In Alaska I drove an Isuzu Diesel (Chevy Luv with a Japanese diesel) and
a diesel Rabbit quit a bit. Neither would start below 32 degrees. Engine
heaters were a must.

One thing, the Isuzu was driven from Anchorage to Kenai one day(150
miles) when the weather temp was -35 degrees. The driver complained
about not being able to get any heat the whole trip. Said he nearly
froze to death. Of course a cold heater immediately makes the cooling
system suspect, and sure enough, when  the radiator was checked, there
wasn't a drop of coolant in the system.

The drive with no coolant never seemed to have any impact on that
engine.

John Rodgers
"88GL Driver

jsnyder wrote:

> 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

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