Oil for arctic climate?

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: hemitom
The trickle charger is a good idea and works wonders, on sub 0 temps my battery turns the truck over like it was summer.


The problem with the cold is that the battery's CHEMICAL capacity is reduced. At low temps "fully charged" electrically will be a fraction of the true "chemical" charge possible at higher temperatures. Said another way, you could trickle charge a battery infinitely at 0F, disconnect then warm it to 70F and it may only be 30% charged.

I've never needed such a beast, but this is where the battery warmer comes into play. All of my numbers are pulled from my head based on past reading - I don't remember any quotable references at the moment.

 

[sayya2daupay]

Originally Posted By: m37charlie
You won't need tire chains, assuming you have 4WD.
The best thing is a heated garage.
Are you sure the diff and steering box are GL4? Usually diffs are GL5 since they have no yellow metal synchros for GL5 EP additives to damage.
Personally I have good experience with Redline MTL and I think their MT90 is an excellent low temperature GL4 fluid. For GL5 Mobil Delvac Synthetic Gear Oil 75W-90 has worked for me in cold weather (only -30 F. minimum in Anchorage, however).

Charlie


My tires aren't the best and I really need to make good time so I ordered some awhile back but they arrived and aren't what i expected. They aren't made out of chain material but springlike material rather. Not sure if these are better or worse albiet a heck of alot lighter than regular chains would be.

I installed block heater last night, was kind of a pain and managed to get some antifreeze down filter hole from freeze plug hole. I ran clean oil and new filter for a few minutes afterwards than chainged oil and filter again. My amsoil should be here today so I will be changing it once again, or maybe change to my mobil 1 and than change to the amsoil once I get to Michigan (driving from georgia to michigan to fairbanks).

I am not sure about the GL4/GL5 thing.
My manual says steering box is GL-4 (90 weight),
differential says GL-5 75w90 hypoid.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Switch everything calling for ATF Dex-II or III to the Dex-IV it is a synthetic that replaces all past Dex products. It is $3.75 a quart at Walamrt. Your transmission has a drain plug. I would do it twice because you only get about 4 quarts out each time you drain and refill. I would drain refill take it for a drive and then drain and refill again.

The gear lubes. You should be able to find Mobil 1 or AMsoil gear lubes localy. Either will do nicely.

For engine oil Mobil 1 has 0W30 and 0W40 either will work nicely. I would expect that you will be getting a plug in oil pan heater just in case. They are soft flexable plastic like patch's that are held tot he oil pan with silicone adheasive and they have heating elements in them. When you get to where you are going you plug in and it will keep the oil warm.

I assure you the PX in Alaska will have Mobil 1 products and probably Castrol Synteck products. The 21 years my Dad was inthe Army every place we went they always had one or the other in synthetic. The only thing that was ever in short supply was the gear lube for some reason they never had as much stock of M1 gear lube as they did motor oil so sometimes we had to buy off the local market. Alaska is expensive buy what ever you can fromt he PX and COmmisary and mail order especialy to those companies that do not charge extra to go to an APO addreess.

The Automotive Craft Shop should be able to help you winterize your vechile and should have all the tools and lifts and such you need!Expect to sit through a stupid saftey class made inthe 1970's!LOL

 

[getnpsi]

Hm i wonder if that is the same place my dad was stationed. He said it was near Fairbanks. His eyesight was poor so he wasn't sent to Vietnam. He said he worked on vacuum tube?? guided missles pointed at Russia. (He could not see Russia.)

As stated above JCWhitlney and other companies are your friend to save on things you can't find locally.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Amsoil used to have a 5W30 that was almost a clone in terms of performance to the Armies Mil-Spec Artic engine oil. I think that died away though when Amsoil made the switch from Diester to PAO base stocks. Now that is geting old school right their.LOL when my Dad was in Alaska I know he told me they where testing the idea of running gear box's dry with different coating onthe gears like teflon and other high tech coating. He never did find out what became of that work he left after his Artic training was complete.

 

[tuckman]

I would say once it hits January you will know what winter really is, lol!
Get a good Full Synthetic ATF like M1 or Amsoil for your power steering and transmission if it is an auto. You have to have a 0w30 or 0W-40 its your choice of 30 or 40 weight, if you ever get caught out somewhere without a plug in. Also make sure you have some fresh Toyota long life red coolant at a 70/30 coolant distilled water mix.
I swear by my battery blanket, if you don't get one you will see how useless a frozen battery really is. A oil pan heater would be a great asset but don't lose your mind if you don't get it installed in time. When you get there see how many of the locals run an under body blanket/tarp, that will keep stuff warm when running on the coldest days. At a minimum get a winter front, just as long as its not cardboard sitting right against the rad. I would agree with the winter tires without studs, there are many road tests showing new winter tires have better breaking than studded tires on icy roads.

 

[sayya2daupay]

Originally Posted By: tuckman
I would say once it hits January you will know what winter really is, lol!
Get a good Full Synthetic ATF like M1 or Amsoil for your power steering and transmission if it is an auto. You have to have a 0w30 or 0W-40 its your choice of 30 or 40 weight, if you ever get caught out somewhere without a plug in. Also make sure you have some fresh Toyota long life red coolant at a 70/30 coolant distilled water mix.
I swear by my battery blanket, if you don't get one you will see how useless a frozen battery really is. A oil pan heater would be a great asset but don't lose your mind if you don't get it installed in time. When you get there see how many of the locals run an under body blanket/tarp, that will keep stuff warm when running on the coldest days. At a minimum get a winter front, just as long as its not cardboard sitting right against the rad. I would agree with the winter tires without studs, there are many road tests showing new winter tires have better breaking than studded tires on icy roads.


