Go BottomCould cold weather starts have killed my Gator
 | kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas 
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2007-08-25 145016
A few years back I had an old 4X6 deisel Gator. On cold winter mornings I would often start it with out the use of the block heater. I never worked it cold, however. Is just starting a cold deisel enough to really mess it up?
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| hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa 
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2007-08-26 145020
Kleinchris; Tell us more on how your Gator diesel is messed up. Does it fail to start? Is the engine worn out? Use oil/ lack power? Cold starts are hard on any engine gas or diesel but not necessarly the death of an engine. Fill us in. Frank. ....
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 | candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota 
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2007-08-26 145022
Kleinchris,
When any engine is first started, it takes at least a few seconds before the oil pump can deliver the oil to all of the moving parts. The first parts to show wear are those that are located furthest from the oil pump. The more times an engine is started, the sooner it wears out. Engine wear is rarely related to the amount of work it does, but rather on the number of times it has been started and shut off.
In extremely cold weather conditions, engine wear will be greatly accelerated. This is because cold oil doesn't flow well. Therefore, it takes a much longer amount of time to reach all of the moving parts. Again, those parts furthest from the oil pump will take the greatest share of the abuse.
It's always a good idea to use light engine oil in cold weather. And it's also a good idea to keep that oil as warm as possible, through the use of space heaters, block heaters, oil pan heaters, or even tank heaters in the radiator hose.
The greatest amount of engine wear takes place within the first five seconds after the engine is started. The colder the weather, the longer it takes before the oil will flow properly. If the weather is extremely cold, this period of high wear can last as much a several minutes, which will greatly reduce any engine's lifespan.
If you have block heaters in your vehicles, you should use them anytime the temperature drops below zero. And before winter really sets in, it's best to change your engine oil, and replace it with the lightest oil listed in your operator's manual.
Cold temperatures wreak havoc on mechanical devices.
Joel ....
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| kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-08-26 145033
This machine was given to me with 700 hours on it, and then I put about 250 more on it over a couple of years. At about 800 hours, and after I had had it through one winter, it started to smoke pretty badly. Eventually, the engine started losing power until it was unusable. About that time I left that job and that machine behind. I told my replacement to get the Gator into the dealership down the road. My replacement had told me that the dealership was unable to find the problem or make the machine better, and he got sick of the Gator coming home with out any improvement, so he bought a new one- this time gas powered.
While that machine was mine, it recieved oil changes every 100 hours, regular replacement of filters, etc. I was wondering what could have been the cause for an early death, and then I was reading another thread about cold weather starts. It sounds like that might be the cause. ....
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| candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-08-26 145038
Kleinchris,
I'm willing to bet that the cylinder furthest from the oil pump was the culprit.
I try so hard to teach my children to allow their vehicles to warm up properly before driving them, and to NEVER rev up any engine after first starting it.
Even if the engine is warm, the drive train is still frozen solid. The first mile or so should be driven at very slow speeds....especially at temps around -40.
Cold weather will kill a machine faster than most people would believe.
I cringe when my kids tell me that they need to go to town when the temps are in the -30 to -40 range. If a vehicle doesn't have to be started in these temps, don't do it. It's akin to committing murder, I tell ya.
Joel
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2007-08-28 145143
Probably a compression check could have said a lot. Might have just been an injector failing. ....
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| kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-08-28 145152
I think I remember Joey (my replaement) saying that the dealership did replace the injector. (And that didnt solve the problem, but it was somebody elses guess, too.) ....
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