15 Oct 10 Winter Diesel Tips to Keep in Mind

Here are some winter diesel tips to keep in mind for your truck.

1. Run the engine for 15 min before driving allowing the cylinder’s to warm and take shape. Before shutting the engine down allow it to run for at least 5 min to allow turbo and coolant cool down.

2. If the temps are gonna fall from 35 degrees plug the truck in overnight to aid in startup the next day. Most engines will start far below that without block heaters but that doesn’t mean it’s good for the engine. Every bit of heat helps with a diesel.

3. If the temps are 15 degrees and below and there is no heat source or plug-in, leave the truck running near 1000 rpm. Below zero temps can cause problems when the fuel cools down.

4. Most of the time your own fuel tanks create water in the fuel, warm fuel returned into a cool tank. So keep your tanks full as much as possible and use a fuel treatment like FPPF Total Power or Polar Power during fueling.

5. Change your fuel filters at every oil change, injectors are spendy, keep the fuel clean. Water is hard on injectors, so it’s a good idea to have a water separator, just remember you have to drain it at least once a week. Also, treat your fuel for water year-round not just for the winter months. Your vehicle & outside temps create moisture – water in your fuel.

6. Carry spare fuel filters, filter wrenches, a gallon of #1 fuel, FPPF Meltdown in your truck in case you get gelling fuel. It may get you where you’re going, it’s better than nothing.

7. If you run all #1 use a fuel lubricant like total power, power service or howes, cause #1 is kinda dry. Wintermix and #2 are better but you can treat them all.

8. If the temps are 15 degrees and below run a partial winter front to help hold some heat in the radiator, don’t cover the entire front if you have a turbo though, the aftercooler needs air.

9. When your adding fuel additives to your fuel tank, make sure you tear all the foil off and do it away from the fuel tank opening. You’d be surprised how many fuel tanks have foil and that cardboard cover that’s inside the cap, floating in the bottom of the tank, and when they get near the suction pipe they shut the truck down or make it cough, when it sits and they float away it runs again for a while and later on shuts down again. And they’re real fun fishing out of a fuel tank.

10. If your truck does quit, take a bright flashlight and look in the fuel tank you should be able to see cloudy fuel, ice crystals, white strings, or chunks of ice depending on how bad it is. Most of the time the quickest way to get running again is get it inside with some heat blowing on the tank. And treat the fuel, change the filters, charge the batteries, and go again. At this point, it would be a good idea to top-off with #1.