Gotta Love Winter...

**Lonnie** · 01-25-2019, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Nizmo

Yea it was 1F this morning, but luckily no wind. I wanted to get a hoagie and didn`t want to get the cars out so the only other option was the truck. Was thinking there was no way it was going to start, but somehow it did! As soon as I let out the clutch in neutral it stalled. The heck!? Turns out the transmission oil had thickened enough it was dragging it down that much. I had to literally slip the clutch slowly in neutral. It was almost 30 before I could get it in gear. Note to self, SAE 140 GL4 gear lube is not winter friendly!

Yup, I had that experience myself where even in neutral, there was enough gear oil viscosity to move the car or stall the cold-started engine, when you let out the clutch. I also had it when it was almost impossible to move the shifter out of reverse gear (for those of you who do not know about manual transmissions, that it the gear you put it in to park the vehicle so it does not roll or move when you turn off the engine), the transmission gear oil was so thick like cold molasses. I wised up, and like you will be doing, changed over to 75W-90 gear oil.

I also had a bad experience with a batch of Quaker State motor oil that the winter viscosity additives was not blending into the oil. This was I think in about 1979 or `80 in some 10W-40 we used in all our family vehicles. Needless to say , NONE of the vehicles that sat outside in a cold Wisconsin January would even turn over, even with a jumper cables to boost the battery starting energy draw. I had to drain the oil out OUTSIDE, and when I removed the oil pan drain plug, it would not even flow!! It was like thin grease, literally. I put a screw driver in the drain hole, thinking it was just "frozen" or congealed at the hole, but no, it was the entire oil in the pan. Luckily I had a 150,000 BTU fuel-oil space heater (AKA Reddy Heater) at that time, so I placed it under the oil pan, heated up the oil enough so that I could start the vehicle, allow the engine heat to get the oil warm, and then change it along with the filter. I had THREE vehicles to do that it. Getting warm oil on your bare hands and fingers in -10°F weather was a recipe for instant frostbite and it was a throbbing-hurt like someone hit your fingers with a hammer when I went inside to warm up my hands. I repeated this THREE times that day, and yes, it was a cold, painful ordeal, not to mention the expense of 15 quarts of oil and 3 oil filters. I learned later that Quaker State suffered a class-action law suite filed by dealers because of this and replaced some engines, not to mention covering the cost of oil changes. I got nothing out of this financially from Quaker State, and my family still continued to use their oil for many years. I eventually switched over to Mobil 1 synthetic oil when it became more popular (like 1981 or 82) and never went back to conventional oils, even with the almost double-the-price over conventional motor oils. Is it worth it??? It is when your vehicle sits outside overnight like at work when it`s -25°F and it starts without drama or a lot of cold-engine noises.

**Nizmo** · 01-28-2019, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by Lonnie

Yup, I had that experience myself where even in neutral, there was enough gear oil viscosity to move the car or stall the cold-started engine, when you let out the clutch. I also had it when it was almost impossible to move the shifter out of reverse gear (for those of you who do not know about manual transmissions, that it the gear you put it in to park the vehicle so it does not roll or move when you turn off the engine), the transmission gear oil was so thick like cold molasses. I wised up, and like you will be doing, changed over to 75W-90 gear oil.

I also had a bad experience with a batch of Quaker State motor oil that the winter viscosity additives was not blending into the oil. This was I think in about 1979 or `80 in some 10W-40 we used in all our family vehicles. Needless to say , NONE of the vehicles that sat outside in a cold Wisconsin January would even turn over, even with a jumper cables to boost the battery starting energy draw. I had to drain the oil out OUTSIDE, and when I removed the oil pan drain plug, it would not even flow!! It was like thin grease, literally. I put a screw driver in the drain hole, thinking it was just "frozen" or congealed at the hole, but no, it was the entire oil in the pan. Luckily I had a 150,000 BTU fuel-oil space heater (AKA Reddy Heater) at that time, so I placed it under the oil pan, heated up the oil enough so that I could start the vehicle, allow the engine heat to get the oil warm, and then change it along with the filter. I had THREE vehicles to do that it. Getting warm oil on your bare hands and fingers in -10°F weather was a recipe for instant frostbite and it was a throbbing-hurt like someone hit your fingers with a hammer when I went inside to warm up my hands. I repeated this THREE times that day, and yes, it was a cold, painful ordeal, not to mention the expense of 15 quarts of oil and 3 oil filters. I learned later that Quaker State suffered a class-action law suite filed by dealers because of this and replaced some engines, not to mention covering the cost of oil changes. I got nothing out of this financially from Quaker State, and my family still continued to use their oil for many years. I eventually switched over to Mobil 1 synthetic oil when it became more popular (like 1981 or 82) and never went back to conventional oils, even with the almost double-the-price over conventional motor oils. Is it worth it??? It is when your vehicle sits outside overnight like at work when it`s -25°F and it starts without drama or a lot of cold-engine noises.

Yea it was definitely an oversight by me using a thicker than usual for the transmission. We haven`t had a cold winter in a while so I didn`t even think about it.

For the engine I always use a synthetic in everything. Even though it has 10w30 in it (the truck), it`s Pennzoil Platinum with a little bit of Rislone engine treatment for the noisy lifters. It will start up like nothing to my surprise. Right now I`m battling it warming up and staying there, if you start going down the mountain (no load, but in gear) the temperature gauge will drop fast. Right now I have a cover over the grille and it works really well actually. It really looks like a beater with that, a smashed up bumper, and taped in passenger side marker light. Oh well... It has a new thermostat, but not an OEM brand. I`ve been reading people have trouble with anything other than the OEM ACDelco, so once it warms up I`ll be swapping it.

