Cold Weather Maintenance/operation

[rodram]

I am an engineer, and an old mentor of mine told me stories of working in the cold and maintaining their trucks for daily service. He started his career in the early '40s surveying on the original construction of the Alaska Highway. In the cold winter, they never shut their trucks off during the work day .... and at night when they returned to their cabin (with wood stove and coal oil lamps... no electricity) they would park the trucks, then drain the oil into a pan, drain the coolant into a pan, and remove the battery... and take these all into the warm cabin for the night. In the morning, they would pour the warm oil into the engine, pour the warm coolant into the radiator, install the warm battery, and away they go for the work day.

[Stevens03]

That doesn't sound like much fun to me....

[VMax2007]

That's what I do every day all winter.

 

[dlstewart01]

With today's multi viscosity synthetic oils, some with a cold pour-point in the -50s. This would not ever be necessary.

[Nytemare]

That's back in the days before block heaters, and battery heater pads. But that was basically the same thing...without the electric part.

[zaac]

Use 5-30 synthetic, block heater, dry cell battery. It was -33 C this morning and my truck started like it was the middle of summer.

[gregrocks89]

yeah i use 0-30 synthetic works great in the winter. But that is neat how they would drop all of that everyday after work. i sure would not though.