She won't start in the cold!

[Lax]

My M35A2 hates to start in the cold. It has since I restored her four years ago. The only way I can get her attention is with shots of ether. I know some guys do that all the time but I think I should not have to unless it gets well below zero. I installed a flame heater hoping that would work. It did not. I just installed a 600 watt block heater hoping that would work. That too did not. It's enough to piss off the Good Humor man!

In my recent research I see where some have adjusted the fuel delivery screw with great results. Any thoughts or suggestions on that? Once the deuce is started and warmed up she runs great with no problem. I can also restart it easily after she is warm. I really need some help and there has to be an easy (cheap) fix for this situation. I only run diesel from the gas station and have never run waste oil or anything but from the pump. All fuel filters are about four years old but less then 800 miles on them but it was like this when they were new. Appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

[Floridianson]

Yes you can up the fuel some but put a small gage where the air bleed is on the final filters and see if your in tank pump is putting out 5-7 psi first.

 

[Capt.Marion]

I doubt this is the sole cause of your problem, but do you use any type of cold-weather diesel additive, like Diesel Kleen?

 

[Lax]

I would have to figure out where and how to put that gauge and what kind of gauge. I do not use additives in the fuel. I thought since the fuel was fresh from the pump I would not have to. Am I wrong? Thanks.

 

[tm america]

yes you need to run an additive in winter the fuel from the pump is number 2 and have lots of oil in the form of waxs that gel easily.and you need to drain the primary filter every so often to check for water .i would do this to see how much water you get from it .to see how much water is in the tank,i have seen huge mounts of water in fuel from certain stations and others seem to have very little .if you fill up at the same station rgularly i would try going somewhere else .just to see if it helps

 

[Capt.Marion]

What I know for certain, standard diesel from the pump right now is "Ultra-Low Sulfur" to comply with emissions regulations. Thus it does not provide near as much lubrication to the injector pump innards (which are lubricated by the fuel as it is pumped through it). Adding something like Diesel Conditioner or Diesel Kleen (I personally use an Amsoil additive because I use Amsoil motor oil, but that's a discussion for another time) increases the lubrication qualities of the fuel.

What I understand and may or may not be correct about (I live in GA, so cold isn't really an issue for me) is that with colder weather, diesel will "gel" or start to thicken, making it harder to pump, and reluctant to atomize correctly when injected into the cylinders. In addition, certain components of the solution that makes up diesel will begin to coagulate at different rates with colder temperature, causing fuel delivery issues. Again, from what I understand, cold-weather Diesel-Kleen like additives are supposed to prevent this gelling from happening.

Sorry for the textbook, but I hope it answers your question.

And TM America just said all of this in vastly simpler terms.

 

[badgmc56]

With all of these add-ons , it should start up with no problems. You may have to look some where else for the problem. Make sure your batterys are up to par, that means both of them. If you have one weak battery or two, the engine will not spin fast enough to fire. It wont matter how well everything else is working if your cranking speed is too low. Check grounds, and all connections also for good contact. Use outside star washers on all ground connections and wherever possible.

 

[cranetruck]

Yes, cranking speed is important to build up heat, should be 200 to 300 rpm...

 

[IMA944T]

Good batterys and a OEM cold start kit and mine starts good at 9 degrees
crank engine and hit button sometime twice or three times and it's running and ready to save the world. It would be a bear to start with out the kit though.

 

[Lax]

Thanks guys. I know my batteries are in good shape because I had to buy two new ones two weeks ago. Getting additive is no problem at all. My question is will additive help fuel already in the tank now? It is 5 degrees today so it would be a good test. Should I add it and let it sit for a day or so? Maybe I should try this approach before I mess with the Fuel Delivery screw settings? Thoughts?

 

[Earth]

The fuel you buy in upstate NY has a winter additive to prevent gelling. You can and probably should add your own to the mix, but to absorb, thaw and attack any water that is in your system. I've never worried about "gelling" with treated fuel from the pump, or in our case the on-farm tank, but occasionally I have to fight with water in a system. You're getting good advice here: drain filters, check grounds and batts. It might help if you describe your non-start symptoms. Is it firing? Is it smoking? How long did you leave the block heater plugged in?

 

[Orionspath]

Cold weather cranks........continued

I too have had problems with the cold. Although I rarely start the truck in the winter, I did experience a cold weater start twice last weekend. It was 15 degrees last Sat. and 13 on sunday, respectively. Had to jump start as batteries were too cold, weak to turn her over fast enough to get it working.

