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General Dakota Board
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Luke
Dodge Dakota
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9/23/2003
00:50:34
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 Subject: Winterizing
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I’m new to dodgedakotas.com and have read a few posts on winterizing your truck. With winter coming I figured I’d pass on some knowledge about getting your truck ready for the winter. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and work even further north occasionally. I’ll pass on what I have learned, but keep in mind a Fairbanks winter reaches -60. If you’re ever going to winterize your car to go to a place where it gets this cold, do it when you get there. Most mechanics in the “lower 48” don’t know how to winterize a car for that cold of a temperature.
This is what I have done to my truck and cars:
1. engine block heater (from the factory, pain in the ass to do your self)
2. battery pad (the blankets are worthless; a good, new, fully charged battery will not freeze)
3. oil pan heater
4. tranny heater (if you don’t, it takes awhile to shift into drive)
5. 5W30 oil
6. 70/30 antifreeze mix
7. synthetic -80 dif lubricant (if you don’t, it takes a awhile to shift into 4 wheel drive)
8. -60 power steering fluid (it’s hard as hell to turn the steering wheel with the regular stuff)
9. -60 wiper fluid
10. winter wiper blades
11. over inflated tires from 35psi to 40-45psi (to compensate for lower air pressure at cold temps)
12. good coat of wax in the fall
13. Nifty X-treme floor mats
14. Grill cover (i.e. warm air intake, if you have any type of cold air intake the truck will never warm up) A lot of people just put a piece of cardboard in for the winter.
15. stay with the stock 180 thermostat (some people even go with a 190-195 stat)
16. 600lbs in bed of truck (80lb bags of cement from Home Depot)
17. Auto start (will let truck warm up for 10-20 minutes each morning, also automatically turns on the truck for 20 minutes if battery looses too much power)
18. A good emergency kit. Road flares, jumper cables, tow strap, and warm clothes.
Other things I’ve scene people do:
1. Studded tires (not needed when it gets below zero. Traction gets better the colder it gets.) If you drive in a lot of snow, chains work really well but you can’t drive over 45mph.
2. In cab heater. (A little heater that goes under the seat and turn on when it gets below a temperature you set.)
3. Put cardboard underneath tires when they park for the night to prevent them from freezing to the road.
4. I don’t have a garage, but a lot of people who do have to put an additive (Heat) in their gas to prevent condensation from freezing in their gas line.
People in Anchorage usually just do the following (-20 is usually as cold as it gets there):
1. 60/40 antifreeze mix
2. 5W30 oil
3. winter blades
4. battery heater
5. block heater (they only plug in the heaters on a really cold night)
6. Good rubber floor mats
7. More people in Anchorage have auto start than in Fairbanks. (They think that 0 is cold out; he, he, he)
If you live somewhere were the temps may reach 0 occasionally. Do the following.
1. 60/40 antifreeze mix
2. 5W30 oil
3. winter blades
4. Good rubber floor mats
I’m only a home mechanic and by no means a professional. But I have spent 5 winters in Fairbanks. If you have any questions about winterizing you truck just let me know.
--Luke
2003, CC, 4.7, auto, 3.55 lsd
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greg retlet
Dodge Dakota
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9/23/2003
02:29:03
|  RE: Winterizing
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the stock stat for our dakotas is 195 , not 180 . but everything else was awesome
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Doug4.7
Dodge Dakota
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9/23/2003
12:32:25
|  RE: Winterizing
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No offense, but your information made me glad I live where "cold" is defined as below freezing and "bitter cold" is defined as temperatures approaching the teens.
Winter means its time to try and find your rain jacket...
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doug
Dodge Dakota
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9/23/2003
15:50:20
| RE: Winterizing
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Move to Florida.
That sucks. lol
I dony understand why anyone lives north of north carolina. I mean I am glad people do but dang that is ridiculous.
Fall aint that pretty.
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jdllizard
Dodge Dakota
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9/23/2003
15:53:03
| RE: Winterizing
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Good info thanks. Were can you get a battery pad? I live in Nebraska and we can get into -20 degrees, -77 once counting the windchill. We'll have weeks where it never gets above 0.
