I live in the midwest about the same latitude as Des Moines or Chicago so it gets pretty cold here, but not unreasonably so. I've never had trouble with the 3B starting or running in the winter, I've heard stories of diesel gelling but I *know* the stations around here sell winter mix stuff plenty good enough for the temps we see. Yeah..
So here's the truck: 85 BJ73 with the rotary style IP 3B.
(In a decidedly non winter environment, but hey its the picture I had)
I was visiting a friend in souther Wisconsin. According to the phone it had gotten down to -15F overnight, it was about 0F when I went to start it. It took a little bit of cranking but nothing unreasonable, started up and ran no problem. Cool. About a half hour down the road it starts to lose power very very slowly. Its snowing and I'm not driving very fast so I don't notice right away. Eventually it gets to the point that it'll barely pull the truck along even in first gear. Luckily I'm just pulling into a little town. I pull off on a side street and park. I know I've got fuel and electricity. It idles really rough for a few more minutes then dies. I poke around under the hood for a few minutes but I don't see anything amiss. Well it must be gelled diesel, I can't find anything else wrong, but why did it run for 30 minutes them? I start googling. This is my first lesson.
It turns out that when diesel gels up it it isn't all the diesel that gels. Diesel has paraffin in it and that's what separates and kind of "waxes up." It had taken that half an hour to pull enough of it through fuel lines and such to clog it up enough that it wouldn't run. If I'd realized what was going on immediately the proper course of action would have been to add diesel 911 (power service) to the tank the moment it started waxing up. Diesel 911 isn't the greatest for the engine but it will de-gel everything. But I wasn't that smart and now everything is gelled up.
Its still about 0F without the windchill, I don't want to know what it was with the windchill. The good news is that the NAPA was only about a block and a half away. I walk over to the NAPA buy some Diesel 911 and ask what they've got for fuel filters. The reading I did said to put 911 in the fuel filter about 50% with diesel as well as mixing it in the tank if its so gelled it wont run. It also said to replace the filter if at all possible. The guy asks "What's the model and year of your truck?" "Trust me, it won't be in your system." The I remember that I think I've seen the same fuel filter in my uncle's 2LT minitruck. I have him look for that in the computer. No luck. I'm not even confident I'd be able to get the fuel filter off, last time I did it in a shop and nice weather and it was a royal PITA. Well I'll try just putting the power service in the tank, mixing it around and using the hand priming pump.
I pour quite a bit more 911 into the tank than the directions say, jump around on the rear bumper for a while, then commence pumping with the hand priming pump. It is incredibly stiff and hard to pump. I pump it around 125 times then try to start the truck. No bueno. Well back to the NAPA for a strap wrench to get this fuel filter off, and to thaw my hands a little. I warn the guy I'l probably be back a few more times.
When I get back out to the truck I prioritize, fine motor skill stuff first, undo the wiring clip for the fuel filter sender, gross motor stuff second, undo the filter. Surprisingly it comes out relatively easily. I pour a out a little of the diesel on the road (I know greenpeace but I'm kinda desperate right now) and mix in some 911. I screw the filter back on and commence pumping and priming. Still no luck. Well the filter must be wholly crapped up. Back to the NAPA. I bring the filter in and the guy says "let me check my catalog again. Would a 85 diesel Toyota truck be right?" "Um yup" Apparently if you look for minitruck it won't show up, but if you look for truck it does. Well they still don't have the fliter in this store, but there is one in the town I came from and one in the town I'm going to. Useful. Next we start looking through the books to see if there's some other filter that'll work. A 3386 looks close so I'll try it, I'm really desperate now.
I take the filter. I have two jerry cans on my truck and one of them had some diesel it in. I check that the filter will thread on, then mix 50% power service and 50% diesel in the filter and install it. Next I prime it again. Probably pump it another 200 times. Still nothing. I call my dad and warn him he may have to come pick me up with a trailer after work.
Well I'll walk down to the gas station three block away and get some fresh winter mix diesel. It'll dilute what's in the tank and mix around the 911 that's already in there. And it'll give the stuff that's in the fuel filter time to mix around. When I get to the gas station I go inside and ask what their diesel is rated down to, and make small talk until my hands have thawed. I go outside and start filing the cans, even this diesel is pumping slow, it must be a little thick too. I carry it back and mix it in the tank.
Time to keep cranking. The motor will pop every once in a while but it still not running. As per the owners manual when I start my truck I let it glow, put the throttle to the floor and crank til it starts. For some reason I try cranking with my foot off the throttle, it starts to sound a little more optimistic and eventually starts. Its running super rough. I let it go for a minute or so and then try to rev it up. It dies immediately. Another lesson learned. Since fuel is constricted when you try to rev it up it supplies the engine with a lot more air but no more fuel and so it dies. If you've gelled up your diesel don't try to start it under full throttle. I start it again and let it idle away, slowly increasing the rpm's with the hand throttle as its able. After about a half hour of idling its gotten to the point it seems like its running ok. I call my dad again and tell him he may not have to come after all.
I let it idle a little longer and make one last trip back to the NAPA to get some pre-treat so this never happens again. Everything I read online said you'll only let it happen once, and I can 100 percent confirm that. It wouldn't have been a terrible job in a shop in the summer, but that's not when it happens. It only happens when its beyond balls cold outside. I was lucky to be very close to warmth and a car parts store. If it had happened anywhere else I would have been screwed.
