Winterization and moving

[MagicDot]

Hello, all. I've been lurking for quite awhile and have learned much and appreciate the community here. I've gotten more than one fix or bit of knowledge out of here.. So I hate that my first post is a question because I have given nothing back to the community while I lurked, but that's because I am only learning.

I am moving to Fairbanks Alaska in about 3 weeks. I have a stock 2004 v6 Runner with 76000 on the clock. I'm coming from the eastern coast and moving 4000 miles north west and need to have my truck up to snuff. I know I have to winterize it with heaters and different fluids, but I'd like to have the opinion of someone from this community to what is the best way or parts to buy as opposed to getting there and some money grubbing mechanic selling me on what I don't need.

I do my own work on my vehicles so the mechanical part of it isn't a worry to me, but I can't exactly find any manual with specs for the temperatures I will be witnessing that far north. Do any of you guys have opinions or knowledge on this or live in an area that can help me out with some info or suggestions?

One of these days I'll join some of the big dogs here with lifts and such as I bought the truck for that purpose, but right now I just need it to be willing to do the work I need it to do at the moment. ;-) oh. And I need to get back to making the money I used to so I can have bigger and better toys... Hence the move.

Lemme know your thoughts and opinions. I've watched and read for quite a few years.

 

[ebg18t]

Change out all your fluids so they are fresh. Look for the oem block heater & oil pan heater kits.

 

[RunnerAK]

Cool, what is bringing you to Fairbanks? I lived up there for 8 years and still travel there regularly for work.

As for winterization, Fairbanks regularly gets down to -40F or colder during the winter, so our cars all had the following:

Heaters:
*Engine block heater
*Oil pan heater
*Battery heating pad (some people add a battery blanket too, but our cars did fine without them)

Fluids:
*Fill windshield washer reservoir with low temperature fluid (all the stores up there sell it)
*The stock weight 5W30 engine oil does fine as long as you plug in your heaters when it gets really cold
*Make sure your coolant is the proper mix and doesn't have too much water in it (stock Toyota coolant is fine, but be careful if you've replaced it with aftermarket stuff or added water)

Tires:
*Get a good set of studded (preferable IMO) or non-studded winter tires. I like to have a second set of rims for my winter tires so I can just change them out myself each season (although TPMS makes this a pain if you don't disable it).

All the dealers in Fairbanks sell "winterization packages" which consist of the heaters listed above, you can just buy the parts from them and save on labor since you do your own work and they're not hard to install. Our set ups simply ran the 3 plugs from the heater into a 3 way "outdoor" power strip mounted under the hood (Which the dealerships would charge you $50+ for but you can also find them at WalMart or Fred Meyer stores up there for $10-$15). The plug from the power strip is then run out the grille and secured with zip ties. The stores also sell "low temperature" extension cords that hold up a little better in the cold, although I can tell you from experience that the plastic sheathing can still crunch and break up like potato chips when you try to coil it up at -45F.

Most apartments, houses, and places of work have outlets in the parking lots to plug into. I'd suggest getting an outlet timer (also sold at Fred Meyers for ~$10) that turns on the power to the outlet around 4 hours before you go to work and shuts it off during the rest of the night. Electricity is very expensive in Fairbanks so the timer will pay for itself pretty quickly.

Also, when it is really cold out, you want to limit the amount of air running through your radiator/engine bay or else your engine will never get up to temperature and your heater wont blow hot. You'll see some people have fancy ($$) custom fitted grille covers for this, but we used to just cut a piece of cardboard each winter and wedge it in front of the radiator, it was free and worked well (just remember to remove it when things start to warm up again). I've seen lots of people running around with tinfoil slapped on over their grilles too, but I always stuck to my stealth cardboard solution.

Auto starts are also a nice luxury to have. I've never had one, so I carried a second key so I could run out and start my car 20 minutes before I left work every day. Makes for a more pleasant drive home when it is well below zero out.