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Luke
Dodge Dakota
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9/23/2003
16:41:00
| RE: Winterizing
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Message:
Greg - Your right, the Dakota does have a 195 stat. I did not know that. Some older cars have a real problem of never warming up so you just change to a little hotter thermostat.
jdllizard - You can get battery pads at any gas station/NAPA/Shucks in Alaska for about $10. Don't know how you would get one in Nebraska.
Livin' in Alaska was courtesy of Uncle Sam. I'm hoping to get back to the land of 4 seasons soon though. It gets real old after a while.
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Kyle
Dodge Dakota
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10/13/2003
02:00:24
| RE: Winterizing
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I'm really glad in California it is cold when it gets below 60 and really cold when it gets below 50! Ha.
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billy
Dodge Dakota
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10/13/2003
02:56:24
| RE: Winterizing
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doug,
I live a good deal north of NC and I have to agree with you 100%.
Fall ain't that pretty, just a bunch of leaves falling, and winter sux!
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AmsoilSponsor
DakotaEnthusiast
10/13/2003
15:21:39
| Amsoil = www.american-synthetic-oil.com
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Luke,
Good to read that you mentioned (# 7.) "synthetic -80 dif lubricant (if you don’t, it takes a awhile to shift into 4 wheel drive)"
AMSOIL Synthetic Gear Lubes remain fluid at extremely low temperatures to provide instant lubrication to components during start-up. In low temperatures, conventional gear lubricants thicken to make shifting difficult. At temperatures of 0°F (-18°C), it can take as long as 18 minutes for gear lube to flow and lubricate the front pinion bearing of a differential. AMSOIL 75W-90 only takes 45 seconds to 2 minutes. AMSOIL Synthetic Gear lubes resist low temperature thickening to provide superior component protection, smoother shifting and increased fuel economy.
__________________________________________________
... and (# 2.) 5W-30 (Synthetic) oil
AMSOIL 5W-30 remains fluid at temperatures as frigid as -60°F (-51°C). It permits easy engine cranking for fast starts and in sub-zero temperatures flows to all engine parts much faster than petroleum motor oils. The exceptional cold temperature properties of AMSOIL 5W-30 provide immediate cold start lubrication, greatly reducing engine wear and prolonging engine life.
__________________________________________________
... which gives me the opportunity to discuss VISCOSITY:
VISCOSITY..in the general term is defined as " a fluids resistance to flow". it's a measure of the internal friction of the fluid or the resistance to the movement of one layer of molecules relative to an adjacent layer.
THE LOWER (SMALLER or FIRST #, as in "10w-_) NUMBER.. is the Cold Cranking measurement, made at low temperatures, using a concentric cylinder viscometer to predict the oils cranking resistance in an engine during cold starting.
The measuring devices, or viscosmeters, most often used are in the form of close-fitting concentric cylinders. The fluid being evaluated is placed between the cylinder walls, the outer cylinder is held stationary and the inner cylinder is rotated. The speed of rotation is measured for a given force to calculate the viscosity, most commonly reported in cp or centipoise units. Also known as Absolute Viscosity.
THE HIGHER (BIGGER or SECOND #, as in "-30") NUMBER...is commonly measured in capilary tubes, in which the time for a fixed volume of fluid to flow through the tube under gravity at operating temp (100c)is measured and reported as cSt or centistokes. This is used most commonly to report the normal operating viscosity of motor oils or the higher number.
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" 0W- " is a viscosity GRADE, not a viscosity MEASUREMENT.
When testing for cold fluidity, the temperature is lowered approximately 5 degrees centigrade between each test.
The Cold Crank Simulator Apparent Viscosity is tested at:
-20 C for 10W-
-25 C fpr 5W-
-30 C for 0W-
It is my understanding that the oil has to be labelled at the lowest temperature it meets the specifications.
It may not be long before someone comes out with a " -5W-30 " which would correspond with -35 C.
__________________________________________________
Interested in requesting a FREE Amsoil Catalog click below.
Thank You,
Steven Roark , Amsoil Dealer , Proud Sponsor of www.DodgeDakotas.com
AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils, Lubricants, Filtration, and Truck Care Products
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