Diesels and cold weather

KD4UPL wrote:
My '05 Duramax has never failed to start and run smoothly even in negative temperatures. I owned it for 3 years, never parked it in a garage, before I discovered it even had a block heater. The cord was hidden by GM so well I just never saw it. So, in those first 3 years of sitting outside all winter it always started just fine with no block heater.
For comparison, my company's work truck is an '03 Ford with a 6.0. It doesn't want to start very well even inside the shop where the temp is 45 degrees. After it does start it runs rough and has very little power for the first 5 miles or so. I was really surprised at the stark difference between the two when I started driving it.

Didn't think it got cold in VA. Think they mean like zero or below. In WY @ 20 below it was a problem with the 7.3 diesel. Used block heater and diesel additive.

I use the grill cover on my 2002 GMC diesel in the winter .
the radiator is so big that the truck does not get above the quarter mark in the winter .
i have driven with the grill cover on at 50 degree temps on long trips and the temp guage still does not go above the halfway mark .
I rarely plug in and only when the temps are below 10 below zero fahrenheit .
this 12 year old diesel has not failed to start since new .
i have made the switch to the AGM batteries in the last couple of years.

My '05 Duramax has never failed to start and run smoothly even in negative temperatures. I owned it for 3 years, never parked it in a garage, before I discovered it even had a block heater. The cord was hidden by GM so well I just never saw it. So, in those first 3 years of sitting outside all winter it always started just fine with no block heater.
For comparison, my company's work truck is an '03 Ford with a 6.0. It doesn't want to start very well even inside the shop where the temp is 45 degrees. After it does start it runs rough and has very little power for the first 5 miles or so. I was really surprised at the stark difference between the two when I started driving it.

Are you plugging it in overnight?
Both of my 7.3's liked to be plugged in. They warmed up much quicker when plugged in.

if it don,t have a block heater get one , the oil runs the turbo, a blanket won,t help. on my 96 diesel it came with a block heater the cord was buried up front by the grill.

When I had my 07 Classic Dmax, I always installed the winter front in late fall, I always plugged in the block heater after -15C and used Amsoil 5-40 Diesel oil. Never had a problem through 3 winters, and it gets cold up here....

I don't know enough to speak to your boost problem.