I've found the Mopar cover does a great job down to -32, then it'll take awhile on the road to get it up to temperature.

I really believe the answer is an Espar, but a warning to anyone in Alberta contemplating one, "Don't go near Diesel Tech in Edmonton!". I made that mistake, since I'd seen an ad of theirs. Two days laters, and 21 hours of labor, they finally got it to fire up and hustled me off. with a $3600 bill, ...............it hasn't run since! Talked to the owner once and his reply was that he was concerned about how they hooked the fuel lines up. ..........I agree, the module has locked up from too many attempts at starting and can't be cleared since they didn't wire it correctly either. I have found another shop here with experience with Espars, and they've offered to get it running in a manner suitable for the Arctic, using the kit for the '03 Ram. But Diesel Tech won't even return a phone call or make any suggestions . Just a warning for anyone else that doesn't want to have to get involved with lawyers to get hot!

 

Glad to hear that you Alberta boys are freezin' your buns 'cause as you know it never gets cold here, i.e. in Regina. I'm wondering how effective using the exhaust brake is in assisting in winter warm-up at idle and how advisable a practice it is to use the brake in that manner. Any comment would be appreciated.

 

I do it all the time (and have been since HPCR introduction). Being that I don't think the engine will ever warm up idling in neutral when its cold out, I can't tell you how much faster it will warm up. I would say half the time though.

Make sure you have the switch off when you start the engine to avoid spiking the oil pressure, which can blow out the seal on your turbo, which is real bad news. Wait for the oil pressure to stabilize and then turn the brake on.

I hope you didn't pay that $3600 bill.

 

Thanks, bigblock2stroke, I particularly appreciate the advice about waiting before turning on the e-brake. I wasn't aware of the danger to the turbo seal. Please tell a novice what the acronym HPCR stands for; most I can figure out but that one eludes me.

 

High Pressure Common Rail.

 

I have mine in the garage all the time. You can have it in a heated garage, take it out in the Alberta winter, let it idle for a while, and it GETS cold on its own. The only way to keep them warm is to drive them. If you sit and let them idle at -15c or less, they stay cold. If you run synthetic 5-40 and it is -20 0r less, you have to drive them 100km or more at highway speeds to get them to warm up to just under 90. I love my truck! But these are the facts, and " if you don't love it leave it, let this song that i'm singin' be a warnin' "....!!!! (PS- "drive 'em like the're stolen!!""

 

when i start up my truck on those -25C mornings it is plugged in all night, use a
5w-30 Esso oil (would use 0w-40 but not recomended for break in), start, turn on heated seats, and let it run for 4 mins or so and leave slowly,

i dont use the BD to warm up then, but i do use it to keep the truck hot after its in the operating range, the truck usually doesnt even bother speeding up to 1000rpm since the guage is over the 93 or whatever temp it needs to engage the high idle, but if it does, the post turbo pyro reading gets up to 500F (empty highway speed puts it at 600F) so the cab stays boiling, great on any oilfield truck

if i leave the truck running in warmer temps (-10 plus) i always turn down the heater and use the electronic high idle i installed, turned up to 1400 rpm, i would use the BD but i would imagine it eventually will cause the oil seal in the turbo to go, so it gets used in moderation

will install the espar by next winter, looks like I will stay away from Diesel Tech and go to Polar Mobility.