What MINUS 30 degrees Faranheit does

My idea of cold winter weather is when we spend a week at Lake Tahoe at year-end. Low temps at that time are around 20 degrees F or so, at 7,700 ft elevation.

We drive the HiHy there, and I like to start the vehicle and let the engine warm up until it produces windshield defroster heat, before driving off.

 

Instead of putting up with that cold BS, I simply moved to Los Angeles 32 years ago. Like Patrick, I put up with some rain and 50's....Brrrr!

 

30 below and colder is hard on everything. Those temperatures are down right cruel. A block heater makes a big difference and 0-20 oil does wonders along with it. And synthetic in the trans. and rear end if the car has it, help allot as well. And the most important thing once you get under-way is a radiator cover. Hope you don't get any more 30 below stuff. Hal

 

Hydraulic clutch. Have your clutch fluid changed, it has too much absorbed water. Ditto with brake fluid. Synthetic power steering fluid. It has the side benefit of extending the life of the power steering. Make sure the rad is covered with a winter cover. You can put an electric heater inside the car (place carefully to avoid burning something). It won't heat it up to comfortable temps. but it WILL heat it up enough that the interior systems will work. You can turn it on along with the block heater about three hours before you want to drive (have to actually - nobody WANT'S to drive in those conditions).

Yup, my old FJ40 Landcruiser was like that. Get in and sit ON the seat (no give). A little voice in my head would say "Oh Oh!". Place one foot on the floorboards and one on the clutch pedal to the floor. Both hands on the shift leaver and pry it to "N". Turn key to start. That vehicle would start no matter what, but when it was -40C/F it would start with "chuff, chuff, chuff" for about 5 sec. then "vroom" to idle. Loved that it would start and drive. Hated to do that to it.

 

When you think of all the varied enviroments inwhich mass marketed cars are sold and expected to consistently perform, I thinks it's a testament to modern technology, and build quality that they do as well as they do.

 

You are bang on about that. Not just the cars but the products we have to help make them run in all conditions around the world are just amazing as well! H

 

When people say "blocking the radiator" do they mean just blocking the grill or literally tearing into the car to block right at the radiator?

 

Yeah, but isn't it pronounced M' bah russ.

Way to cold for me to even imagine...

 

I used to have trouble shifting my Jeep when the temperature got down to the minus teens. I would leave the transmission in R when I parked at night. That way I could back out of the driveway without shifting. By the end of the drive, the transmission would have loosened up enough to shift.

I also remember having trouble with the bead seal on one tire. Snow would get in there and melt from the sun, then freeze at night and pop the bead. Several mornings I went out to find a flat. On one particularly cold morning, I snapped the tire iron like a toothpick. Steel gets very brittle in cold temperatures.

Tom

 

I see you are blocking the condenser - close enough to the radiator I suppose.

 

Blocking the Rad. gives the best results. I normally cut a 4" circle to allow some air. It also eliminates the possibility of plastic fan blades being pulled against the rad. and doing damage. H

 

grill. i have mine mostly blocked and have not noticed any difference. guess i need to stuff some more in there. course, it's above zero around here so no big deal. btw, i thought frostbite falls was the coldest place in minnersoder?

 

I got sent to Minneapolis from my home in Northern California on business for a few days one winter. Minneapolis weather forecast was for -20F. As I was getting something out of our freezer for dinner, I noticed the thermometer was reading +5F. That I was going to a place 25 degrees colder than the inside of my freezer put things in perspective.

A few days later I was on a plane at the airport and we were late leaving because some of the blue stuff in the toilet had frozen in the drain valve and they had to thaw it to close the valve. About 30 minutes later they were done and the pilot announced the San Francisco weather as "40 degrees F". Short pause, then he said "Above 0" and the passengers broke into applause.

 

Does that mean Montana (-70), Utah (-69), and Wyoming (-66) are provinces of Canada or Siberia?

 

I believe that most of us only block the grill opening......I have seen others that actually build a blocking material around the ICE.

Optimus: You need a EBH plus a cabin heater for those cold morning !!!