Starting @ -25. It is possible....

[snelson]

Hey guys,
Just letting you know that I was able to start my L300 this morning @ -25.

I have a block heater (plugged in for 2 hours on timer)
Dual Batteries
Older Glow plugs (have an order in with Mardy now for new ones)
Manual Glow Plug Switch
5W40 oil

I have to crank for about 15 seconds with my finger cycling the glow plugs for about 5 seconds on - 5 off.
Lesson learned from Green1 on this forum way back when - don't stop the starter until you're started or you'll loose all the cylinder heat you generated and are basically starting over from scratch if you stop. Before this advice I would always lightly use the starter thinking I was doing damage holding it on for more than 2-3 seconds. Just keep it going till it starts.

Yes I have to hold the starter on for 15 continuous seconds, but I think new glow plugs will shave that down to 8 or 10 seconds....
Just passing this along.

[almac]

i just installed the "frost plug style" block heater recently.
my deli now starts up like its' August!

[William]

Good to hear it's surviving in the cold. Alberta is getting a ton of that this year so far!

[Firesong]

Yesterday at the icefishing derby, it was -23 celcius
Van sat all day and fired up with no hesitation after 6 hours.
Didn't even get into it. Just leaned in a bit, and after the flow
plugs clicked turned the ignition and pulled the throttle out
a tad. Let it warm up 10 minutes before I moved it
over to our gear to pack up.

0/40 synthetic oil, 2 new batteries and a lotta love.

Firesong

[Spearo]

Mine would barely start at 0C until I got new plugs and rebuilt the injectors a few months ago. It is plugged in at night and no prob. But it sits out in a windy downtown parking lot 8 hours. The other day it was -36C with the wind chill and I'd say colder due to downtown winds. It started after about 45 seconds of cranking with 1/4 throttle. Hell yeah!

Thanks to Len at Automotion in Edmonton. He aint cheap but he does it right.

Erik

[coaxial]

I was able to start mine in Alberta's -30, parked outside overnight, no shelter, no block heater of any kind, just out in the cold. Cycled the glow plugs a few times and it fired right up.

My recipe, in order of what I've found most important:

-Winter (#2) diesel or regular diesel plus a good winter additive with anti-gel!
-100% synthetic 0w40 oil! (I run 15/40 synth or semi-synth normally)
-good battery(s). I have a single optimum red top (800cca)

That's it!

Josh

Hey guys,
Just letting you know that I was able to start my L300 this morning @ -25.

I have a block heater (plugged in for 2 hours on timer)
Dual Batteries
Older Glow plugs (have an order in with Mardy now for new ones)
Manual Glow Plug Switch
5W40 oil

I have to crank for about 15 seconds with my finger cycling the glow plugs for about 5 seconds on - 5 off.
Lesson learned from Green1 on this forum way back when - don't stop the starter until you're started or you'll loose all the cylinder heat you generated and are basically starting over from scratch if you stop. Before this advice I would always lightly use the starter thinking I was doing damage holding it on for more than 2-3 seconds. Just keep it going till it starts.

Yes I have to hold the starter on for 15 continuous seconds, but I think new glow plugs will shave that down to 8 or 10 seconds....
Just passing this along.

[Firesong]

Stupid me, took the wife's car to do some work.
Stopped to get some cash at a cash machine and then locked
the car while running. Oh-oh... I don't have 2 keys for the car..
I used to till it became my wife's runner then she's got the two.
Searched under it for the extra in a magnet hide-a-way.. it wasn't
there.

Crap

Took a taxi back home, crossed my fingers to get the delica started.
It's -34 celcius (not including any wind factors). It had been plugged
in but the timer had went off 3 hours before. Grabbed the wife and
off we went to get her car. She wasn't extremely pleased but I did
put gas in her car for her.. she hates doing that in the cold.

It started... it wasn't happy but it started and warmed up fast.
With windchill I think it was over -40 by a lot. Not that wind affects
vehicles. But it kept me from walking home ;)

Firesong

[mountainmack]

Hey Gang - We are in Whitehorse and were planning on posting our winter experiences with "Foxy" once we get through this winter - your discussion motivated me to weigh in a bit early.

