Winter,Winter,Winter

[NextToAlaska]

For those of you that have that wonderful season we call winter, id though if try and share some tricks ive learned (and alot of you probably already know) to help you, and the wallet.

 

Start with the obvious right?

 

Oil: The lower the viscosity the better during the cold winter months the better, 5w-30 or 0w-30 is recommended. you can run 10w-30 in the winter but your truck will work harder to get that oil moving thus using up more gas.

 

Antifreeze: Antifreeze testers are about 20 bucks and they can tell you if your antifreeze is good enough for the winter or not, if not you'll have to replace, Its best just to buy a jug of pure antifreeze and mix with water yourself, (cheaper usually, and you can add more Antifreezee then water, Which is what you want when the temps start going down)

 

Washer fluid: Not usually on a persons list of fluids to check, but you should. it will freeze, and it will blow that plastic holding tank up, and it will be messy. usually about 10 bucks for a big jug of -45 stuff.

 

Transmission: Good idea to check this and top up or flush if needed, especially if you plan to be off the plowed roads, transmissions get cold, specially when they are buried in snow, you'll notice this when you go to switch gears and it feels sluggish, Transmission heaters are available but not needed.

 

Gas- Nope i aint kidding gas needs to be looked after during the winter to, when you fuel up at the gas station you are also adding moisture from the big gas tanks underground, that builds up,and usually freezes to the top of your gas tank and it will eventually melt adding water to your gas and i dont need to get into the specifics about that being bad. Keeping your gas tank full helps alot, easier to put 5 bucks in all the time then to add 85 bucks once a week. another way is to add a bottle of gasline antifreeze every fill up, there about 12 bucks for a six pack.

 

Heaters and blankets: Getting a battery blanket will help your vehicle so so so much in the winter. the colder it is, the less cranking power your battery will have, making your starter work harder and causing alot of wear. about 25 bucks for a good one. Just do it. Oil pan heaters are also a very good investment and they take about 10 min to install. On cold cold mornings. your oil will look like molasses in january, THUS making your poor little engine work hard to get that oil flowing! The unfortunate thing is oil pan heaters are usually 50+ bucks but quite worth the money in the long run. Block heaters, quite simply the best heater to give your vehicle the best chance in the winter. Keeping the block warm keeps everything warm (NOT ENOUGH THOUGH) Having a block heater,Battery blanket and a oilpan heater will keep your engine nice and toasty for those cold winter mornings.

of course there is alot more heaters you can add to different parts of your vehicle, but not needed.

 

Interior heaters! not needed, but loved! They are about 60 bucks at most stores and will heat the interior of your vehicle when its plugged in. Its a little excessive as your trucks usually warm after being warmed up. but who doesnt like extra heat Amiright!?

 

Snow!: Brush it off, windows,roof, fender flares, get it off!! It melts, it re freezes, your doors will stick,the interior trim will rip, wipers will freeze. its terrible! think its going to snow at night? lift your wipers up so snow doesn't stick to them. was your vehicle equipped with a rear defrost? I'd recomend not using it. that frost melts and drips down and then re freezes. spend the 30 seconds and scrape it off.

 

Driving in the winter: little more complex then the summer of course! as a given, give yourself space from the other vehicles around you.. take that extra 5 min getting to your destination. speed limit says 50? great! do 40-45. truck going sideways? dont panic! dont hit the gas, dont hit the brakes. Dont smash your steering wheel the other direction, it happens alot( even with winter tires) let off the gas, and counter steer appropriatly, dont crank the wheel to hard or you'll likely just go sideways that way after. The slower you're going, the less likely you are to be sideways so just take that 5 extra minutes on getting to work or where ever. A very very handy tool for winter driving is! your gears! gearing down helps alot when stopping (even in automatics)this trick isnt to be used all the time though. it causes extra work on your transmission. so use it only when you need to. hills, pulling trailers..exc.

 

Pack your truck accordingly, its about 25 bucks for a good winter emergency kit and its better to be safe then sorry. Its a good idea to add to this kit though.. Better gloves,a toque, some snack bars, (I like to add a small mickey of fireball to mine, Stay warm!) a extra pair of boots/snow pants is always a great idea aswell, especially if your stuck. Might be driving off road? take a bag of kitty litter with you. INSTANT TRACTION! sand works, but not as well as kitty litter.

 

Overall winter isnt that bad a season to be in, it just takes abit of time to prepare for. and the time taken is worth it if you have ever been in trouble during the winter months. If i forgot anything, please add!

 

Safe driving boys and girls!

[silverton]

This should almost be a sticky!

[Slartibartfast]

One thing I've found about snow driving with an auto trans, and this may be obvious to most of you: if you're stuck, gear down and try again. Once your wheels are slipping, the faster they go, the less traction they have. So when you're trying to climb a snowy hill, the tires start to slip, and the trans gears up, and then you're sliding back to the bottom. Drop it to second and it'll walk right up.

 

Oh, and turn on your headlights! Your car (especially if it's white or silver) is pretty much invisible to other drivers in overcast conditions.

[NissanNismoZ]

Also, in a FWD (i know we all have Pathfinders) but say in my mothers 93 Nissan Quest it wouldnt go up the hill to our road..so either you'd have to walk from the bottom of the hill or salt the roads and hope it makes it..(usually it would park itself in the ditch, no harm done)

So i got the idea of driving it up in reverse and..it works!

Just to let you guys know with any FWD cars.. it works.

[BowTied]

Let me add to the brush the snow off tip - not only good for your car, but your wallet as some jurisdiction the police will charge you for failing to clear the snow from your roof/hood, and/or license plates. Besides, don't be the jerk driving the mobile snow storm with snow blowing off in chunks onto my windshield!!!

 

Here is a few little general things I will add:

-If you have a trailer hitch, remove or grease your drawbar so it doesn't rust in place in your hitch.

-Fill your trailer connector with dielectric grease so it doesn't corrode to heck. Same for other external connectors (block heater plug, O/R lights, winch etc.

-Check your spare for air (and that you have a decent jack and tire iron).

-Some vehicles automatically run the A/C compressor when in defrost mode to clear the windows. If you don't have a separate A/C button or economy button on the dash turn the HVAC to vent when you can to save fuel.

-Always check to see if your wipers are frozen before turning the vehicle on. If the wipers were left on before hand (by your wife for example ) you catch and take the stress off the blades and motor.

-lube the door hinges and tire carrier and hood latch

-silicone spray on the power antenna

 

 

 

 

[headpeace]

-silicone spray on the power antenna

 

I'll second that, I killed my power antenna after it froze in a ice storm. Now it just sits at the half way point and doesn't move at all