I've been daily driving my auction find cummins for about a month now and with the approaching New England winter wanted to find out what's best to take care of before the temps drop.

I've looked around and a lot of people are suggesting a shroud or a blank-off in front of the radiator to limit cold air and allow the truck to get up to operating temps. That's fine and easy if it's necessary.

I own toyotas and jeeps so I undercoat my trucks with lanolin every winter anyways so this shouldn't be any different. Hit the cavities at the cab corners, inside doors, soak the rockers, do the entire undercarriage.
Anything else to spray? Does the cab corner and rocker and bottom of door rust originate from inside the body or just surface rust on the outside skin that rots everything out? Any advice other than frequent washes and undercoating?

Truck is fitted with a block heater. Is this for deep freeze only and can the grid heaters keep up on 20F days or do you guys just keep the trucks plugged in most nights?

What am I missing? What's do you guys have for useful advice.

 

Rockers, bumpers etc, rust from the inside out. If you can get a spray wand inside, go for it.

I live in michigan, and don't bother blocking off the radiator. If you have a diesel engine, that might be a different story though. (and yes, it gets COLD here.....)

Block heater will make for MUCH easier starting in winter time. (so it IS a diesel.... ) That, and you get heat right away.

 

Inspect your hard brake lines, They burst due to rust build up making it thin. Nest to the gas tank in the frame rail is a common spot. It's not a winter thing but something to check out. The doors rust because they are bare steel at the fold at the bottom where the water drains. Water gets in between the fold and it rusts out from there.

 

We keep our '02 CTD plugged in all winter in CO. New England winters are way more brutal than CO (but it sucks here -- no one should move here!!!!)

Make sure you've got windshield washer fluid capable of negative temps -- that's my winterizing advice

 

Good to know considering I’m 90% certain this thing was jacked in Colorado before ending up recovered and auctioned in Florida.

When you say “all winter” is there a temp range or is it really “all winter”

 

We don't really go off forecasted temps. You can see how it starts after cold soaking all night. If it fires up ok and you don't mind not having cab heat for the first X minutes of your drive, then that's fine.

Typically the block heater keeps the windshield mostly defrosted all night, so you'll have zero time idling to warm up and near zero scraping -- although your humid winters may change that. We have arid cold.

 

Got it. Another question I have is do you let the truck warm up until you see temps rising before setting off for the day or do you start, wait a minute and then head off?
Also, and this is likely a stupid question but do you use diesel fuel anti gelling treatment? First diesel...

 

When ever I get a new to me vehicle, I change the oil and coolant. That way I know when it was last changed. I do the thermostat then too. On my diesels in the past, I've used cardboard but I like the canvas cover you can unzip, better. Make sure your batteries are fairly new with good connections.A little corrosion on a cable can cause resistance to go sky high in cold weather. Keep it plugged in when possible. It lessens strain on mechanical components and you get heat quicker. Really handy in freezing rain conditions. Make sure you fill frequently and at high volume truck stops. This way you get fresh fuel with anti-gel in it. Keep a bottle handy anyway, but truck stops add it and high volume means it's always up to date on additive. A normal fuel station like "Bubba's gas and cigarettes" may or may not add the additive and no telling when it was last updated. I like to use Rain-X -35 washer solution as it doesn't freeze until it's really cold.

If you have the owners manual, follow the manufacturer recommendations. Make sure your tires have good tread. Check your hoses and replace if they look or feel soft or spongy. I did a major tune up last summer on my '96 Ram 1500 with the 5.9 gasser and the hoses looked just fine. Solid and supple. EXCEPT for when I tore into it and found the bypass hose (yes, you have an oil burner not gas) was swollen and ready to pop. This is the one that always blows when it's 25 degrees and freezing rain is blowing up the back of your coat when you fix it.

Now, a couple of things I often do before the really nasty weather rolls in is spray PAM or something similar on the door gaskets so they don't freeze shut. I also dribble. Then I'll get some 3in1 motor oil and dribble it in the lock cylinders on the door. Do NOT use WD-40. It does displace water but it's also a good cutting oil and the key will destroy the tumblers in the lock. Lube your hood latch and hood hinges with the same oil. Trust me, when you're fighting ice, you don't want to fight the hood too.

 

If the truck starts stumbling we use the Diesel 911 stuff, but otherwise no. That's another YMMV and you'll just have to see how it goes.

On really cold days I've had my 3cyl Kubota start to stumble when plowing, but 99% of the time it's not a big problem here.

The Cummins is so bombproof and used in so many commercial applications that you probably can't hurt it, but I definitely would try to stay out of the turbo until warmed up..

Also it would be worth throwing a gauge on there and making sure your lift pump is doing its job. This is more general PM than cold-weather-specific.

edit: assuming you have a lift pump. I don't see your model year?

 

It's a 2001 with a relocated Fass DDRP kit. FO supply pressure gauge and egt gauge were on the truck when I received it. Pump reads 15psi around town and 11-12 on the highway. Was going to see if FASS has deals for Thanksgiving to upgrade to a full system with filters and water separator.
Very good point about staying off boost prior to getting warmed up. We're in the middle of the woods and I leave for work so early that I try to drop into first and crawl up the drive a bit rather than idle in the driveway and wake the family with the siren song of the 24v. Looks like maybe it's time for them to invest in ear plugs.