first true brisk cold start

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JR

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Michigan born but my heart belongs in dixie
Low 40's, and of course the GPR falls with smoke. Two rolls and smoky runner.
Truck is 97 F250hd 7.3l A225 powerstroke. 205,500 on the clock.

Brings up the thought of needed winter service.
I was looking to see bitog's diesel winter prep lists consists of.
Mine are: 1) hd30 out of crank, may try a syn this season, 2) Lund cold front, 3) Diesel911, 4) test oil/coolant heaters
5) fresh filters(coolant and fuel) installed and spares, 6) test glow plugs, 7) block heater 1hr below 40degrees.


What's your hdeo winter flavor and engine/milage?



-harvey
 
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We just got through winter, and the glow plugs were dead all winter... Never got around to changing them.

If it was a bad frost, sprayed a few seconds of sniff into the snorkel. An hour of sun on the snorkel and it started great.
 
The Ford 6.0L's at work run anything from Rotella T to Motorcraft, lately I've seen Napa HDEO on the shelves. Never had issues with them starting unless its battery related. Of course, they typically sit on shorelines and are parked in a somewhat heated garage (at least, if nobody leaves the bay doors open). Not always, though.
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
Low 40s is close enough to freezing and I hate cold!


Come up here and I'll take you Ice Fishing when it's -30F.
thumbsup2.gif
 
RT6 5w40 in the Cummins.
273k miles.
Starts unaided with grid heater after two heating cycles at -10F. But it's very grumpy; loud combustion noise, one cylinder is slow to light, and it smokes white for the first 30-60 seconds. (Fellow employees walk by and laugh at me.) No plug-in for my block heater at work. Things work better if I go out for lunch so it stays warm.
 
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5w30 Pennzoil and comes with a free car wash at the Mobile One oil center, 36 bucks, I am lazy now.
 
Get that straight 30 out of there-or put a Wolverine pan heater on it (allows me to start my '89 IDI 7.3 at -10F easily with straight 30). Powerstrokes seem to be temperamental with thick oil & cold, not sure if it's HEUI related or not.
 
Bullwinkle, yes it is the nature of the heui system. Til they get oil and work out air they don't pump or spray. And yes I have a Katz heater on the oil panps of engine and trans. In theory then 30wt can stay but they don't cover the few no plug-in or gen fuel.

Ramblejam, current fill is ST hd30 hdeo. I usually run bulk from the causin's trucking company.
The heui system and two stage oil pump just murders any and all oil. HD30/40 has no vi improvers so more shear stable. And old habits die hard.


Harvey
 
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Well, I have been using 15w40 year round in my heavy diesels since forever. One of those motors went to 1.4 million miles on a Kendall 15w40 conventional and got sold. Never a major issue. Just one fuel injector and an accessary drive seal. Same turbo. All of that staying primarily in the upper tier of the U.S. year round. Have never had any issues getting my diesels started even on the several times during the winter when temps are below -20F.

My Schaeffer dealer is wanting me to give their 10w30 a shot in my Detroit. Think I will and see what the results are. I need to order up a drum, so now would be the good time to give the 10w30 a try.
 
Hello, Harvey.

Originally Posted By: JR
The heui system and two stage oil pump just murders any and all oil. HD30/40 has no vi improvers so more shear stable. And old habits die hard.


While concern over the HEUI system is indeed warranted, subsequently selecting an ancient SAE 30 is certainly not the best way of providing a quality lube in your application; modern oils are a wonderful thing!

-9 To 90 F: 10W-30
Above 10 F: 15W-40
Below 50 F: 5W-30

I believe your truck takes around 14 quarts on an oil change, right? Motorcraft Super Duty Diesel 10w-30 is available at Walmart for $17.97/five qts. Pick up three jugs (15 quarts) along with the corresponding filter (Motorcraft FL-1995 for $9.44), and you'd have a great year-round combination.

Have you considered utilizing a fuel additive in each tank?
 
If you have a Mills Fleet Farm or similar around they sell Mystik JT-8 10W30 in a 5 gallon drum for $55, I've got some to try in my 7.3 when it gets cold here. Menards also occasionally sells Rotella T 10W30 for around $11.99/gallon.
 
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Originally Posted By: Turk
Originally Posted By: CT8
Low 40s is close enough to freezing and I hate cold!


Come up here and I'll take you Ice Fishing when it's -30F.
thumbsup2.gif



I doubt it !!! Summer yes!
 
That Mystic JT-8 is a very good oil. A good value. Due to issues I have with Menard's from a commercial trucking standpoint, I will not ever buy anything from them. I have a standing policy any time I have someone do some building work for me. There will be no purchasing from Menard's. If it is found out that they did, the contract will be nullified. Only if something is not available anywhere else can it be purchased at Menard's, but only after I approve it. Drastic, yes. But I have lost thousands of dollars dealing with Menard's on a transportation level.
 
Originally Posted By: JR
... The heui system and two stage oil pump just murders any and all oil. HD30/40 has no vi improvers so more shear stable. And old habits die hard.

Harvey



True, and not, all at the same time.

It is correct that HEUI does drive down Vis quickly, but that typically only happens with a 40 grade. We've seen many, many examples where a 10w-30 grade stays in grade in HEUI; even conventional lubes do very well in this regard. If you don't feed it one, it will make your 40 into a 30 grade. Generally it seems that the PSDs HEUI simply prefer a lighter grade oil. The benefit of using a lighter multi-grade lube is the easier starting in cold temps; the HEUI tends to "romp" with cold thick oil. Using a multi-grade will help in the starting and smooth the idle until it warms, and the lighter full-temp grade will not shear down.

And, when it comes to wear, the loss of Vis has not shown to manifest into any wear issues in reasonable OCI durations, even out to 7.5k miles or a tad more. So just because an oil does shear, it's not been known to harm anything. Data conclusively shows this.

Lastly, your older '97 HEUI 7.3L only uses the oil pressure to lift the pintle/needle of the injector, so it only sees about 1/2 of the oil stress, as opposed to the 6.0L PSD which uses oil pressure to both open and close the injector. The 7.3L uses a heavy spring to close the injector, so in theory the stress would be less.



So, the "old habits dies hard" mentality is just that.
Data shows that thinner lubes are doing fine in these HEUI applications.
Data shows that thicker lubes which shear don't really net a negative effect, despite fears.


Do what you want; no one is going to take that away from you.
But a common 10w-30 dino or semi HDEO is all that engine will ever need.
 
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