Also, when it is -30F or below out, your car will usually ride really rough for the first few minutes of driving in the morning due to flat spots on the cold tires. It takes a few minutes of driving for the frozen rubber to warm up enough to round out again.

Lastly (safety spiel), keep a sleeping bag or some spare warm clothing in your car during the winter. Towns up here are few and far between, so if you break down or run off the road when it is 40 below out, it can become a matter of life and death very quickly.

Whew, I wrote a lot more than I thought I would. Let me know if you have any more questions about Alaska or Fairbanks and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[Nuke]

.... I can tell you from experience that the plastic sheathing can still crunch and break up like potato chips when you try to coil it up at -45F....

Yeah, well, it gets really cold in Florida, too. We actually got BELOW FREEZING 2 or 3 times last winter. Below 60 degrees F, we're in coats. I haven't even FELT temps below 70 for our night time lows in about 4 months.

-45F is just.... wrong. I went thru many a winter below 0 when I lived in PA and the Chicago burbs but -45? You need your heads examined.

 

[MagicDot]

Cool, what is bringing you to Fairbanks? I lived up there for 8 years and still travel there regularly for work.

I've always wanted to go and try my hand at living in Alaska.. I dunno. I guess it's the last frontier any more. The old lady got a contract with the school as she's an autism specialist. So... I get a free ride I guess. What do you do for work where you travel there on a regular basis? Need an electrician? ;-)

As for winterization, Fairbanks regularly gets down to -40F or colder during the winter, so our cars all had the following:

Heaters:
*Engine block heater
*Oil pan heater
*Battery heating pad (some people add a battery blanket too, but our cars did fine without them)

Thanks for the reply. A question on the heaters.. ..the ones I've seen online look like they're some sort of pad that must have double stick tape on the other side. Are these the best ideas? Do you have a recommendation for the kW I'd need for my truck? I've read that the dipstick oil heater is a bad idea as it can catch fire..

*The stock weight 5W30 engine oil does fine as long as you plug in your heaters when it gets really cold
*Make sure your coolant is the proper mix and doesn't have too much water in it (stock Toyota coolant is fine, but be careful if you've replaced it with aftermarket stuff or added water)

I've read that synthetics are a choice idea, but I've got 78,000 on the clock and have also read that unless you run synthetics from the get-go, that they'll only be a PITA as the regular oils will seal and protect better because the engine has worn it's little grooves in that synthetics will escape from easier..

I'm assuming any type of coolant is ok? Or is there something else for those really cold days? I think I read somewhere not to exceed 70/30 mix of coolant to water. What do you do when it warms up? Drain some and add water or doesn't it matter?

Tires:
*Get a good set of studded (preferable IMO) or non-studded winter tires. I like to have a second set of rims for my winter tires so I can just change them out myself each season (although TPMS makes this a pain if you don't disable it).

I was planing on buying another set of rims just for this very idea. I guess I won't have any problem locating them there as I'd sooner save truck space for things like clothes and the dog. ;-)

But. Studded tires? I didn't even know they really made those any more. I remember my grandfather having them on his patrol car. Are modern day studded tires going to last for a long while or is a modern day snow tire a better way to go?

And how do you disable the TPMS .. I could google, but I'm lazy ATM. ;-)

All the dealers in Fairbanks sell "winterization packages" which consist of the heaters listed above, you can just buy the parts from them and save on labor since you do your own work and they're not hard to install. Our set ups simply ran the 3 plugs from the heater into a 3 way "outdoor" power strip mounted under the hood (Which the dealerships would charge you $50+ for but you can also find them at WalMart or Fred Meyer stores up there for $10-$15). The plug from the power strip is then run out the grille and secured with zip ties. The stores also sell "low temperature" extension cords that hold up a little better in the cold, although I can tell you from experience that the plastic sheathing can still crunch and break up like potato chips when you try to coil it up at -45F.