I have about five 80 watt stick on heaters wich I may apply to underside. I figure if I prepare the pan surfaces real and paint over the heaters once they are applied they may last a long time.

I was having some bad shaking from my alignment so i took it in to a good shop, one that has the real alignment setup etc. They wanted to sell me new tires too but I might hold off till I get to michigan. Guy was telling me his all terains were just as good as snow tires....anyway. I didn't even go for the wheel balancing but I might go back for that, still shakes but at least not when slowing down so brakes are better.

I have a ton of the green coolant but may contact dealership again for red stuff.

 

[sayya2daupay]

Originally Posted By: getnpsi
Hm i wonder if that is the same place my dad was stationed. He said it was near Fairbanks. His eyesight was poor so he wasn't sent to Vietnam. He said he worked on vacuum tube?? guided missles pointed at Russia. (He could not see Russia.)

As stated above JCWhitlney and other companies are your friend to save on things you can't find locally.


Ya, Fort Wainwright is right on the east side of fairbanks. I have used jcwhitney in the past to order exhaust flanges, my granppa always had a catalog next to his easy chair.

 

[sayya2daupay]

Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
Switch everything calling for ATF Dex-II or III to the Dex-IV it is a synthetic that replaces all past Dex products. It is $3.75 a quart at Walamrt. Your transmission has a drain plug. I would do it twice because you only get about 4 quarts out each time you drain and refill. I would drain refill take it for a drive and then drain and refill again.

The gear lubes. You should be able to find Mobil 1 or AMsoil gear lubes localy. Either will do nicely.

For engine oil Mobil 1 has 0W30 and 0W40 either will work nicely. I would expect that you will be getting a plug in oil pan heater just in case. They are soft flexable plastic like patch's that are held tot he oil pan with silicone adheasive and they have heating elements in them. When you get to where you are going you plug in and it will keep the oil warm.

I assure you the PX in Alaska will have Mobil 1 products and probably Castrol Synteck products. The 21 years my Dad was inthe Army every place we went they always had one or the other in synthetic. The only thing that was ever in short supply was the gear lube for some reason they never had as much stock of M1 gear lube as they did motor oil so sometimes we had to buy off the local market. Alaska is expensive buy what ever you can fromt he PX and COmmisary and mail order especialy to those companies that do not charge extra to go to an APO addreess.

The Automotive Craft Shop should be able to help you winterize your vechile and should have all the tools and lifts and such you need!Expect to sit through a stupid saftey class made inthe 1970's!LOL


Ya, definitely a good idea to flush a few times with cheaper atf. My amsoil came in, universal ATF, severe gear 75w90, and 0w30. My brother in law is coming up on monday, to work on his ford explorer and haul home a 20 foot cargo trailer he bought from me for a song. We will probly spend a week in the garage together getting his old Explorer set up to haul the 7,000 pound trailer to new orleans.

I have a bunch of the smaller stick on heaters but have already installed a freeze plug coolant heater and have my battery blanket. Once the battery blanket is on I will probably go over the sides and bottom of it with a piece of wool blanket.

Ya, I seen a few of those Craftshop training videos, the last one was at Ft. Bliss, Texas. They have a pretty nice setup there, about ten brand spankin new bays with good lifts, excellent tool inventory and not a whole lot of people in there bumping into each other.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Tanis heaters are soft and apply to the oil ban with adhesive like RTV. They do not rust beacuase they are enclosed in ruber like material. Imagine someone sticking toaster elements in a kevlar and silicone sheet that adheres with RTV. You can stick them on almost any place that has a flat surface. We use them on aircraft to keep the engine and oils warm.

 

[tuckman]

For the coolant/antifreeze do a good flush of the whole system no matter what color you use. Get all the old scale and if anybody used some stop leak get that out too. The more efficient the cooling system is the better your heater will work, lol!
Sounds like you got it under control, just don't forget to get some good long underwear like Helly Hanson stuff.

 

[gofastman]

Originally Posted By: tuckman
For the coolant/antifreeze do a good flush of the whole system no matter what color you use. Get all the old scale and if anybody used some stop leak get that out too. The more efficient the cooling system is the better your heater will work, lol!
Sounds like you got it under control, just don't forget to get some good long underwear like Helly Hanson stuff.

Yep, I'd add some watter wetter and make sure you have a roughly 70/30 mix of antifreeze-water too.
chemical hand warmers, mylar blankets, and a sleeping bag must be kept in your vehicle at all times in those climates!!! the difference between -10*f and -50 is incredible.

 

[tuckman]

I don't see guys putting water wetter in their coolant up here in the winter.
I was of the understanding that water wetter was made for racing applications, to add straight to water. Mostly because traditional coolant was too slippery on the track and/or too hard to clean up quickly. That is how it was explained to me.

 

[MonumentOiler]

Water wetter is an additive for straight water. Racers want to use straight water because it can carry more heat from the engine and they know they face no freeze danger.

Coolants will already have the equivalent additives added(ones that allow the water to make more contact with the interior of the coolant systems and transfer heat better). So if you are using a quality coolant you don't need the wetter.