Texas Finally Gets Winter Weather?

[Elemino]

Well right now it's 71º outside, and yesterday it was almost 80º. I know some of you are like that's crazy because I see temps in the single digits up north. The leaves finally fell from the trees last week, and today the temp will drop like a boulder in water. The cold air that has been up north finally gets here and we receive our first freeze of the year along with the first snow/sleet in over two.

So to get ready, I finally get some windshield washer fluid because my tank has been empty for a while now. As soon as I pour some in I see it start pouring from the bottom of the car. Thinking of how old this car is I thought the tank had cracked. I looked and found a hose just lying beside it so I stuck my hand down there found a place and hooked it up. My question: is there anything that is supposed to hold that thing onto the tank? It felt pretty loose when I pushed it back on. I don't want it to come off again and lose all my washer fluid... which btw is rain-x... not the super cheap stuff.

Also, just curious. I know it gets waaaaaay colder up north... do you guys warm up your cars before driving them? If you do, how long? Keep in mind, cold here is usually 20's and sometimes mid to upper teens. Still, I've had a tranny go out of me in my dad's '87 vic and the shop blamed the cold weather for it. The say the cold weather is very hard on big cars in this age bracket.

BTW... (just random trivia) the last time it snowed/sleeted here was December 2004 the week before christmas. The storm actually made it all the way to Mexico and Brownsville, TX & Corpus Christi, TX both received a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! That's unheard of here, not to mention cities 400 miles south of here.

[joedogg]

It never gets too cold here, its always threatening 80's. I hate this place, the only time the weather is dependable is the hot humid summers.

I dont think anything keeps that on, the hose might just be old and losing its grip. I know from the coolant overflow I had the hose come off and not want to go back on, I got new hose from advance. Just fuel hose I think, it worked just fine. I used the same thing for my power steering return hose, if I remember correctly.

[Dereck]

.....My question: is there anything that is supposed to hold that thing onto the tank? It felt pretty loose when I pushed it back on.

Also, just curious. I know it gets waaaaaay colder up north... do you guys warm up your cars before driving them? If you do, how long?

Hi Elemino

You probably need to trim a 1/4 inch of the end of that pipe to give it a "new" piece to grip on.

I have a remote start and in the colder weather (30 degrees or colder) start my car from the comfort of my favourite armchair a few minutes before setting off.

Regards

Dereck

[Elemino]

Hi Elemino

You probably need to trim a 1/4 inch of the end of that pipe to give it a "new" piece to grip on.

I have a remote start and in the colder weather (30 degrees or colder) start my car from the comfort of my favourite armchair a few minutes before setting off.

Regards

DereckI love remote start. I have it too. I think my thermostat may need replacing. I can remote start my car, let it run 5 minutes, and be pratically half way on my trip before the heater switch cuts on and i got heat in the car. I don't know if its that switch or if the car is just taking forever to warm up. That's one reason I'm worried about the transmission not getting warm quick enough. I don't need destroyed parts.

[87 town]

Well right now it's 71º outside, and yesterday it was almost 80º. I know some of you are like that's crazy because I see temps in the single digits up north. The leaves finally fell from the trees last week, and today the temp will drop like a boulder in water. The cold air that has been up north finally gets here and we receive our first freeze of the year along with the first snow/sleet in over two.

So to get ready, I finally get some windshield washer fluid because my tank has been empty for a while now. As soon as I pour some in I see it start pouring from the bottom of the car. Thinking of how old this car is I thought the tank had cracked. I looked and found a hose just lying beside it so I stuck my hand down there found a place and hooked it up. My question: is there anything that is supposed to hold that thing onto the tank? It felt pretty loose when I pushed it back on. I don't want it to come off again and lose all my washer fluid... which btw is rain-x... not the super cheap stuff.

Also, just curious. I know it gets waaaaaay colder up north... do you guys warm up your cars before driving them? If you do, how long? Keep in mind, cold here is usually 20's and sometimes mid to upper teens. Still, I've had a tranny go out of me in my dad's '87 vic and the shop blamed the cold weather for it. The say the cold weather is very hard on big cars in this age bracket.

BTW... (just random trivia) the last time it snowed/sleeted here was December 2004 the week before christmas. The storm actually made it all the way to Mexico and Brownsville, TX & Corpus Christi, TX both received a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! That's unheard of here, not to mention cities 400 miles south of here.

Yeah, i would trim the end of the rotten rubber hose off or maybe use a little metal round screw type clamp to hold it on. as far as warming up the car. "Always", even in the warmer weather i warm it at least long enough for the idle to cycle down before I put her in gear and longer in the colder weather. To me, the worst thing you can do to any car in the cold weather is start her up and just go. Want that oil to circulate well before I put any load on the engine.