Lol. I've been wondering if my "cold weather" cords I've bought for winters here will fare very well in colds like I'm expecting there. Do all the heaters come with long cords themselves to make it to one spot in the engine bay or should I expect to do some splicing and soldering?

Most apartments, houses, and places of work have outlets in the parking lots to plug into. I'd suggest getting an outlet timer (also sold at Fred Meyers for ~$10) that turns on the power to the outlet around 4 hours before you go to work and shuts it off during the rest of the night. Electricity is very expensive in Fairbanks so the timer will pay for itself pretty quickly.

Dually noted.

Also, when it is really cold out, you want to limit the amount of air running through your radiator/engine bay or else your engine will never get up to temperature and your heater wont blow hot.

Yeah. Someone from another forum told me to save all my fancy moving boxes for this very reason. I shall do this as this is a shoe string budget move at the moment.

Auto starts are also a nice luxury to have. I've never had one, so I carried a second key so I could run out and start my car 20 minutes before I left work every day. Makes for a more pleasant drive home when it is well below zero out.

I think I'll get one for the old lady, but this one is out of my truck budget at the moment.

Also, when it is -30F or below out, your car will usually ride really rough for the first few minutes of driving in the morning due to flat spots on the cold tires. It takes a few minutes of driving for the frozen rubber to warm up enough to round out again.

I read something about filling the tires with nitrogen? Does this stop the flat spots or are the flat spots really just about the rubber being so cold?

Lastly (safety spiel), keep a sleeping bag or some spare warm clothing in your car during the winter. Towns up here are few and far between, so if you break down or run off the road when it is 40 below out, it can become a matter of life and death very quickly.

..the old lady thinks I'm being crazy about having a survival kit in each vehicle.. I don't think she really realizes what she is getting into..

But. Thanks for the information. You've been very helpful.

Whew, I wrote a lot more than I thought I would. Let me know if you have any more questions about Alaska or Fairbanks and I'll do my best to answer them.

What's the liquor supply like up there? ;-) Am i going to pay an arm and a leg for the basics, beer and whiskey? Are there any issues w/ the plastics in the vehicles when it gets that cold?

Thanks for your time and patience in answering my questions. It makes me feel much more comfortable when I have advice from those who've been there.

 

[RunnerAK]

Sorry for the late response, I was out backpacking over the long weekend.

I've always wanted to go and try my hand at living in Alaska.. I dunno. I guess it's the last frontier any more. The old lady got a contract with the school as she's an autism specialist. So... I get a free ride I guess. What do you do for work where you travel there on a regular basis? Need an electrician? ;-)

I'm an engineer on the Trans Alaska Pipeline and one of our major bases of operation is in Fairbanks (I'm based in Anchorage now). You shouldn’t have a problem finding work as an electrician. There seems to be a major shortage of them up here, several jobs I’ve been involved with had to import electricians from the lower 48 because there weren’t enough in the state to fill the demand.

A question on the heaters.. ..the ones I've seen online look like they're some sort of pad that must have double stick tape on the other side. Are these the best ideas? Do you have a recommendation for the kW I'd need for my truck? I've read that the dipstick oil heater is a bad idea as it can catch fire..

I've been wondering if my "cold weather" cords I've bought for winters here will fare very well in colds like I'm expecting there. Do all the heaters come with long cords themselves to make it to one spot in the engine bay or should I expect to do some splicing and soldering?

The oil pan heaters are generally the stick-on pad type that you describe, and they work well. The block heaters replace one of the engine’s freeze plugs, and the battery heaters are just a pad that sits in the battery tray underneath the battery. They all come with several feet of cord to get them to where you need in the engine bay; all plug and play with no need for soldering. Call up Kendall Toyota in Fairbanks (888-487-2514) and they should be able to give you specifics, and would probably be happy to sell you the correct parts. I can’t recall the exact wattage of the heaters, but it is relatively high (~800-1000 watts), which is why you’ll want an outlet timer.

