I have an engine block heater and cab heater, so now I plug them in for the night. I do need to dig out those tire chains and see if they will fit the new 33x9.50's. Time to find that ice scraper and toss it back under the seat too.

Do you think tire chains for a 31x10.5-15 will work on the 33x9.5-15 tires?

When things start looking "iffy" I'll toss on the winch, for weight if nothing else. I guess I really should invest in one of those small telescoping snow shovels for when the snow hits.
Probably need to add the cover for the bed too.

Lots to do.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:11 am

I like to add a fresh coat of wax. It may not really help but it makes me feel better about all the road salt.

Oh and I also take out my receiver plug and put the hitch ball in. Never know when some jackhole is gonna be following too close on icy roads and I get extra satisfaction out of my hitch going thru his radiator.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:19 am

FEMA Factsheet: During a winter storm

FEMA wrote:If you are driving

* Drive only if it is absolutely necessary. If you must drive, consider the following:

o Travel in the day, don’t travel alone, and keep others informed of your schedule.

o Stay on main roads; avoid back road shortcuts.

* If a blizzard traps you in the car:

o Pull off the highway. Turn on hazard lights and hang a distress flag from the radio antenna or window.

o Remain in your vehicle where rescuers are most likely to find you. Do not set out on foot unless you can see a building close by where you know you can take shelter. Be careful; distances are distorted by blowing snow. A building may seem close, but be too far to walk to in deep snow.

o Run the engine and heater about 10 minutes each hour to keep warm. When the engine is running, open a downwind window slightly for ventilation and periodically clear snow from the exhaust pipe. This will protect you from possible carbon monoxide poisoning.

o Exercise to maintain body heat, but avoid overexertion. In extreme cold, use road maps, seat covers, and floor mats for insulation. Huddle with passengers and use your coat for a blanket.

o Take turns sleeping. One person should be awake at all times to look for rescue crews.

o Drink fluids to avoid dehydration.

o Be careful not to waste battery power. Balance electrical energy needs - the use of lights, heat, and radio - with supply.

o Turn on the inside light at night so work crews or rescuers can see you.

o If stranded in a remote area, stomp large block letters in an open area spelling out HELP or SOS and line with rocks or tree limbs to attract the attention of rescue personnel who may be surveying the area by airplane.

o Leave the car and proceed on foot - if necessary - once the blizzard passes.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:22 am

barch97 wrote:I like to add a fresh coat of wax. It may not really help but it makes me feel better about all the road salt...........

I echo Barch and I really cleaned the crew up yesterday but, with the unusual warm weater and the twisters I doubt whether/weather it'll get done

ludwis · Post by **ludwis** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 3:43 pm

What is the advantage of the engine block heater?

I can understand that if you were in siberia it will help the engine start, but how does it help regular old joey butt crack in PA?

I still have alot to learn...lay it on me

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 4:02 pm

The longer it takes to reach operating temperatures the more wear and tear on the engine.
No waiting for the windshield to defrost, and heater is functioning quickly. Save gas that would otherwise be spent warming the vehicle.

Most importantly for my case...when the page goes out for an emergency response, I don't have to wait for things to defrost.

I guess you could say that I am a wimp too. I like jumping in a warm truck

I get the extremes in weather here. We usually have a couple weeks of sub zero weather during the winter.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 4:10 pm

HenryJ wrote:I guess you could say that I am a wimp too. I like jumping in a warm truck

I get the extremes in weather here. We usually have a couple weeks of sub zero weather during the winter.

I would have bet a paycheck that I'd never like a seat heater but, I do now.

May pass the block heater along to former coworkers to sell to the powers to be for faster response times to "call outs".

We didn't have assigned shifts. We just worked what schedule was thought to be best for that time of year. If something happened before or after we were on-duty we responded.

kwalsh · Post by **kwalsh** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 6:24 am

I reattach the vacuum hose on actuator....or in other words, I undo the "hot feet fix"
& I toss a wool blanket in the truck.

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 4:52 am

kwalsh wrote: I undo the "hot feet fix"

Good one ! I do that too

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:26 pm

That time of year again

I did get one of those cheap collapsible snow shovels last year. Time to toss it in the truck.
The tire chains do fit.
I made a weather cover for the winch last year , not long after I got it.

New wipers, checked my antifreeze , disconnected the heater control valve vacuum line and reversed the "hot foot fix".

Not quite cold enough for the engine block heater, but I have been plugging in the cab heater.