[TheAudioGuru]

maybe thats why my washer fluid bottle keeps leaking.....:)

ill have to go check that out...

[Red91SiT]

Yeah, i would trim the end of the rotten rubber hose off or maybe use a little metal round screw type clamp to hold it on. as far as warming up the car. "Always", even in the warmer weather i warm it at least long enough for the idle to cycle down before I put her in gear and longer in the colder weather. To me, the worst thing you can do to any car in the cold weather is start her up and just go. Want that oil to circulate well before I put any load on the engine.


I've always done the exact opposite, most engine wear occurs on freshly started cold engines, the sooner it's up to operating temperatures, the less wear and tear on the motor. Driving it warms it up in less than half the time of idling it. Idling a cold engine is one of the highest wear conditions for a motor.

I never really thought about the transmission though, on my drive home it was clearly having a difficult time, and it was only 6 out, I wonder what it's goign to be like when it's -30 :-(

[Elemino]

I have to believe (and I'm sure most others will agree with me) that you put way more wear on the engine with it cold and being driven than being cold and idling. At idle it's not doing much more than turning over, but not making much power at all. You take off driving and suddenly you're putting stress on the metals by causing them to warm up too fast and unevenly, you're trying to get power out of the crank while things are still cold, and worst of all, the tranny isn't ready to go yet. (Keep in mind your transmission fluid is flowing through the radiator which is ambient temp prior to the thermostat opening. Don't forget about windchill factor too.) Not to mention all kinds of other things that can be happening that I don't even know about. In temps that cold I'd let my car run at least 5 minutes before driving it, and then when I did start to drive I'd take it easy for a while until it was up to operating temps.

The news on the weather... our meteorologist say they've never seen a Tornado and Winter advisory in effect at the same time before, but that's what we got right now. If there's one thing true about Texas weather, it's how unpredictable it is. LOL

[Red91SiT]

I have to believe (and I'm sure most others will agree with me) that you put way more wear on the engine with it cold and being driven than being cold and idling. At idle it's not doing much more than turning over, but not making much power at all. You take off driving and suddenly you're putting stress on the metals by causing them to warm up too fast and unevenly, you're trying to get power out of the crank while things are still cold, and worst of all, the tranny isn't ready to go yet. (Keep in mind your transmission fluid is flowing through the radiator which is ambient temp prior to the thermostat opening. Don't forget about windchill factor too.) Not to mention all kinds of other things that can be happening that I don't even know about. In temps that cold I'd let my car run at least 5 minutes before driving it, and then when I did start to drive I'd take it easy for a while until it was up to operating temps.

The news on the weather... our meteorologist say they've never seen a Tornado and Winter advisory in effect at the same time before, but that's what we got right now. If there's one thing true about Texas weather, it's how unpredictable it is. LOL

I have a nearly sealed engine bay, so windchill is not a factor. The point I was trying to make (most experts agree with me) is that during idling, your car will use more fuel, and the engine will turn over many more times for it to get to the same temperature as if you take off (driving softly). The idling still wears out the moving parts of the engine just as much as if you were driving, (nearly same rpms) but since the engine only has to over come pumping losses and internal friction, it generates far less heat requiring more revolutions, wear and tear, to accomplish the same results.

Audi agrees with me on this one, ;) and I'd agree with them on this subject.

http://www.terrapass.com/terrablog/posts/2006/02/conservation-tip-idle-engines-are-the-devils-tools.html

http://energysolutionsalberta.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=932

http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2003/May/03.html

Now dont' get me wrong, when it starts getting down to 30 below, i do start my car a little while before i leave, but this is mostly due to safety. My hands and feet instantly go numb, my tires freeze with flat spots on them, my breath instantly condensates, and freezes on all surfaces, and other horrible horrible things from this frozen hell I currently reside in.

[Elemino]

Audi never made nearly 20 year old Ford 302's and AOD trannies. :D I'm sure things are a little different for newer cars, as their engines are made completely different. Newer cars have plastic on the engine, different technologies, much closer tolerances, and even better technology in the metals used to make them. As someone who had to spend $1500 on having an AOD rebuilt because the car wasn't warm enough when I started driving... I think it is well worth the little bit of wear on the engine. That's where that expensive Mobile 1 extended performance oil I used is supposed to kick in. But of course a car is going to use "more gas" at idle. It's getting 0MPG. Technically it's not using more gas, it's just not being as efficient. You probably use more gas in Drive with the engine idle than you do in park with it idle.