This week will be nasty cold (for us) Wednesday night is going to be down to -1F. Definitely going to take advantage of the GTI`s heated seats Thursday morning leaving work. When you cold start it in extreme cold the clatter of the direct injectors sounds like a tractor. I got a couple odd looks from my coworkers. I was running Castrol Edge 0W40 in it previously, but the dealer put in Pennzoil Euro 5w40 in it and I can definitely tell a difference in how long it takes to get oil temp.

**Accumulator** · 01-23-2019, 02:52 PM

Oneheadlite- Good on you for seeing that your wife`s car is winter-safe..or at least i assume you had a hand in that

**mobiledynamics** · 01-24-2019, 12:28 PM

Hi Lonnie -

Who`s more at fault. The regular drivers that *can* but don`t clean their vehicles before getting on the freeway or the ones where you need to be careful with the trailer trucks and the ~sheets~ of potential hardpack that come off. I find them just as equal

**MattPersman** · 01-24-2019, 12:49 PM

Two or 3 days ago saw a guy in a 90s civic going down a 30 mph road I drive on with his head out the window as he drove so he could see. Car was not cleared at all

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Accumulator** · 01-24-2019, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by MattPersman

Two or 3 days ago saw a guy...

That`s one of those "where`s a LEO when you need one" situations IMO.

**gordonjuan** · 01-24-2019, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

That`s one of those "where`s a LEO when you need one" situations IMO.

That`s what we refer to as an "Insta-ticket". I will yank people over for that all day long. Too dangerous all the way around.

**Fishroes** · 01-24-2019, 12:58 PM

What a Dumba#s

**Lonnie** · 01-25-2019, 10:16 AM

Well, as long as we are on the subject of winter, one of the problems I face is garage doors and garage door openers working in extreme cold, since my garage is unattached from the house. I have found that after a snowfall here in Wisconsin, the slush from the road salt-melted snow that accumulates on the bottom side door sills and wheel wells will drop brine (salt water) when the vehicle is driven into the garage. Most garage floors are sloped (inclined) to run excess water out the front of the garage where, as you might expect, is the garage door. I`ve learned to stop the vehicle BEFORE driving it into the garage and kick off the excess slush, especially those snow mountains that form in wheel wells behind tires. It`s just trying to prevent excess water from getting into the garage in the first place.
I also have learned to spray the garage door track rollers and panel hinges with Tri-Flow Superior Lube AND inspect the chain drive and tighten it up if it seems too loose, (But not too tight!). Lastly, I have found a use for that old silicone tire shine that I do not use anymore on vehicles; I apply it to the bottom of garage door seal. Because there is still enough snow that will melt from the vehicle`s engine heat and the fore-mentioned road slush that water will form and run toward the garage door. While road salt works to about 0°F, when it`s below zero degrees Fahrenheit (like the Polar Vortex we are experiencing now in late January in Wisconsin) that water gets under the seal from opening and closing the garage door and then freezes, making the garage door motor work very hard or, in extreme cases, freeze shut. The silicone on the entire bottom seal makes it easier for the garage door to break free when it opens.

I have also found that powdery snow is a great absorber of that slush and brine and excess salt that forms on the garage floor in the winter when it is just too cold to use water. I just take a shovel full of it, spread it on the floor , and then sweep it out with a wide floor broom out the opened garage door. I also have a floor squeegee to squeegee-out any excess water that forms from the powdery snow that melts from the road salt residue. It works for me until warmer weather comes along (like mid-March!!), when I can wash out my garage floor with soap and water. This mid-winter cleaning tip really does help to get rid of the tracked-in road salt residue and brine, which can be hard on concrete garage floors

**Coleroad** · 01-25-2019, 11:24 AM

If I remember correctly Quaker state was one of those using paraffin in their oil back then.

**trashmanssd** · 01-28-2019, 10:16 AM

Lonnie whats your forecast for Wednesday (temp and wind chill temp)? I saw Chicago is -20 over night and -11 for day time high forecast. With predicted winds they should be 30-60 below zero wind chills.

**Lonnie** · 01-28-2019, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by trashmanssd

Lonnie whats your forecast for Wednesday (temp and wind chill temp)? I saw Chicago is -20 over night and -11 for day time high forecast. With predicted winds they should be 30-60 below zero wind chills.

As of Monday morning, EVERYTHING is closed down in the Green bay area except for essential services, as we have about 8-10" of snow, with 20-30 MPH wind gusts. I shoveled this morning starting at 5:00AM (5 driveways for my neighbors) and there was about 4". Not too bad temperature wise; about 15°F, but it is now dropping.
The new Wisconsin Governor, Democrat Tony Evers, has issued a Statewide State of Emergency for both the snow and impending artic cold, meaning the National Guard is alert in case they are needed.

Forecasted temperatures for Wed morning should be about -20°F, but winds at 15-20 MPH will produce Wind Chill Index (WCI) temps to about -40°F to -45°F for that morning. We expect schools and other places to be closed down again!. Predicted High Temp for Wed is -7°F. It should "moderate" by Thursday to -25°F to -30°F WCI, which may close schools again.
What is REALLY funny is we should be 30°F to 40°F on Saturday, but with the threat of Freezing Rain!!! I`ll take sub-zero and snow over ice anytime.

Someone asked what frostbite is like. I`ve had the unpleasant experience of changing motor oil at -10°F as a young adult (see above post) and getting warm oil on your bare hand and fingers produces almost instant frostbite due to the evaporation from a petroleum liquid. Going inside to warm up it felt like someone took a hammer and hit your fingers as they thaw out and throb, almost making you throw up, the pain is so intense. Takes about 5 minutes for the pain to go away.