We usually see the first snow flake here by Halloween. A few days have felt that way. The time is soon. What have you done to prepare this year?

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:46 pm

HenryJ wrote: What have you done to prepare this year?

Reminded my wife on how to change the home thermostat from cooling to heating.

Mental note to change my coolant after overheating this past weekend and just adding pure distilled water weakening the mixture.

Changing wick in emergency kerosene stove.

Am in an inground home with wirlybird vents on roof and covered them.

New sweaters for Mrs. Hoff's ankle biters.

Where are you going with this, Brule?

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:37 am

Well lets see, first a good cleaning thanks to a bit of mud a couple of weeks ago. I will change to the studded snows within the next two weeks. Cleaned out the garage so the crew can live indoors, deicer fluid in the washer, shovel will get put in soon, extra weight in the bed, check antifreeze, clean and recoat all the glass with rain-x,put snow brum,ice scraper, snowbrush back in the truck, wiper blades,emergency bag will go in (hat, coat,snow boots,extra socks,shirt,pants,energy bar,personals bag with overnight supplies and assorted prescription meds)my other truck will go on the trickle charger in the other garage bay.

border man · Post by **border man** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:45 am

Um...let me see, cut my grass; set my sprinklers for just once a day; spread winter grass seed, raise my home a/c from 74 to 78, dig out the sweatshirts for those harsh winter nights. Oh and most important of all refresh my defensive driving skills in preparation for all those incoming Snowbirds from Brule's, Bubaloo's and most everyone else here's neck of the woods.

Post by **Walt** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:48 am

border man wrote:Um...let me see, cut my grass; set my sprinklers for just once a day; spread winter grass seed, raise my home a/c from 74 to 78, dig out the sweatshirts for those harsh winter nights. Oh and most important of all refresh my defensive driving skills in preparation for all those incoming Snowbirds from Brule's, Bubaloo's and most everyone else here's neck of the woods.

I don't do anything except switch from AC to heat at home, and that's just because my wife and kids get cold.

I'll usually but the AC off in the truck, but that's it.

2kwik4u · Post by **2kwik4u** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:04 am

No major prepping here either.

I need to apply a new coat of Rain-X to the windshield, and some wax wouldn't hurt, but nothing out of the ordinary. Hell I had the sunroof out in the Xtreme last year at Christmas time

BobbleSmitty · Post by **BobbleSmitty** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:17 am

I put the ice scraper back into my truck.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:29 pm

Something I didn't think about until now. Disconnecting the AC fan wire so the fans no longer turn on when the defrost is selected.

The grass seed is a good idea. I'll be putting away my sprinklers for the winter , this weekend. Probably two more mowings left.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:41 pm

Reverse the "hot foot fix" Spread around "hearing protection" plugs in preparation of the ever present "I'm cold" onslaught

More cedar chips for my dog's outside igloo in his kennel (he resides inside during the night).
Hooking up his water bucket heater for his daytime adventures. Let me work on this thought process

BADs Crew · Post by **BADs Crew** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 6:16 am

I am going to undercoat this year. Wheel wells and frame. Im just not sure how to clean everything down first. I don't want to spend 2 days doing it. I thought of power washing than a quick wipe down with minerial spirits. I want to use the spray can undercoating.

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:22 pm

Well I did some winter preparation, I picked up some extra wheels at the yard for a good price, just like stock ones, and mounted my "winter" tires on them. Looks like I have a good setup now for the next few years without buying anymore tires!

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:12 pm

Does anyone use the winter grille inserts that are available to get faster startups and a warmer vehicle?

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:20 pm

Grill inserts? Do you mean something like a "cold front" for a truck? If so I wouldn't as it restricts air-flow through the radiator and with our fan setups that would increase stress on the water pump and fan clutch. JMO.

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:16 pm

Yes I was thinking the cold front by lund. I went to the larger radiator and now my truck stays a little too cold at times. I thought maybe something like the cold front would be a good addition but I see your concerns. I was wondering if anyone else on here ran those or something similar.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:31 am

I ran one winter with cardboard tied to the grill. It helped with warm ups quite a bit but I also was only running a 10 mile drive so I needed to do that so I would get heat before I got to work. There is plenty of space between the grill and the radiator to get air flow.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:39 am

I just flip the over ride "off" switch on the fans for a fast warm up.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:59 pm

oh sure those 30 degree days are torture to warm up in.

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:21 pm

green02crew wrote:I went to the larger radiator and now my truck stays a little too cold at times.

