Hi

My diesel Vanagon has never seen temps below about 30 degrees in California. Now that I am in Virginia, I will need to keep it running (and starting) down to the low 20's and occasionally below that. It has been starting a little hard currently around 30 degrees.

I plan to replace the glow plugs soon and probably the 60 mo. battery which is a few years old now. Do any list members have other suggestions? 

Can I use one of those oil dip stick heaters? The engine is slanted which makes this option seem impractical.

I have also just switched to 10W40 Castrol GTX from 20W50. The engine runs great when warmed up.

Many thanks in advance.

Jim Snyder

[text/html]