North vs South, Winterization Maintenance

I live in the south, where summers are brutal, but winters are (usually) pretty mild.

I plan on heading way North (Duluth, MN) for the winter, as I have a job opportunity.

Is there anything special I need to do to my Taco for the climate differences? Different washer fluid? Different mix on the coolant/anti-freeze? Other?

 

Woolwax/Fluid Film/etc your undercarriage. And don't become a Viking fan.

 

Make a habit of washing your truck regularly, keep the salt off it.

The Duluth area is fantastic, make sure you check out the rest of the north shore and surrounding area as well.

 

Change your oil like now so you don't have to lay in a wet salty mess during the next 4months. - former Illinois resident

Basically my winter maintenance consisted of deferring broke shit until it warmed up enough to want to wrench on it in the spring.

 

Exactly

 

You may want to verify this:

Don't wash with warm water. It releases some of the nasties in the salt-stuff they put on the roads making corrosion faster.
If you wash with cold water it won't happen.

 

no it doesn't. It's just not good to use hot water on freezing stuff. The water will naturally be warmer. Even if you use "cold" water.

Change the oil, get some underbody coating, and do your best to keep the crap off it. Not much else you are going to do.

Oh, warm em up before driving.

 

It's hard to answer your question without knowing what coolant and washer fluid you are using. We have a wide range of weather in Minnesota (-30F to 100F) and I don't use anything special or am I even aware of different types, although I don't dispute their existence.

I also suspect that very few people spray fluid film (or similar) on their automobile every year and am skeptical that a regular car wash helps much with corrosion because they tend to focus on the visible painted parts of the automobile which are already protected.

 

Good point. Washer fluid too. Prestone yellow IMHO is the best in winter. It doesn't leave obvious blue, purple, or green (or insert color here) specks everywhere. The yellow snow is STILL not edible tho... But even with the yellow color it's barely visible.

I've previously switched from 5w-20 to 0w-20 in winters too. I don't have my yota yet, but I assume it's 0w-20 already.

 

Switch to washer fluid good to -40*f

You should already have the correct coolant in your rad from the factory.
As per the manual:

“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” or a similar high quality ethylene glycol-based non-silicate, non￾amine, non-nitrite and non-borate coolant with long￾life hybrid organic acid technology
For the U.S.A.:
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” is pre-mixed with
50% coolant and 50% deionized water.
For Canada:
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” is pre-mixed with
55% coolant and 45% deionized water.

 

Aside from the other advice, pop the hood about once a week to check for mice nests. They like it under the hood where it can be nice and warm.

 

and when you wash your car regularly like i used to in PA, spray the underneath of your car off regularly and if you have a garage use it all the time because after you wash the salt off, the doors and everything else has a tendency to freeze up.

 

Unless you're a masochist.

 

I'm Jets fan....that's worse

 

It's brave of you to publicly admit that.

 

I grew up in north Jersey and actually had season tickets back in the days when they played at Shea Stadium, so I've been a glutton for punishment for a long long time

 

yaaaa ……

 

Your truck should already be well equipped to handle most of North America's climates right from the factory. The only possible variable is whatever windshield washer fluid you have been putting in there. Switch to a temperature appropriate fluid.

As for underneath, put a quality undercoating (not rubberized) on before you go. And then whenever you get the opportunity, spray down the underside, especially nooks and crannys, even a good garden hose will work.

Then you just have to figure out which tires you want... but that is a whole other TW debate, similar to oil change debates.

 

Fluid film or woolwax inside the frame, at joints, or fasteners that you don’t want to rust. I have tried the traditional undercoatings, and they tend to crack or bubble over time and conceal rust. I have had much better luck with rustoleum and fluid film

Powerwash undercarriage frequently and gently spray under the hood.

In the spring, pull the spare, skids, locker shield, etc, and powerwash under all that. Salt tends to collect on parts under them.

If you really care, each spring wire brush/sand the rust that shows up and rustoleum the spots.