Did you happen to notice the number on the bearing in the puley? I am thinking of buying a spare at the bearing suppy just to keep on the shelf in case I ever need it.


All I did on my Ram today was wipe 3" of snow off windshield to drive to work. That white stuff looks good on postcards, but on the ground...not so much....

 

Adjusted my coolant ratio... discovered that my cheapy hydrometer cannot possibly be even close to right. Beforehand it said I was good to -10F which is 40% antifreeze, and I need something more than 50/50's -34F protection so I figured I'd shoot for 61%. Did the math and determined that I needed to pull out seven quarts and replace it with straight antifreeze.

Did that, burped the system, rechecked expecting the hydrometer to tell me I'm good to -60F... it tells me -20F. No freakin' way. -20F is about 45% glycol.

Time to buy a refractometer.

 

Makes me want to go douoble check mine as temps in the 20's.

Alays mixed 50/50 as this is what I heard was correct. Cound this info though: (don't know why the line is dotted below -60 on first graph)










I know, WAY too techincal.....

 

It's those same Prestone graphs that I use to take the guesswork out of it.

I don't know, but I suspect that the dotted portion is where you start risking cavitation. Not that this explains why the line goes solid again above 80% concentration.

Nah... it's vital information if you live where it gets cold. And I'm an engineer at heart so I get off on esoteric data.

It's those bottom two graphs that always bugs the stuffing out of me. I want those numbers going up when I add more expensive green stuff, not down, dammit! Can't always get what ya want...

 

It was -7 when I got up this morning. How was it up in your area U_User?

I usually run about 60/40 in the winter time, and 50/50 the rest of the time. Never had any problems. I agree that the store bought hydrometers and coolant meters are a joke.

I still need to install my block heater, but just not enough time for all the projects i'd like to get done.

 

-11 just as the sky pinked up. Our lows this winter will probably bottom out somewhere between -20 and -30, maybe a tad colder.

I can relate! I haven't even bought a heater yet. I haven't yet decided if I want the glue-on mat type, or to just stick with the tried-and-true tank type I've always used. As soon as I get over my decision constipation I'll be ordering something up.

 

....and I'm bitching when it gets into the 20's....I'll hush now.....Got enough ice, snow and cold s*** when i worked in Sweden a number of years ago. I think I have post traumatic cold disorder......

 

I just *knew* there was something wrong with you.

 

Our lowest low for the season is usually around -14 or so. This cold snap is a little early actually. Should make January interesting if this is what temps are now.

I'm going with the standard freeze-plug installed block heater, at least initially (its sitting in my garage waiting to be installed). They have worked flawlessly on all the diesel trucks I’ve ever been involved with back on the ranch (and diesels are so much more susceptible to cold then the gas engines). I'm considering one of the in-line pumps that circulate your coolant while the truck sits so that every area that has coolant in it is warmed, not just the block. I have concerns about the reliability of a system like this though, and what type of restrictions it will put on the coolant system as a whole.

What is the tank type you referred to?

 

Oh, there is and plenty of it, but that ain't it.