rust (the eating away of your dollars). If you haven’t already done it, get a fresh
coat of wax on the car to protect the paint.
Rust Protection
In salt belt states, highway departments use liquid sodium, rock salt, calcium
chloride, and brine to clear roadways during winter. This plays havoc on the
vehicle’s undercarriage and body. Apply an effective rust protector to curtail the
effects of rust and oxidation. Waxes, coatings, and paraffin that are sprayed onto
the vehicle’s undercarriage simply set up a place for rust to fester away at the
metal. They actually can add to the problem. In a previous chapter, I outlined a
rust-protection product called Carwell. It attacks existing rust and penetrates it so
that the rust actually flakes away from the metal beneath it, then chemically
bonds to the good metal, sets up a moisture barrier, and bleeds any existing
moisture to the surface, where it evaporates.
Once this product bonds to the good metal, it creeps five inches or more in all
directions, protecting every crack and crevice in the metal. In my opinion this is
the definition of an effective rust-protection product. Use this description as a
guide to find an effective rust-protection product for your vehicle.
Diesel Engines and Cold Starting
For diesel-powered vehicles, make sure the battery is fully charged and has full
cold-cranking amperage capacity. One of the keys to effectively starting diesels
in the wintertime is a fast enough cold cranking speed. Diesel engines rely on a
high-compression ratio to compress the fuel tight enough to induce combustion.
If the engine doesn’t crank fast enough on a cold morning, it won’t start. In
addition, use an anti-gel solution in diesel fuel, which keeps the fuel liquefied
and flowing. If diesel fuel gets cold enough it can gel up, affecting the flow of
fuel through the fuel delivery system. No fuel, no start. It’s that simple.
Keep a diesel engine warm when not in use. Most diesel engines come with a
block heater that plugs into a standard 110-volt outlet. A block heater is a heating
element that keeps the engine coolant warm which, in turn, keeps the oil in the
crankcase warm. When warm, the engine cranks over easily and attains the
proper cold-start cranking speed for effective cold weather startup. If your diesel
engine does not have a winter heater, get one. Diesel engine heaters come in two
forms: engine block to keep coolant warm or an oil dipstick heater to keep the
oil in the crankcase warm. Finally, another solution to the problem of a cold
diesel engine startup is to install a battery blanket on the batteries. This will keep
the batteries from freezing up, resulting in low cranking power.