[gadget73]

I never really thought about the transmission though, on my drive home it was clearly having a difficult time, and it was only 6 out, I wonder what it's goign to be like when it's -30 :-(

I'd suggest changing out the fluid if its old. The old fluid tends to thicken up somewhat, which becomes an issue in extreme cold. It also might not hurt any to install an engine block heater if you don't already have one up there. A friend lives in North Dakota and he has them for his car. They go in place of one of the freeze plugs.

[Elemino]

I'd suggest changing out the fluid if its old. The old fluid tends to thicken up somewhat, which becomes an issue in extreme cold. It also might not hurt any to install an engine block heater if you don't already have one up there. A friend lives in North Dakota and he has them for his car. They go in place of one of the freeze plugs.A new filter wouldn't hurt either.

[98TC-Cartier]

Also, just curious. I know it gets waaaaaay colder up north... do you guys warm up your cars before driving them? If you do, how long? Keep in mind, cold here is usually 20's and sometimes mid to upper teens. Still, I've had a tranny go out of me in my dad's '87 vic and the shop blamed the cold weather for it. The say the cold weather is very hard on big cars in this age bracket.



The shop was pulling the wool over your eyes, and emptying your wallet at the same time. 20F isn't cold. -20F is cold and -40F is f'n freezing to death cold.

At 20F no warmup, get in start, into drive and go. No warming up required. At 10 to -20F yes you will warm it up for maybe a minute or two, gives the electric seat heaters time to take the chill off the leather. The block heater and in car plugin heater help lots.

[Elemino]

The shop was pulling the wool over your eyes, and emptying your wallet at the same time. 20F isn't cold. -20F is cold and -40F is f'n freezing to death cold.

At 20F no warmup, get in start, into drive and go. No warming up required. At 10 to -20F yes you will warm it up for maybe a minute or two, gives the electric seat heaters time to take the chill off the leather. The block heater and in car plugin heater help lots.Ha, yea that's funny. Unfortunately you'd have to explain the same thing to a friend of mine who had the same thing happen to his 95 Cadi Fleetwood. Different shop, gave the same reason. There is the possibility that because we're in TX, things may be a little different. Those trannies have to work in Temps from the teens to the teens above 100º here. I don't know, because I'm no engineer, but I see it as odd the same thing happened to two different cars at the same (within about 3 weeks of each other) and two different shops gave the same reason for failure. I'm not sure what actually failed in the Cadi's transmission, but on the vic the shop said the 3rd and OD planetary gears self destructed... sounds like a stress related issue to me.

Symptom: Car accelerates fine until after second gear where it seemed to shift into neutral instead of 3rd.

Just curious... you guys that believe cars need no warm-up... do you also think short stop and go trips don't hurt the drive train?

[98TC-Cartier]

Temps here got down to -30F and colder, in summer it can hit 100F, operating temp in an automatic in summer is over 200F, so outside temps have little to do with thermal stress on trans parts compared to internal operating temps.

Short stop an go trips are hard on everything in a car, so is idling to let it warm up. :)

Fox max engine life, buy a new car, TC for comfort, wouldn't want to punish you :) , get on I-10 and drive 18 hrs a day. Stop for food, sleep and gas as needed, change the oil (Mobil1) every 10k, diff fluid at 25k for Mobil1, trans fluid and serp belt every 50-75k; alt, waterpump and belt idler pulleys, tires and light bulbs as needed. You will be in that car a loooooooonnnnnnngggggg time before you wear out many mechanical things or internal parts in the engine or transmission. Pretty sure you will still have a smoothly running 07 TC with 450k miles on it before the end of next year. :) Not sure how long the CD changer will last tho :(

[Elemino]

Ok we need actually scientific proof. But, since we can't provide it right now we'll just say either way whatever is best for you. I do know that my car doesn't drive right if I just start it up and go, so I still won't do that.

One other thing. Someone posted an article last year sometime about a guy that conducted business in his Late 80's TC. The guy warmed up his car 5 to 6 minutes before driving it every morning and he put 650,000 miles on the engine before he retired the car.

I just can't believe it's good for your car to be driving it producing all kinds of heat on one end of the block and the other end is still frozen. As much as metal expands and contracts it just seems like a good way to cause leaks, warped parts, and broken bolts. The oil isn't warm and it may have moisture in it or it may not be lubricating the valve train properly yet causing even more wear as you rev the engine... But, like I said, to each his own. If it comes down to anything, I don't like getting in my car with it freezing cold. :D