Re: Cold weather diesel starting

I have a 1982 300 TDT with a 617 Turbo Diesel.  I had the engine
remanufactured at Metric Motors in the San Fernando valley last summer
and I have about 6,000 miles on the new engine.  It runs great.
Starts instantly like a gas engine in a Toyota when it is warmed up,
and starts pretty darn fast even when it's cold.  I live in the
Eastern Sierra, and our coldest temperatures in winter here at 4,000
feet don't usually go below 15 F or -10 C, but I have seen 0 F or -17
C.  The new engine will start at on our coldest morning without a
block heater, I think, but when I had the engine remanufactured I
mentioned to Mike at Metric where I live and that I would like to get
a block heater installed.  He said he would just install one as part
of the deal and did not charge me for it.  It is installed in place of
one of the freeze plugs on the right side of the engine just above and
in front of the starter motor.  It is the type which has a pump in it
to circulate the coolant through the engine as well as heat it.  If I
know I am going to use the car in the morning I plug the heater in the
night before.

I would highly recommend getting a block heater of that type installed
if you frequently start your engine in cold temperatures.  The engine
starts as quickly and runs as smoothly right away as when it is 70 F
or 20 C outside, which puts a lot less strain and wear on the engine.
When you start your engine cold it takes longer for the oil to start
lubricating everything and this causes a lot of wear on the engine.  A
friend of mine and his family own large commerical fi****ng vessels,
and he tells me that they have block heaters on those engines that run
all the time so if they need to start the auxiliary engine it is
already warmed up and they do that because of concern over lubricants
being cold at start not lubricating the very expensive large marine
engines properly.

I try never to start my new engine without it being warmed up now.
With the block heater plugged in I think this engine would start even
if the outside temperature was -30 F or -34 C if you could get the
fuel to flow.

I installed the new type glow plug relay from Bosch that comes back on
when the engine starts and keeps the glow plugs on for the first 3
minutes of engine operation. This also helps the engine run smoothly
from the start, which also lessens wear.