So the moral of the story is USE ADDITIVES! and if you do feel your truck start to gel up act faster than I did.
So here's the truck: 85 BJ73 with the rotary style IP 3B.
(In a decidedly non winter environment, but hey its the picture I had)
I was visiting a friend in souther Wisconsin. According to the phone it had gotten down to -15F overnight, it was about 0F when I went to start it. It took a little bit of cranking but nothing unreasonable, started up and ran no problem. Cool. About a half hour down the road it starts to lose power very very slowly. Its snowing and I'm not driving very fast so I don't notice right away. Eventually it gets to the point that it'll barely pull the truck along even in first gear. Luckily I'm just pulling into a little town. I pull off on a side street and park. I know I've got fuel and electricity. It idles really rough for a few more minutes then dies. I poke around under the hood for a few minutes but I don't see anything amiss. Well it must be gelled diesel, I can't find anything else wrong, but why did it run for 30 minutes them? I start googling. This is my first lesson.
It turns out that when diesel gels up it it isn't all the diesel that gels. Diesel has paraffin in it and that's what separates and kind of "waxes up." It had taken that half an hour to pull enough of it through fuel lines and such to clog it up enough that it wouldn't run. If I'd realized what was going on immediately the proper course of action would have been to add diesel 911 (power service) to the tank the moment it started waxing up. Diesel 911 isn't the greatest for the engine but it will de-gel everything. But I wasn't that smart and now everything is gelled up.
Its still about 0F without the windchill, I don't want to know what it was with the windchill. The good news is that the NAPA was only about a block and a half away. I walk over to the NAPA buy some Diesel 911 and ask what they've got for fuel filters. The reading I did said to put 911 in the fuel filter about 50% with diesel as well as mixing it in the tank if its so gelled it wont run. It also said to replace the filter if at all possible. The guy asks "What's the model and year of your truck?" "Trust me, it won't be in your system." The I remember that I think I've seen the same fuel filter in my uncle's 2LT minitruck. I have him look for that in the computer. No luck. I'm not even confident I'd be able to get the fuel filter off, last time I did it in a shop and nice weather and it was a royal PITA. Well I'll try just putting the power service in the tank, mixing it around and using the hand priming pump.
I pour quite a bit more 911 into the tank than the directions say, jump around on the rear bumper for a while, then commence pumping with the hand priming pump. It is incredibly stiff and hard to pump. I pump it around 125 times then try to start the truck. No bueno. Well back to the NAPA for a strap wrench to get this fuel filter off, and to thaw my hands a little. I warn the guy I'l probably be back a few more times.
When I get back out to the truck I prioritize, fine motor skill stuff first, undo the wiring clip for the fuel filter sender, gross motor stuff second, undo the filter. Surprisingly it comes out relatively easily. I pour a out a little of the diesel on the road (I know greenpeace but I'm kinda desperate right now) and mix in some 911. I screw the filter back on and commence pumping and priming. Still no luck. Well the filter must be wholly crapped up. Back to the NAPA. I bring the filter in and the guy says "let me check my catalog again. Would a 85 diesel Toyota truck be right?" "Um yup" Apparently if you look for minitruck it won't show up, but if you look for truck it does. Well they still don't have the fliter in this store, but there is one in the town I came from and one in the town I'm going to. Useful. Next we start looking through the books to see if there's some other filter that'll work. A 3386 looks close so I'll try it, I'm really desperate now.
I take the filter. I have two jerry cans on my truck and one of them had some diesel it in. I check that the filter will thread on, then mix 50% power service and 50% diesel in the filter and install it. Next I prime it again. Probably pump it another 200 times. Still nothing. I call my dad and warn him he may have to come pick me up with a trailer after work.
Well I'll walk down to the gas station three block away and get some fresh winter mix diesel. It'll dilute what's in the tank and mix around the 911 that's already in there. And it'll give the stuff that's in the fuel filter time to mix around. When I get to the gas station I go inside and ask what their diesel is rated down to, and make small talk until my hands have thawed. I go outside and start filing the cans, even this diesel is pumping slow, it must be a little thick too. I carry it back and mix it in the tank.
Time to keep cranking. The motor will pop every once in a while but it still not running. As per the owners manual when I start my truck I let it glow, put the throttle to the floor and crank til it starts. For some reason I try cranking with my foot off the throttle, it starts to sound a little more optimistic and eventually starts. Its running super rough. I let it go for a minute or so and then try to rev it up. It dies immediately. Another lesson learned. Since fuel is constricted when you try to rev it up it supplies the engine with a lot more air but no more fuel and so it dies. If you've gelled up your diesel don't try to start it under full throttle. I start it again and let it idle away, slowly increasing the rpm's with the hand throttle as its able. After about a half hour of idling its gotten to the point it seems like its running ok. I call my dad again and tell him he may not have to come after all.
I let it idle a little longer and make one last trip back to the NAPA to get some pre-treat so this never happens again. Everything I read online said you'll only let it happen once, and I can 100 percent confirm that. It wouldn't have been a terrible job in a shop in the summer, but that's not when it happens. It only happens when its beyond balls cold outside. I was lucky to be very close to warmth and a car parts store. If it had happened anywhere else I would have been screwed.
So the moral of the story is USE ADDITIVES! and if you do feel your truck start to gel up act faster than I did.
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