Maintaining Your Diesel Truck Performance in the Winter

As winter approaches, here are a few tips that will help you get the best performance out of your diesel truck during cold weather.

Before it gets too cold outside, be sure that your diesel engine is prepared with the cold weather necessitates.

If your vehicle requires glow plugs, make sure that they are in good working order before the weather gets too cold. These small electronic heaters are installed in each cylinder. Before the vehicle is started, these heaters warm the combustion chambers. Be sure that you allow the glow plugs to do their work before turning your vehicle starter. Cold combustion chambers will cause a difficult start, a rough run and a reduction in fuel economy.

Winter conditions also cause an additional drain on your battery. When it is cold, it takes a lot more energy to get everything moving. It takes about 1,000 amps during cold weather to get your vehicle running. Be sure that you will not get caught short on a cold day without enough juice in your battery.

The standard diesel fuel used in most vehicles naturally contains a waxy substance that crystalizes when the temperatures drop. This crystallization reduces the viscosity (fluidity) of the fuel. Biodiesel gels at an even higher temperature, causing similar viscosity issues. With a reduction in viscosity, comes two significant problems for diesel vehicles.

•     Difficulty starting
•     Plugged diesel fuel filters and injectors

To try to resolve these issues, diesel fuel distributors make adjustments to fuel mixes as the weather gets colder. The more refined number 1 diesel is mixed with the more commonly used number 2 diesel. This winterized diesel has properties that are more resistant to the difficulties caused by the cold. Biodiesel is likewise winterized by adding more refined fuel into the mix. Since these mixtures are climate dependent, distributers vary the mix based upon the local climate.

While these winterized fuel mixes improve the cold weather viscosity of fuel, additional fuel additives can greatly improve the performance of your diesel truck.

The best of these fuel additives are highly effective products specifically formulated to provide significant performance benefits in all diesel fuels, including ultra-low sulfur diesel and bio-diesel fuel blends. These additives:

•     Clean the fuel injection system
•     Dispense all water
•     Lubricate the fuel systems
•     Boost octane
•     Improve fuel economy

One bottle typically treats up to 250 gallons of diesel fuel. Better products can be obtained from online retailers. There is one significant risk to using these products in the winter. Once you see how effective they are, you will want to use them year round.

A little effort now can save you a lot of trouble when the weather gets cold. Take a little time today and enjoy top performance from your vechicle all winter.

Industrial Injection is one of the nations leading suppliers of diesel performance products and parts. Let us help you determine which products will improve the performance of your diesel. Give us a call at: (800) 800-4103, or visit the Industrial Injection website. Look for Deuce Juice, the top diesel performance fuel additive.

By Mike Shelton
Expert Author Mike Shelton

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Shelton