Parking outside in the polar vortex?

I'm in Chicago and we're in the middle of a deep freeze- supposed to have a HIGH of negative 12 degrees tomorrow. More like -25 at night. My DCLB is too big to park in the garage. Not really worried but I'm wondering what the effects are of leaving a truck to sit in that temp overnight.

Do you guys recommend a really long warm up before I drive it to work in the mornings? Or is it better to start driving after a couple minutes to help it warm up. Have heard different opinions.

 

I usually let it warm for about a couple of mins and ready to go.

 

No issues with temps going below -20F?

 

Idling is pretty rough on an engine. FWIW.

 

Make sure your anti freeze is adequate or you might pop out a freeze plug or two...

 

Pull your wiper blades up. So they don't freeze to the windshield. What kind of oil are you running, synthetic should be fine. But dino oil will get thick. Old trick was to put a drop light with 100w bulb under the oil pan. But with led bulbs it wont work. You could start it before you go to bed and run it for a bit to get things flowing and give battery a lil charge and heat. This time of year I don't miss Chicago, grew up there..

 

Hire somebody to start it in the morning for you and warm it up.LoL

 

None at all and that’s with the OEM battery that’s not at its best.

Your truck will get warmer as you drive it. Just don’t be stomping on the gas, I usually granny it until the temp gauge starts moving.

 

Why would there be? You'll be fine. If you are really so scared wrap a blanket around your truck.

 

Remote starter!

 

They're not freeze plugs. They're water jacket plugs. They're not put in there to pop out if the coolant freezes. They're put in there as part of the manufacturing process of the block. Years ago, I got a Mustang real cheap because they had straight water in it and it froze and broke a chunk out of the block. They tried to glue the chunk back in with JB Weld. As soon as the cooling system built up pressure, the chunk blew out. Duh! I bought it for cheap and put a motor in it. I've seen lots of cracked blocks from freezing.

 

I live south of you and am preparing for -20 to -40 wind chills. I also expect my 2nd job career to move me to Chicago, so I'm not looking forward to -50 or w/e it will be the next few years.

I just get in truck, start it up, warm it up for 30secs-minute, and get on the road. It'll be warm by the time I get on the highway and pop the heater on.

 

First time I’ve heard them called that but I suppose it is more accurate. My point is unchanged however...

 

I lived in Melrose Park in the mid 90s when it got really cold and I had to park outside. My truck would not turn over so I had to put a little charcoal grill under the oil pan to warm things up.......took most of the morning. After that, I got a cheap "Dip Stick Heater" and ran an extension cord, worked great, but always put the heater in when engine is still warm when you park vehicle. Also put a battery blanket around battery too. Cold weather just sucks!

 

Although it is commonly accepted that they are freeze plugs or expansion plugs made to blow out in the event of over pressure in the cooling system. And it is possible they might do that... The actual original purpose has nothing to do with freezing or expansion. See below:

http://econofix.com/frezplug.html

The real purpose of Freeze Plugs or Expansion Plugs:

Engines are "sand cast". A special type of sand is poured into a pair of boxes. A "die" is pressed into the sand, making an impression of the engine block to be cast. The sections of the mold are then put together and molten iron is poured in, forming the engine. This is why engines have a rough texture on most areas: this is the texture of the sand used to cast them.
There have to be "cylinders" made of sand in the middle of this mold to create the cylinders of the engine block. These chunks of sand can't just "float" inside the mold: SOMETHING has to hold them in place. There are little columns of sand that connect the cylinder mold to the outer mold half. The mold for the cylinder "sits" on top of these. After the block is cast, these holes are machined smooth and a "freeze plug" or "expansion plug" or "core plug" is put in to plug the hole.

 

I always give it 2 minutes no matter what the circumstance.

 

That’s not that cold, the truck will be fine outside overnight. If you have a trickle charger hook it up and the battery will be warm and topped off for an easier start in the morning. Idle a couple minutes and then drive.

 

They are designed with cold climate in mind. Just go out and start it, lock the doors and let it idle for bit.

Usually a good sign its too cold to drive is if the power steering fluid is too thick to turn the wheel easily.

We have remote starts on all our stuff up in Canada I remote start my junk in my detached garage because I'm lazy.

 

Remote starter ftw.
In my other cars that didn't have rs, on stupidly cold mornings I'd turn the headlights on for about 30 seconds to warm up the battery. They always started right up.

 

I am in the great white north as well, had the stealership install the block heater on my rig when I bought it. As well as these other guys said, remote start. If that truck is going to be seeing more than a week of -20F, I suggest a block heater.

Each morning if it is below -10F (-20C) with out windchill, I plug the block heater in for 1 hour before I start it. Get that oil to a state the engine likes a little more than thick mud.

I let my truck run for 2 ~ 5 minutes with remote start in the winter before I get in and drive it.

Here is a shot with my phone's FLIR camera, what 1 hour of block heater does at -40F (-40C)