Can someone remind me why I got a diesel and why I would ever buy one again? Every winter I have starting issues, here it sits in my drive while I go to town in a Chrysler Sebring convertible to get fuel for my Kubota tractor that is also a diesel so that I can finish moving snow from the house to the barn. The Kubota L4300DT sits outside NOT plugged in and starts EVERY time. Is it really worth all these issues? The cost for me to run it is not cheaper than a gas motor, my son has an old 93 Dodge W250 with the Magnum V8, starts like a charm.
My truck is a 2001 F350 Dually Crew Cab 4x4, it does have 290,000 miles on it, but I feel I've paid very well for every one of them!
Sorry for venting, I feel somewhat better now.
The temperature is -2, just west of Des Moines, IA.
You are comparing apples to oranges to grapes. A gas engine will start easier it has spark plugs. It doesn't depend on heat and compression to fire up. You tractor has a different compression ratio and probably has better glow plugs. when was the last time you had to service your glow plug system?
When you live in a climate where temps go below freezing, you need to winterize your truck in the fall before winter hits. this is a fact of life with diesels. they cost more to maintain. if you don't need a diesel, sell it and buy a gasser.
agreed... in that kinda weather you need to be running lighter oil, and make sure your GPS, batts, etc are in tip top shape. If your truck is not starting in cold weather, then you have a problem. These trucks are designed to start in cold weather....... without being plugged in. And with 290k on the clock...she's got some age. Injectors are tired, etc. Tired injectors and cold weather don't mix well.
Thanks for all the responses, didn't mean to attack the 7.3 crowd it just gets frustrating. I'll review the winterizing thread to see what I need to address. Thanks for the helpful insight!
Glow plugs themselves could be bad. If you'd rather test them than replace them, pull the valve covers and the plugs, hook the uninstalled plug to the harness, and turn the key. All those not beat red within about 5 seconds are bad.
I remember why I got a diesel nearly every day when I hitch up a trailer.
If you're wonderin why you have one, you probably don't have one for the right reasons. Sure my truck can be a pain in the cold on occasion, but that's not why I bought it, I needed it for towing.
If everything on your rig is working as it should, it might be time to think about getting a gasser to save yourself some headaches. If you do haul with it, maybe get a gasser for those other trips. These trucks don't seem to like short trips, especially in the cold.
I live just up the road from you in SD and I know what your talking about. Last winter I had problems with mine not starting. Heres what I did
This fall I replaced GPR, glow plugs UVCH and valve cover gasket.
I always just run #2 and Howes mixed for cold temps I think -32* and never gell
Rotella 5w-40 does wounders when below 0. It will crank as if it was plugged in. Then i swich back to 15w-40 in the spring. Also load test your bat. every fall, saves some headache anyways.
I started right up the last couple of day with out being plugged in and I think it was -5 or something out. I really dont plug it in unless its below -10.
hope this helps.
it gets cold up here in the great white north..lol
my truck starts great even if i dont plug it in .. I run 15w40 all year round I had a slow start last winter it 2 bad glow plugs replaced them and problem solved .. mind you I do keep it plugged in at night as I am on call and dont want to start a cold motor and head out
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