[fishinfool98]

has any one put a heater on there tranny and if so what kind should i get?
or should i even worry about it!

 

[badford350]

when I was up their in ak I used one of the orange battery pads. used rtv and stuck it to the pan. Made a huge diffrence on how fast I could drive away. I had one on the motors oil pan as well. My truck always warmed up faster than everybody elses at -40. But then again on eilison afb they had the plugs all over base so I wasnt paying for 2battery blankets, 2 battery pads, 2 block heaters running. When I was at the house I had a timmer that would start all of them about 2 hours before I had to go to work.

 

[389SixPack]

has any one put a heater on there tranny and if so what kind should i get?
or should i even worry about it!

I know guys that have used magnetic heaters and bought the glue on heating pads. Don't think it makes too much difference.

Hear is a quote from another site from a northern (yukon territories I think) tranny guy.

Depending on the tranny, the main locations of significant quantities of fluid when shut down are the pan and the torque convertor. At -40, there is some benefit to be derived at startup by warming the ATF to something warmer than -40F. But, the transmission will heat itself up pretty quick. ATF does tend to thicken like any other dino based fluid (unless you are running full syn) at colder temps.

That said, adding a pan heater, while certainly not a BAD idea, is only heating no more than maybe 40% to at most 50% of the fluid.

Is it a bad and/or harmful idea? nope. Will it be beneficial on those cold days at -40 during early warm ups - yes certainly from a performance standpoint, and to a lesser degree from a longevity standpoint. Is the different like to be significant? Probably not as much as you might think.

You will get delayed shifting longer at cold temps while the computer refuses to lock up the TC (a major heat producer unlocked, which is why it is inhibited when cold).

Overall, if you felt inclined, go for it. Mandatory? naw. (my opinion). If I had an easy to apply pan heater handy and was looking at a winter where -40 was common, would I ? Sure.

 

[badford350]

for the long run Ive seen the magnet ones disapper or break. but they do put out a lot of heat. THe only benifit to the pad is it has more surface area. Being in the military I seen lots of people come up with cars not ready for the harsh winters in ak. I helped quite a few with the winterization. The extra heat, in any form you can get, will help a lot.

 

[Cat_Rebel]

Just carry a set of porta torches with you & warm it up before you take off. Remember not to give it too much heat or you'll really be needing a new tranny!
Don't listen to me on that last one. But I do remember hearing that in WWII the Russian's would build small fires under planes & tanks in the SUB ZERO just to get them started. But as tough as the Superduty is I still don't think it's as tough as a T34 tank.
When it gets a little colder out around here I'm going to start plugging in my truck with a timer. I'll set it so it turns on about 2-3 hours before I have to go somewhere.

 

[JohnT]

I hope this year my truck will run in the winter without getting gelled fuel. Last year my fuel kept gelling up.....

 

[Haul_n_horses2]

I hope this year my truck will run in the winter without getting gelled fuel. Last year my fuel kept gelling up.....

I do not understand this! I have filled up here in SE Michigan since the truck was originally purchased (March '02) and for the most part have never had to add anything to the fuel to keep it from gelling. Where do you fill up? I want to make sure I never fill up there. I use a major truckstop at the intersection of I-94 and Baker Road just west of Ann Arbor. They go through a ton of fuel so there is no time for it to accumulate water. It apparently is well formulated for our environment. I have seen some crystals of frozen water in the fuel but since installing the Dahl filter at 6000 miles or so, I have never had water make it past the Dahl filter to the filter bowl under the hood.

 

[Cool Canuck]

I hope this year my truck will run in the winter without getting gelled fuel. Last year my fuel kept gelling up.....

I have never had fuel gelling problems. With a stock fuel system in good working order and properly blended fuel, neither should you.

For the OP, I've talked to guys in the north about pan heaters on the trannies. (we are talking -40 north) Some have put them on but rarely used them.
The best bang for your buck after the block heater is an electric battery blanket. They are inexpensive, use little power and even if only on one battery will make the world of difference in cranking the engine on a cold morning. Unless you have access to several electrical circuits, you will run out of power quickly. A block heater drawing 12 amps on a 15 amps circuit leaves little to run anything else.