The quick version is that we do not find battery to be and issue it is more about having a warm block. When we plug it in (I do 1 hr for every 10 degrees below zero), we can start her reliably down to -20C with minimal extra effort. But below that we cycle the glowplugs 5 or 6 times and then go hard on the starter. Beyond -30C she has a very hard time. That said, we went to a friends place a few weeks ago in -35C and we stayed for 5 hrs (not plugged in). Foxy started right up with no problems. Also no wind. No, wind chill does not really affect inaimate objects but it will cool them down faster.

Anyway I am not 100% happy with this arrangement. It is good enough in the city where we can plug in but we do not own Delis to spend our lives in the city. I am considering a diesel-fueled block heater such as a Webasto or Espar. Does anyone know anything about them?

More later on our experiences (I plan to add an oil-pan heater in the spring and switch to 0/40 syn for next winter). I think I should also add a switch for the glow plugs to engage while turning over - thoughts?

[Firesong]

I can't believe you don't have 0/40 synth in there right now! I wouldn't be without it here in Saskatoon. Careful if you are going to put in a manual switch. Tiny did that to his to bypass some issues and it blew the glowplugs and added some more issues.

I guess certain years of the deli are different. They don't just give 12v to the plugs, I don't know the specifics but there something odd between certain years. He's waiting for his ECU to be rebuilt and it's not cheap. Maybe one of the shop guys can clarify which years have an odd setup for the plugs.

FS

[vstrom]

Thought I would post my thoughts here as well.

We just got our '91 l300 in Oct. We live 750 km north of Winnipeg and it can get cold here (weeks of -35 or colder straight).

Our van has a oil pan heater that came with it and we had a block heater installed. When both are plugged in, we don't even have to get in the cab to play with the throttle.. just make sure it is out of gear, click on the plugs once, then crank. Starts right away and idles nicely (even the -40 mornings). We have started her in -25 without anything plugged in.. and she does start but we have to play with the throttle settings until it warms up a bit. Usually 3-5min.

My brand new Tacoma, when not plugged in, hates starting below -30. I'm a firm believer that below -10/-15 an engine should have some sort of pre-heat and warm-up time before driving if one wants some longevity from their machine. Oil temp being the most important. That's my aviation background experience talking.

[fexlboi]

Anyway I am not 100% happy with this arrangement. It is good enough in the city where we can plug in but we do not own Delis to spend our lives in the city. I am considering a diesel-fueled block heater such as a Webasto or Espar. Does anyone know anything about them?

I'm currently in the process of installing an Espar coolant heater. What do you wanna know?

[mountainmack]

Well - at this point, the basics like how complicated is it? How complicated is it to tap into the fuel tank/line? What are the other, main connections that need to be made? How much time do you think it will take you? And a few other things like that. Which one did you get, the D5 Hydronic?

Thanks for responding!

[fexlboi]

Well - at this point, the basics like how complicated is it? How complicated is it to tap into the fuel tank/line? What are the other, main connections that need to be made? How much time do you think it will take you? And a few other things like that. Which one did you get, the D5 Hydronic?
Thanks for responding!

- In general it's not that complicated but a lot more work than....lets say installing a block heater.
- You can either tap into the fuel line (not recommended) or install a proper fuel pick up (included) in your stock tank.
- You obviously need to tap into the coolant lines as well.
- Hard to say how long it takes as I have all sorts of other stuff (hot water tank, coolant bus heater, valves, high elevation kit, remote control, etc) connected to it as well, but if you just do the basic kit and you know what you are doing, you can do it in a day or two.
- I got the Hydronic 4

[mountainmack]

Okay - thanks for the summary. I am pricing them out and see that they seem to start at about $1000. Is that right or are there better sourcing options?

Also, I thought that they not only heat your coolant in the engine but deliver heat to the cab of the vehicle as well. Is that not true, and if so why are you installing a second heater?

Thanks again

[fexlboi]

It was way cheaper for us to order it from Germany as Espar (Eberspächer) is from there. Look on ebay.de

Well, the Diesel heater heats up your coolant so you can just use the stock interior heater in the cab. I only install a second heater in the back for camping.