I have started letting the car idle again

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Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: Bamaro
Use decent oil and drive off gently after 30 seconds.


If the transmission (manual) didn't howl until the gear oil started to circulate, and the car would idle at under 2500 - that would be an option.

It's what I do when the temps are warm. Which, now, warm is 30F.

I do use good oil in the engine. I can't think of anything lighter for the transmission.


What is in the transmission now? What's the spec? There might be a choice out there with better cold-flow properties.


Ford XT-M5-QS fluid. GL4 synethetic 75w-90.

ATF would definitely be lighter. As would Rotella T6 - which some people do use in these.

Apparently these are like the old Allison truck transmissions that would use ATF, hydraulic fluid, motor oil, gear oil ...

Maybe check the level? This stuff has a -54C(-65F) pour point, lower than Fords ATF or even their 0W20 syn motor oil... That said, I do find the shifts for the first couple minutes stiff when its very cold, but its not anything I worry about.
 
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Level should be good. I drained out ~2 quarts and put in a hair over 2 quarts.

Oddly enough, it shifts quite well in the cold. Really can't tell a difference.
 
My GTI's gearbox can be pretty grumpy in the cold. I still get in it and drive, I just shift extra-slowly and double clutch until it's warmed up.
 
I still warm up my 2014 Silverado every morning or after park for 4-5 hours, I let it idle for 2-3 min before driving off and driving off slowly out neighbor hood , and I have ZERO plan on keeping it for many years,it just a habit I been doing since first car
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Do you have electric outside? I installed a universal hot pad on the gearbox pan of our manual truck. Boy what a difference when it dips below 20F, no more noises or wrestling with the shifter in the morning.

My '94 Grand Cherokee would moan, slap and creak upon first start at anything under 20F. Noises be [censored], I'd drive off right away to get it hot fast. Only problem it ever gave me in 22 years of ownership was a bad fuel pump. Sold it to a guy this year with 235K and I hear he's still using it as a winter beater.

Is it possible to put a thinner fluid in your gearbox? Like a dedicated MTF, that's between a gear oil and ATF, such as a Syncromesh or maybe Ford's dual clutch fluid.
 
I let mine idle for sometimes 10 minutes in this brutal cold we've been having.. It's not for the car's benefit.. it's for mine. We broke a 40 something year record recently by over 3 degrees C. Nuts!
 
Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
It's part of the price of ownership. My vehicles serve me not the other way around. Ozone layer, fuel, oil be [censored]. That thing is going to be warm and the windows clean before I get in and put it in gear.

Exactly!
 
Too bad there isn't an electric outlet near where your car is. Otherwise slap an oil pan heater onto the engine and power said heater from an outdoor timer. Warming the engine with electricity is cheaper than warming it with gas.
 
I had a Ford Festiva that used 75w? in Asia but the US used ATF. The Taurus SHO manual trans also used ATF.

I too let the engine run for about 5 minutes when it gets below 0F. The Accent will take forever to heat up if you just take off. As it is the temp will drop when downshifting or sitting idling with the fan on heater 2 even after reaching temp unless it has a good hour of engine time on it.
 
My habit is to start my car and go once the idle comes down below 1300 in my Civic. Most of the time that means I can pull away within ten seconds, but in this extreme cold it now means I'm waiting a bit longer, but no more than a minute for sure. I drive extremely gentle for the first few minutes on these extreme cold mornings, never letting the engine go above 2500 until the water temperature reaches over 100F.
 
Originally Posted By: Patman
I drive extremely gentle for the first few minutes on these extreme cold mornings, never letting the engine go above 2500 until the water temperature reaches over 100F.


I get irate when someone pulls in front of me and is obviously babying their cold car, expecting me to slow below the speed limit to accommodate them. Understand that in busier areas its not possible to do what you do without causing problems.

Another reason why some of us warm our cars.
 
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Patman
I drive extremely gentle for the first few minutes on these extreme cold mornings, never letting the engine go above 2500 until the water temperature reaches over 100F.


I get irate when someone pulls in front of me and is obviously babying their cold car, expecting me to slow below the speed limit to accommodate them. Understand that in busier areas its not possible to do what you do without causing problems.

Another reason why some of us warm our cars.


A car is a system, just because the engine is warm doesn't mean the rest of the car is ready to receive full power. Driving gently is still prudent in extreme cold temps.
 
Originally Posted By: turtlevette


I get irate when someone pulls in front of me and is obviously babying their cold car, expecting me to slow below the speed limit to accommodate them. Understand that in busier areas its not possible to do what you do without causing problems.

Another reason why some of us warm our cars.






I can get to a normal rate of speed quickly enough driving the way I do, the only ones I slow down are the ones driving way too fast for the conditions (people going 100km/h in a 60 zone) and I have no sympathy for them. They are the same ones I see in the ditch or wrapped around a pole on that same street (which is what I saw last Saturday in a snowstorm here) Wintertime is definitely not the time to be going over the limit here, especially on the most extreme cold days.

The road I pull onto has three lanes each way as well, so it's even worse if they are doing 40 over in the slowest lane. With the giant snowpiles, people are often pulling out of places "blind", so those driving fast in that lane are taking a massive risk.
 
I live on a hill, so I can just idle down in neutral
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... well, idle with the engine racing at 2500RPM because the cat hasn't lit off.

My vehicles serve me. That's why I beat up my Jeep off road. But, ultimately, I gotta feed them! I don't like getting 25MPG! haha

Supposed to be 40 on Weds here. I'll have to dig out my shorts. Won't have to idle the car at all then!
 
I know that I have jumped on this subject in the past!

If it's just me and the windows are clear, I start the engine, buckle up, check the mirrors and GO! Easily, but I go!

NOW, if my wife will be with me, she wants to get in a warm car and I can't blame her! And anyone with small children would be poor parents if they didn't let the car warm up!
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
19 this morning. No need for excessive idling this week!
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Pffff! That's a heat wave!


We're supposed to get temps into the 30's°F this week and then, DROP right back down to about 0°F .
 
When I do let my truck warm up, it's for my sake, not the truck's. If I am comfortable enough or in a hurry, off we go. If I have time and I do not want to be cold, I let it warm up a few minutes. It will start putting heat out of the vents at around 110-130*F coolant temp. Driving it does not make it warm up significantly faster in my case. The engine is all iron, so it's going to take some time regardless, and the engine seems to build up heat just as quick sitting there in its own warmth vs. driving it around.
 
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