Cold Weather Questions

JWalker

Northeast Region Director-Retired
First time Diesel owner, brought her home yesterday. Here in Pennsylvania, we still have some cold weather coming and I was wondering if there is any good recommendations. Should I use a fuel additive to keep the fuel from gelling? Anything to help the cold weather start ups? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jamie
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Jamie, I live in Wisconsin and do not use an additive for cold weather. Diesel fuel sold in cold climate areas allready have the anti gel additive. Some people still use the additive anyway. To each his own. You can find out a lot about your new Power Stroke at TheDieselPage forum. Lots of info there. Jnphobe is a Ford man from PA, he will have some advice for you.
Peace
Dave
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Jamie, I live in Wisconsin and do not use an additive for cold weather. Diesel fuel sold in cold climate areas allready have the anti gel additive. Some people still use the additive anyway. To each his own. You can find out a lot about your new Power Stroke at TheDieselPage forum. Lots of info there. Jnphobe is a Ford man from PA, he will have some advice for you.
Peace
Dave



Locally bought diesel is winterized for the climate you live in......... HOWEVER... I have already seen winterized #2 I bought in North Dakota AND I treated it with Power Service double dosed look like Karo Syrup in my un heated Auxiliary fuel tank at -20F

For extreme cold snaps below 0*F here in the states you really need to pay attention and use the proper amount of a good anti gel like Power Service in the white bottle for winterized #2 diesel. For temps below -20F go straight #1 diesel.

NOW when you use an additive for the anti gel properties, you need to double dose it.... it says it right on the bottle and most people don't catch that.

One more thing. You have a 6.0 Powerstroke. They have weak injector solenoids and do NOT tolerate gelling your fuel and plugged filters. At $300 - $400 each for injectors + labor you are better off safe than sorry.
 

jpjulian

Active Member
A friend of mine is a Ford Diesel technition and advises the use of fuel additives. I use it in my 6.4L Powerstroke. At the least it is cheap insurance for gelling in the cold weather. Also, I've seen many pumps with labels stating bio-diesel percentages anywher from 5-20% and experience has shown that higher levels of bio have greater chances of gelling. It is easier to keep the fuel from gelling than it is to swap filters and such after gelling has occurred. My .02.

Joe
 

egnors

Member
Living in MI isn't much different than PA this time of year. If temps are going to get down to 10degrees or lower, it's a good idea to plug in the truck for the block heater. That will make it easier on the high pressure oil pump, and the low pressure oil pump. The injectors are hydraulically fired by engine oil, and if it's REAL cold out, the truck will romp at startup until the colder oil is cycled through(just a few seconds). I've never used much additive, and haven't had a problem with gelling yet. When I do use additive, I prefer to use Stanadyne products instead of Diesel Kleen. Just personal preference.

Another good idea is to find a station with a high turnover rate on the diesel fuel they sell. You don't want to get old possibly watery fuel at all if you can help it. I like to use ones that are frequented by big rigs, you know they are taking 100 or more gallons for a fill. Make sure to get underneath that truck and open the water separator plug at least once a month. THere's a different plug you can get from online retailers, or International, that has a larger knurled head that you can finger tighten instead of fight with an allen wrench in the standard plug, especially if your truck is 4X4. The front driveshaft is right in front of the drain plug.

There really isn't a whole lot in terms of regular maintenance on these trucks, even if you decide to do it all yourself. I do change the oil and filters at home, just because I like to get under the truck and take a good look at everything to hopefully catch things before they become major problems.
 
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