Define a "little too cold". What temp T-stat you running? That'd be where I'd start.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:32 pm

04crewvt wrote:oh sure those 30 degree days are torture to warm up in.

Oh, I forgot. I check out the seat warmers too. Oh wait, I check those out all yr long by accidentally turning them on.

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:07 am

180* stat. New, just in this past spring. A little too cold is instead of about 180*ish it runs more like 173*ish. But it gets back up to temp when I stop.

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:46 pm

With an oversize radiator you will find in winter you probably need to go back to a 195F thermostat. With that increased cooling capacity you'll likely discover even that will have a difficult time maintaining much over 190-193F in cold weather. My brand new one with stock radiator runs in that range when it's much below 25F outside. On warmer days it still only gets up to 195-198F as indicated by Scan Gauge II. As a side benefit in winter you'll probably discover it also helps fuel economy to keep it running a little warmer under the hood too.

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 6:37 pm

The thermostat regulates the temperature not the size of the radiator.
Mine runs 182-186 all the time. No problems staying warm here.
Efans do help with quicker warm ups. Mine rarely run during the winter.

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:57 pm

HenryJ wrote:The thermostat regulates the temperature not the size of the radiator.

Correct! However it has been my experience that a larger or much more efficient radiator (hence more coolant capacity and/or heat transfer ability) will delay and depress overall engine warm-ups. I have personally experienced this both in customer as well as personal vehicles. Including something so seemingly innocent as replacing a copper core radiator with an aluminum core model. There was a VERY noticeable reduction in speed of warm-up as well as a depression of maximum achieved and maintainable engine temperature. Not an opinion. Past demonstrated and proven fact.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:14 pm

And you think a warmer thermostat will speed that process?

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:04 pm

Yes, it does help since the ambient temp of the coolant in the block is maintained at a higher level there is somewhat less loss when the stat opens and cold or cool liquid is returned to the block from the radiator. As for the "perceived" warm or cool feel to the operator it is fairly obvious that the warmer stat will provide warmer water to the heater core thus giving the operator more heat faster in the passenger compartment.
All this is additionally aggravated by our rather large stock fans. In your case Brule you definitely have a warm-up advantage with your e-fan setup since road-draft air flow (particularly below 35mph) will be generally less than that experienced with our stock fan setup. Yes the viscous clutch will release somewhat but it still flows more than the e-fans which if moving at all will tend to be "driven" by ambient air flow thus acting somewhat like a brake slowing actual air flow in comparison. This is additionally altered by the fact that you are running a thermostatic control on your fan switching that prevents the e-fans from running until preset temps are achieved in the engine block.
It's all about flow and volumes. Both air and coolant.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:31 pm

Guess you can keep believing that. If such were the case marine engines would really have a hard time.
I would wager that if you compare the warm up times between different temperature thermostats there is little or no difference. Any differences can easily be attributed to design or tolerances. Engine temperature when approaching the starting line is critical. I ran several stats in the HenryJ when I raced it hard. I had it down to a science. In this truck I have tested four different thermostats. Three different temperatures and one without the bypass valve. That is where I am coming from.
The size of the reservoir can make a small difference. It is measured in seconds though.
I am going to stick with the thermostat controlling the temperature, the size of the lake not really making a difference.

I think you could actually argue that a warmer thermostat takes longer to warm up. That dip it takes when the stat opens and it gets that rush of unheated coolant occurs later as the engine takes longer to reach the point where the thermostat opens.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:29 pm

HenryJ wrote:Guess you can keep believing that. If such were the case marine engines would really have a hard time...........I am going to stick with the thermostat controlling the temperature, the size of the lake not really making a difference. ...........

That puts it it in perspective for me. I never thought if it that way but, it certainly makes sense.

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:15 pm

Sorry Brule, We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I've had the position I've described in the above posts proven in practice time and again and will stand with what I've said. I tend not to reference racing conditions even though I have some experience in that venue as well as stock operating conditions can vary greatly from the demands and yields associated with a race engine. Additionally since acquiring scan gauge II these findings have been further verified. Matters not who agrees or disagrees with me on this it is what and how it works in practice of applied mechanics.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 8:21 pm

On the high side and with a small reservoir I would be with you on the low side I can not. Just as well to end it this way as this is not really going to help anyone much.

There are a couple really good threads on thermostatic theory.

Pulled my AC wire today so the fans don't run during defrost positions. The solenoids for the Hot foot fixes have been handy. I recirculate most of the time and now Hot Fix one is off.