Driving in sub-freezing weather?
- Thread starter jross20
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cl4Rk
Member
Just general stuff. Check out driving in freezing rain and snow advice
spartacus
Senior Member
Make sure to drive slow until it comes up to temp and the battery is good. Just drove for the last few days in artic freezen weather upto -25 it was all good. Be cautious over bridges and overpasses cause even with salt and mag chloride they were like popsicle lost traction on a long sweeping arc exit just for a moment put it in 4hi and it was all good.
Condensation can form in the brake booster/hose and then freeze in the off cycle, you get in and drive away on a cold start and the brake pedal gets hard and you take a lot longer to stop, goes away after a few seconds but always freaks me out first time it happens in the season. First time it happened I searched on here and it has been well documented. Been happening daily here as we are in the "polar vortex" right now lol.
Trans (A/T) can be sluggish until it warms up to a min temp, engine revs up but truck doesn't go forward hardly at all kind of like your trying to drive with the e-brake on.
turbodudey2
New member
That's not normal. Have you checked the fluids lately?
A good quality transmission fluid should perform well, even below 0°F.
When it was -15°F here the other day, I couldn't feel any significant difference in the way my truck drove starting off cold.
phattyduck
Elite Member
It will delay the 2-3 shift when then engine (or is it trans?) is cold, but it should otherwise drive normally until it gets *really* cold.
-Charlie
-Charlie
jross20
New member
Interesting, yes I did notice my brakes doing that on occasion. Does this harm the booster at all?
And you know my transmission seems to work well in the cold, probably because I have a piece of plexiglass with Friends of the external radiator for it... Haha
Side note I noticed the engine seems to have significantly better power delivery when it is very cold. Very noticably so. Well I'm not saying that makes more power than normal, I just think that it's making as much as it should.
I was wondering if this would indicate some kind of sensor "drift", you know where when some centers get old and with temperature their range starts to drift up or down? Maybe the cold is making some sensor act "normal" for a while?
I definitely hear you guys on going slowly drives me nuts when I see people just flying down a road that has some snow or ice on it... I thought it was going to get really bad this week but thankfully it did not.
Maybe I have something else going on, always done this last 5 winters when really cold out, fluid level was good when I checked in the fall but could use a drain and fill as I've done a lot of towing in the last year
There is no fluid in the booster.
I've had success spraying the check valve with Teflon lube.
Mine does this too, I don't know why........
parking break cable will freeze up, I dont use it this time of year unless I have to. Brake booster check valve will freeze up , but like said above, spray some teflon or silicone lube in it. Doors can freeze shut, wd 40 on the gaskets keeps from sticking so much, I use some german stuff made just for the gaskets, cant remeber the name. Power steering can be real stiff till warms up and trannys slow to react. Switching all fluids to synthetic helps lots. Old batteries can struggle in the cold. Rear wiper can freeze in the down location so unstick it when your scraping ice off windows. Hit your brakes a few times and make sure they are working before you really need them. Watch out for stupid drivers or can be good driver just with poor tires for the road conditions.
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Kanoe
New member
It's freezing cold driveline resistance. Every component, every piece of rubber, every bit of grease, every fluid is cold and stiff as he11. It IS just like driving with the ebrake on except the resistance is just the truck itself. Nothing wants to move when the temps get well below freezing. Only thing for it is to go slow and let things become more fluid as they warm. I wish you guys could see a bottle of oil at -40,it's like molasses out of the fridge. Tip upside down and wait for something to pour out.
The last 2 weeks we have had temps into the -40s for the morning commute (nearly -50 one day). I warm up the vehicle for 15 minutes then creep away. I do about 5 miles before the car is warm enough to do highway speeds. Just slowly gets looser as you go.
For these temps the 2wd fwd car is a superior beast as there is a lot less to the driveline. 4runner stays parked.
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Vette468
New member
Nebraska here.. weve been near Zero for over a week..and 20- below for a bit.."Icecickles" in my DoorJambs ..my Power Steering Whines..Brake Pedal Stiffens , Both Heaters work Great ! ..New Die Hard Gold 750cca' ..Very Impressed ..even with my Old Tires.. the New Fronts, hardly made a Difference.. these things are Planted !