Two questions:
1. is the oil too cold in the pan and would something like this product work Flexible Heater Pads. The best car heater, diesel engine heater, replaces block heater, magnetic heater, ideal for volkswagen beetle,

2. is the battery ability to perform restricted from the cold as well? This company also has this for the battery
Battery Heater Warm the battery to produce more power for starting the engine in cold weather. Suitable for car, van & truck batteries.

Diesel conditioner in the fuel tank is a must as mentioned above. One additional question; What is an OEM Heater Kit?

 

[Farmun]

If your fuel is OK (additives added) then battery power (i.e. cranking speed) is most likely what you need. Warm batteries, or boosting with a fresh, warmed battery should do it. Last week I tried to start my Deuce in 25 degrees one afternoon. Started off spinning good, then the cold oil just slowed her down. Stopped before I pulled the batteries too far. A nice warm 1000 amp battery from the basement + booster cables was all she needed to get going. Let her run about an hour, 25 minutes of drive time included, just to make sure the batteries were charged back up. Haven't tried to start her lately, it's been hovering around 20 degrees, and since we got a nice load of firewood in last week, she can wait for warmer weather.

 

[ken]

How many hours are on your engine? Even though it runs great is the compression low? Injectors clean? If they are not spraying right, the fuel may puddle on top of the pistons and not burn. And water in the fuel? drain the filters and see. Also it could be as simple as you got a bad batch of fuel. I worked in a refinery for 7 years. Trust me bad fuel hits the pipeline more than you know!

 

[Floridianson]

I would have to figure out where and how to put that gauge and what kind of gauge. I do not use additives in the fuel. I thought since the fuel was fresh from the pump I would not have to. Am I wrong? Thanks.

By small I mean that the scale is o to 10 or 15 lb and you can take out the bleeder screw that is on top of your trucks twin filter set up. You can plum it it once or use a T fitting and leave it there for good.
Others have said it but I think for all trucks it would be a good idea to take off the ground off the frame rail and brush with wire wheel and after replacement paint it. These trucks might be 30 years old and never had the ground taken off and cleaned. I did mine and it might surprise you.

 

[dragman]

You can use a any fuel pressure gauge, the 0 to 15 lbs. is right....get it at a speed shop, or order it from Jegscom. or SummitRacingcom., they are small and very low buck............easy to plum........Good Luck........

 

[chvss65]

I agree with ever body, but my best result with cold start is warm batteries, I put 1 cheap 10 amp charger on each battery and it makes alot of difference,, just hook 1 charger to each battery pos to pos and neg to neg and you on the way to better starts and some one may disagree but I didn't have a problem also I just bought a 24v dual battery charger and the install requires that same polarity hook up, as it maintains each battery separately

 

[emmado22]

Try the additive before you go messing with the screw. There is an additive specially made for "fuel already in the tank" I THINK it's called "Dieselkleen 911" or something like that. Any good parts store will know.

 

[Nonotagain]

You indicated that you installed new batteries but that the truck just quite won't start.

Are you getting white smoke out of the exhaust? Is the engine cranking slow, or does the engine speed pick-up the longer you crank?

If the engine is cranking slow, try cranking it with the compression release pulled for 15 seconds, then push it back inand attempt starting.

If getting white smoke out of the exhaust, you have fuel making it's way to the engine.

Diesel fuel purchased from low volume dealers in northern states may very well be a winter formulation, but they could still have a fair amount of the summer blend still in their tanks as well as water contamination.

Look into you fuel tank and see if you have gelled fuel. The gel is parafin wax which is added to increase octane as well as a lubricant.

Drain your fuel filters. Remove the filter housings and check the condition of the filters. Run the in-tank fuel pump to see if you are getting a good supply of fuel as well as bleed the air out of the filters.

 

[derby]

Now on that filter pressure gauge, dosen't the pressure increase to like 50-60 lbs. once running? Make shure you keep your truck pointed out of the wind. Your block heater will work much better if it does not have to fight the wind. does it rung strong in the summer? you could have low nozzle pressure due to a worn hydraulic head, thick fuel as others have mentioned. you could try 10% kerosene to "thin" the fuel, that is what our fuel oil man did in the winter. your battery's will lose cranking power the colder it get's there are two ratings on your batts one for 32 deg. and i think the other is 0 deg.? you want to make shure the lower rating is at least 750cca. are you killing the battery trying to start it? I have the biggest I could get from wallyworld and with the block heater from Westfolk it fires right up stumbles and then smoothes out in seconds. You have to plug the heater in for a couple hours to get full effect. good luck