Does running synthetic oil defeat the purpose of a block heater?

Many of us can remember back in the day when Grandpa's old truck had to be plugged in at night in order to start the next day during the wintertime. Carburetors, conventional motor oil, and mechanical fuel pumps needed some extra convincing to get moving on a chilly day. But with modernization and technological advancements in motor oils (synthetic) and fuel delivery systems of today, is there really a need for having a block heater anymore? Synthetic oil flows instantly on startup unlike conventional that's sat in the block all night in subzero weather and needs to be warmed up before it moves. I live in Montana so we get some knucklebustin' cold nights out here in the winter and even though my truck seems to start just fine, I can't help but worry what damage might be going on inside the engine on those really cold mornings. (Anything below zero) Sometimes there's a brief rattle that comes from the engine then quickly dies away after a few seconds. I run quality 5w30 synthetic oil like the manual recommends in my 3.4 so that puts me at ease a little. Do any of you run block heaters in the winter or just fly by the seat of your pants all winter like I do currently? I've had many people tell me that running synthetic oil completely defeats the purpose of using a block heater because synthetic has much lower temperature pour points than conventional. I'm just trying to get prepared for winter, it's been hovering down in the high 30's here at night the past few days so it's got me thinking about what's heading my way here in a few short weeks.

 

If I lived yet in the Rocky Mountains where over night temps can get far below zero .

I would have a block heater and maybe a heater for the battery

I remember some nights pulling the battery and bringing it inside .

Just to save wear and tear on the starting system and the engine .

To me every little bit helps .

Automatic even more so you can`t push in the clutch

Granted there are going to be times for what ever reason your away from electric

Now maybe your truck spends it`s nights in a nice warm garage where it might even be above freezing by a few degrees

 

I am very sorry to tell you that whomever informed you that synthetic defeats the purpose of using the block heater; a) they've never experienced cold before b) they were messing with you c) or they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, the end.

I've run synthetic in my truck since day one and I can tell you, where I live it hits -40C / -40F overnight regularly in Jan/Feb, with the occasional -50... and the oil is like sticky gooey tar at those temps, which means the first couple mins of the engine cycling, its cycling without oil. I forgot to plug my truck in a couple times at those temps and while I was cranking, you could hear the load on the starter, the extra couple seconds of cranking and the engine sounds a lil different for the first few seconds. It's just all around bad.

Maybe in some lab test somewhere or on some oil brands label they're claiming otherwise, but I can assure you in the real world, that oil is damn cold and thick as f**k.

Having said that, the truck only seems to respond that way below -10C / 14F approx. So maybe you don't get the pleasure of experiencing those temps.

 

Lived in northern Utah all my life where we get plenty of cold winter nights and I've never had a problem with carburetors, conventional oils or mechanical fuel pumps whether plugged in or not. The only truck I ever plug in is my diesel if I'm goin sleddin bright and early and want the heater to have some heat to it before I get half way up the mountain. If your worried about the oil thickening up in the cold switch to a lighter weight oil during winter.

 

Every Tacoma sold here, in Alberta, comes with a block heater. It's not an option, there's one on every truck on the lot. That tells me there is definitely a benefit to plugging in when it's cold.

 

I haven't even checked to see if mine has a block heater. Dooh!

... but we rarely get below -25 C.

If we had temps like AB, I'd plug it in. I did when I lived in North Bay. It is just common sense.

 

We rarely get below 32f here

 

I use dual batteries , a battery blanket , Two block heaters and a transmission warmer with my synthetic engine oil . My command start runs the truck after the engine temp drops to - 20 . Its 50 below for 8 months out of the 12 up here . To answer your question ......Use the block heater with synthetic oil

 

Block heaters in real cold climates are great. Synthetic oil not only helps during start up to but it delays thermal breakdown on the other end too. Block heater doesn't help there. They work together on one end of the spectrum only.

 

I wish I had a garage for it! I do, but that's where my '69 Mustang resides, it gets a nice cozy garage out of the weather and the other vehicles get stuck outside unfortunately.

 

Anyone else have some input?

 

To me anything to save wear and tear on the starting circuit is a plus.

Low temperatures do some strange things to metal .

Myself I prefer to err on the plus side.

 

5W30 synthetic oil will have the same viscosity as 5W30 conventional oil when cold, hence the "5W" rating. However, you can find 0W30 synthetic oil in stores (be careful not to use 0W20). Buy a one-qt bottle and leave it outside over a cold night, and see how thick it gets. If it still flows easily, then you can avoid the block heater if you use 0W30 oil in the engine. Be prepared to pay a lot more for 0W30 though.

 

Is 0w20 too thin?

 

^Yes. 0W20 is too thin for your engine when the oil warms up to operating temperature (the "20" part of the weight rating).

 

This is a personal thing to each there own.

I spent my youth fighting to get vehicles started .

Frost bitten fingers and toes

So I am a Block heater type person

If I had to park outside my vehicle would have a heater .

I remember draining oil out to bring into a heated area over a long weekend back in the day before any engine powered heaters were just a dream

 

Never had a problem starting any of my toyotas in very cold conditions. My f-150 i had and chev 2500 6.0 i still have is a different story..

 

I spend winters in Northern Minnesota and have been meaning to get a block heater for a while. On -30 mornings the old girl makes some stressful sounds starting up. Also I love the guy from Northern Utah chiming in with the folks from Alberta. Northern Utah isn't that cold....

 

Going to see what it takes to get one installed. I just can't believe they don't come with them if they are sold in northern states, kind of irks me.