 

[gregrob]

I do not understand this! I have filled up here in SE Michigan since the truck was originally purchased (March '02) and for the most part have never had to add anything to the fuel to keep it from gelling. Where do you fill up? I want to make sure I never fill up there. I use a major truckstop at the intersection of I-94 and Baker Road just west of Ann Arbor. They go through a ton of fuel so there is no time for it to accumulate water. It apparently is well formulated for our environment. I have seen some crystals of frozen water in the fuel but since installing the Dahl filter at 6000 miles or so, I have never had water make it past the Dahl filter to the filter bowl under the hood.

I've had bad luck with flying J fuel. Froze up 3 times on me last winter with additive.
Switched stations and it stopped. 2 other buddies 1 fueling from flying J froze up just like me, the other from another station had no troubles, even with no stock fuel heater.

 

[Haul_n_horses2]

I have no fuel heater in my Dahl filter and really do not think it would do much if your fuel gelled anyway. 40 gallons at -20 is going to wax up and that little heater is going to unwax it at a flow rate of 60 gallons per hour? I don't think so. But I agree with changing stations/suppliers if that happens. My regulated return may add some heat to the tank in the winter. Surely more than the fuel filter heater. LOL.

 

[gregrob]

My problem is that it was icing up in the lines before the pump, fuel in tank and even fuel bowl was completely fluid.

I think a heater in the pre pump filter would have helped in this situation, but I agree, the whole 40 gallons waxes and you're screeeeewed. :ford:

 

[JohnT]

I was filling up alot in almont at a small gas station called speedy q. All winter I was also using additives. Then after trying to figure out what the hell kept going wrong, I went to another place to fill up here and never had a problem. I know keep a bottle of diesel 911 and can look at the fuel pressure gauge, and i know when its need some 911.

 

[Haul_n_horses2]

I was filling up alot in almont at a small gas station called speedy q. All winter I was also using additives. Then after trying to figure out what the hell kept going wrong, I went to another place to fill up here and never had a problem. I know keep a bottle of diesel 911 and can look at the fuel pressure gauge, and i know when its need some 911.

Find a source that is a high volume diesel fuel retailer in your area. The truck stop I fill up at goes through 9-11 tankers full of fuel a day! Looks like more traffic at the truckstop than O'Hare on a busy day. LOL. I figure the fuel that I fill up with is probably been in the tank less than 3 hours. Some of the small retailers fuel has so much water in it that it will form a suspension of ice crystals and it is these that will plug up the fuel filter. Most anti-gel additives will not do much for ice.

 

[JohnT]

Thats what I do now in the winter, I only fell up at high traffic stops. It was odd, when I headed to the U.P where it was colder it never gelled, because I always filled up at truck stops when going up there.

 

[Arisley]

I have never had a problem with gelling. I have had a problem with water in the fuel. Hard for it to gel here, I think you would have to add jello.

 

[Diezel Dawg]

when I was up their in ak I used one of the orange battery pads. used rtv and stuck it to the pan. Made a huge diffrence on how fast I could drive away. I had one on the motors oil pan as well. My truck always warmed up faster than everybody elses at -40. But then again on eilison afb they had the plugs all over base so I wasnt paying for 2battery blankets, 2 battery pads, 2 block heaters running. When I was at the house I had a timmer that would start all of them about 2 hours before I had to go to work.

I had the same as above. I didnt have battery blankets(they do u no good) and no battery heaters( they do u no good either) My truck started everytime it was plugged in. The only time mine didnt start was a couple weeks before i left Eielson when my batteries went bad. Wouldnt even start when plugged in all night. Those orange pad heaters can throw out some serious heat. They work well on the tranny and engine oil pans. For yout batteries, if you wanted to, you could tie in a couple battery trickle chargers, those work wonders. They keep your batteries charged when plugged in. I did that on my Ford Ranger when i moved to Eielson in Alaska and never had a problem. A battery heater pad will keep the battery from freezing, but it doesnt keep it charged

 

[Cool Canuck]

I didnt have battery blankets(they do u no good) and no battery heaters( they do u no good either)
(snip)
The only time mine didnt start was a couple weeks before i left Eielson when my batteries went bad. Wouldnt even start when plugged in all night.

Hummmmmmmm......