[3.6L] What’s Your Cold Weather Startup Procedure?

[jac04]

1) Gather firewood
2) Build small fire under belly pan
3) Top off the fuel in the pony motor and make sure a squirrel hasn't eaten the spark plug wire
4) Tend the previously mentioned fire
5) Reach to start the pony motor. . .and realize that I don't need to drive a D9 anywhere, put out the fire, hop in JT, push the start button, and go.

Some of the power plant equipment I work on is from the 1940s. The old O&M Manuals actually state for cold starts to make a pile of oily rags under the gearbox and light them on fire for warmup.

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[NC_Overland]

I get in pull the choke then turn the key and feather the gas pedal. One it starts to warm up I back the choke off then put her in gear Anyone here remember those days?

On my model A, you have to use the lever on the steering wheel to retard the timing, the other lever to advance the throttle, turn the fuel supply on, turn the fuel mixture 3/4 turn, turn the ignition on, pull the choke out, and then press the starter button with your foot. Then adjust everything again after it starts. It’s basically theft proof. Manual, non synchronized transmission too.

 

[DJPodratz]

No remote start in my 2021 Sport.

When it's 32ish F. I start and go. When it's -20F, i start and idle for a few minutes and then go.

At -40F I don't go out.

I have a heated garage at home. At the cabin parked outside, I will plug in the block heater if it's below about 10F.

 

[Gvsukids]

Just out of curiosity, what have you done in any other vehicle you've ever owned or driven?

Follow-up from a previous thread, https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/cold-start-idle-speed.101531/

 

[dajudge]

What's "cold weather"?

 

[Maverickxeo]

I live where it gets down to -40C at times (although this is rare - typically we see -25C at the lowest).

My procedure:

Unplug block heater (if used - most of the time I don't bother).
Start the engine - turn on the defrost front and rear full blast.
Start seat heaters/steering wheel heater if needed.
Brush off snow/Scrape windows of ice.
Check oil pressure, if up to operating pressure (doesn't take more than a few seconds, typically).
Drive modestly until engine up to temp (slower acceleration and less throttle - still get up to speed as needed).


To add: as long as the oil pressure is at the operating pressure - the vehicle is safe to start driving normally (I don't recommend redlining it or anything though, of course).

 

[Deleted member 57233]

I get in pull the choke then turn the key and feather the gas pedal. One it starts to warm up I back the choke off then put her in gear Anyone here remember those days?

The Jeep is my only car without a manual choke.

 

[Stan H]

What's "cold weather"?

You deep south western guys are so spoiled

 

[kennyglm]

i get in and start it up and immediately floor it till it warms up or the engine starts tapping what ever comes first and then i get on the world wide web and complain my 3.6 piece of shit engine is tapping again. jUST KIDDING PEOPLE. I just start it up and wait about a minute and then drive normally.

 

[nanook12]

I mount heat pads on all my vehicles. You plug the truck or car in long enough to get warm enough to avoid damaging it. The block heater is for coolant, the heat pads are for oil pans and batteries.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Two Part Question:

1. When the temperature outside is 32°F (0°C) or colder, what’s your procedure for starting the engine?

2. After the engine is running, what signs do you look for to know it’s ready to drive?

32 isn't cold. I wait until it's cold to do remote starts. Maybe 20 or lower, otherwise it's a waste because these warm up so fast, and there's heated seats and steering wheel.

DEPENDING again n temperature - as 32 isn't cold at all, I wait until it's settled off higher idle - just a few seconds, and if it's actually cold - 10 to 20 or lower, I'll still only wait a few seconds and drive off. Because of where we live, driving slow isn't a problem - you need to anyway for the first mile or so

10 minute warmups just aren't really needed unless it's UNDER 10 degrees. Above that if i do a remote start, I'm in at about 5 minutes.

Now if you use heavier oil (here we go) you may want to wait longer as the oil won't be shooting at the piston skirts through those nozzles so you risk a bit of skirt and cylinder wear.
But at the stock oil, it's getting to the cylinders and piston skirts through those little squirt nozzles fine and will be spreading out.

PS - not a heated garage, not an attached garage, not an insulated garage. If it's 10 outside, it's 10 in the garage

 

[ShadowsPapa]

1) Gather firewood
2) Build small fire under belly pan
3) Top off the fuel in the pony motor and make sure a squirrel hasn't eaten the spark plug wire
4) Tend the previously mentioned fire
5) Reach to start the pony motor. . .and realize that I don't need to drive a D9 anywhere, put out the fire, hop in JT, push the start button, and go.

No, mine uses a 12 gauge shotgun shell (blank) to start...........

 

[Rubicon6MT]

As long as the oil pressure is at the operating pressure - the vehicle is safe to start driving normally.

Interesting, never thought to keep an eye on oil pressure, but that makes sense in addition to RPM and coolant/oil temperature.

 

[WilldWilly]

Remote start.
If you do not have remote start and you want to drive soon after start, wait one minute for the oil to not only move around the engine, but start warming up. Then drive it normal, and it will come up to temp fast.

 

[Rubicon6MT]

Just out of curiosity, what have you done in any other vehicle you've ever owned or driven?

Previous vehicles I’ve always waited for the engine idle to slow, and coolant temperature to start increasing.

Gladiator is the first vehicle I’ve owned with two different warm idle speeds, and numeric readings for coolant and engine temperature instead of analog or digital gauges, same with oil pressure reading.

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