DANG, it's cold!
 

When do you think a block heater is necessary? The high temp for today was somewhere in the 3's... OK, maybe 10 or so... but it was COLD! Tonight they are calling for -25 windchills and a high of 7 for tomorrow. When I started my truck this morning ('06 1500 5.7) the power steering pump complained a lot, and there was a noticible extra tick coming from under the hood. I also noticed that the truck surged a little when I started it, barely noticible.

What are your cold weather care tips? ... ... Besides "get a garage" (not in the budget)

Thier should be A BLOCK HEATER all ready on your truck.. I have no issues starting my truck at -35 c, but the belt tensor whines, so I plug my truck in at -25c for a couple of hours.

I have to cover my rad with crad board to keep in the engine heat, even with a new thermostat, heater takes a while when I don't plug my truck in.

You can add a reculating heater thats betwean a heater hose into your heater core ( I forget if you add to the hose into the heater core, or the hose out of the heater core )

I all ways keep a full tank to 3/4 of a tank of flue, keep fluid changes up to date, turn off your heater controls, lights, radio, before starting.

Best soultion is a block heater, save wear and tear and dthe ignition system

Yup plug it in, lighter weight oil stuff like that =)


Josh

Two words
 

Remote Start - My wife has one one her 1500 works great. Block heater helps if you need to unplug and go. The remote start is also cheaper than a garage.

LOL @ remote start, my wife's Yukon came with one from the factory, pretty cool. But I dont think its going to change the way your truck starts.

I took my truck to Nevada for work a couple of weeks ago instead of the work truck, and the temps were 30's during the day, and around 10 at night. I didnt start my truck for three days one time, and it started fine. Im running a 20w fully synthetic.

With consistant temps like that, it might be smart to get a block heater plugged in man.

I beg to differ. We sit between -20*C and -40*C here (-4*F to -40*F) most of the winter and my trucks have no major issues starting in the morning. I just put a remote start into my 1500 and I have it set to start the truck for 5 minutes every three hours when the temperature drops below -20*C. I'm sure I don't need it, but it just makes sure the oil doesn't thicken up too much and the battery stays nice and charged when it hits those temps.

move to somewhere like SoCal or Florida? it was 75 and sunny today here in san diego. no need for a garage.

never in the continental united states and almost never in most of canada.
the truck doesn't care what windchill is, only the ambient temperature matters.

heating up your coolant will get you heat faster, but won't do a thing to warm up your engine faster. coolant doesn't circulate till the engine is already at temperature and the thermostat opens.

these block heaters dont warm the coolant feej. its a dry port straight into the block. its actually a BLOCK heater (not a block heater that heats the oil or coolant).

to the OP, temps havent gotten above 0 (F) here in North Dakota for the last 2 weeks...not once. At some points, the temp has gotten to -20F (wind chills at -50, but again the truck cant tell wind chill). I always plug mine in if its gonna sit for more than 5-6 hours just for easier starting. you dont NEED a block heater though, even at these temps (i know people without them).

I was just responding to cyclone's comment about the recirculating heater to the heater core.

The heaters for the hemi, I think, warm through a core plug in the block, goes straight to the block and oil.