I've read that synthetics are a choice idea, but I've got 78,000 on the clock and have also read that unless you run synthetics from the get-go, that they'll only be a PITA as the regular oils will seal and protect better because the engine has worn it's little grooves in that synthetics will escape from easier..

As for oil, I’ve switched several higher mileage vehicles (including our ’07 4runner at 83k) over to synthetics without leaks or problems. The synthetics really do run/pour better in the cold.

I'm assuming any type of coolant is ok? Or is there something else for those really cold days? I think I read somewhere not to exceed 70/30 mix of coolant to water. What do you do when it warms up? Drain some and add water or doesn't it matter?

For coolant, I’d probably stick with the stock Toyota long life stuff to be safe. In our past vehicles (non-4Runners), we used the Prestone 50/50 mix without issues in Fairbanks.

I was planing on buying another set of rims just for this very idea. I guess I won't have any problem locating them there as I'd sooner save truck space for things like clothes and the dog. ;-)

Yeah, you can usually find decent deals on used sets of stock rims on craigslist from someone with a 4Runner/FJ/Tacoma/6 bolt Tundra that has upgraded.

Studded tires? I didn't even know they really made those any more. I remember my grandfather having them on his patrol car. Are modern day studded tires going to last for a long while or is a modern day snow tire a better way to go?

Modern studded tires will last many seasons as long as you switch them out each summer. Non-studded snow tires have made great strides in the last 10 years or so for most snow conditions, but nothing beats hundreds of carbide spikes for serious ice traction. You can often find lightly used sets of studded/winter tires on craigslist too. Fairbanks has two military bases nearby so there is a lot of turnover where people rotate out for warmer climes and sell off their winter tires with only one or two seasons of use.

I read something about filling the tires with nitrogen? Does this stop the flat spots or are the flat spots really just about the rubber being so cold?

The flat spots on the tires are mainly from the rubber being so cold, but can be exacerbated by the loss in pressure from the air contracting due to sudden temperature drops. Pure nitrogen supposedly helps because it doesn’t expand/contract with temperature changes as much as regular “air” (which is ~78% nitrogen anyway). I’d never pay extra for straight nitrogen, but some tire shops will put it in for free when changing out tires.

What's the liquor supply like up there? ;-) Am i going to pay an arm and a leg for the basics, beer and whiskey? Are there any issues w/ the plastics in the vehicles when it gets that cold?

Liquor is never in short supply up here, although the prices are probaly going to be higher than you're used to.

You definitely have to be mindful of the plastics becoming brittle in the extreme cold. Those expensive plastic bumper covers found on all modern vehicles will crack with the slightest bump at 40 below (ask me how I know…), and all the little plastic tabs that hold various pieces of the car together will snap off much easier.

Good luck on the move, if you are driving be sure to pick up a copy of the Milepost, it is an awesome resource for driving from the lower 48 to AK.

 

[ZiaMan]

I've read that synthetics are a choice idea, but I've got 78,000 on the clock and have also read that unless you run synthetics from the get-go, that they'll only be a PITA as the regular oils will seal and protect better because the engine has worn it's little grooves in that synthetics will escape from easier..

Oil technolgy has really come a long, long way. The difference between synthetic and conventional has blurred quite a bit. You should have no problem switching between brands/types. For Alaska, I would recommend a 0w-30. This will give you the thinnest oil at start-up (the 0w part) and 30wt oil at once up to operating temp. Mobil1 0w-30 is great oil you can find almost anywhere. There are some boutique oils like Amsoil or Redline, or mix 50-50 or 60/40 of Toyota 0w-20 and Mobil1 0w-40 that will give you a phenom 0w-30. If you want to learn more, check out bobistheoilguy.com

 

[MagicDot]

I just want to thank you all for all your advice. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, but you know those damn cross-country moves require a lot of work. ;-) I really appreciate your time and knowledge in these matters and have printed everything out to go in my truck bundle. Thanks again. See ya'll on the Sub-Artic.