Engine recommendations for cold climate

[bh10!]

Counterpoint: most modern gassers seem to have an unhealthy appetite for eating camshafts...

Gas on their own are the way to go for cold. Two years ago I was pushing snow on a -25*F day with a 1953 gas tractor. Both Bronco and F-150 started and moved out of their spots in the driveway so I could clear it and the carbureted Ranger even woke up after a two week nap to pull the Bronco out of a snowdrift.

It was a fun memorable day.

Its not a camshaft issue its a hydraulic lifter issue, which then takes out the camshaft

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Its not a camshaft issue its a hydraulic lifter issue, which then takes out the camshaft

Or its an oiling issue (often from the variable displacement system) that starves the lifters from proper lubrication.

However you want to dice it the camshafts suffer greatly. And they used to last forever, especially with roller lifters.

 

[COAKXterra]

We have a 6.4 hemi up here in AK. I plug it in at home when temps drop below 20F, but that’s for convenience. It’s started easy enough well below that without plug in both here and the year we spent in ND. I did a trip from ND to AK a few years ago where temps were at/below -40 for more than half the trip. Plugged in at night, but stops during the day (including a lengthy one at Liard) were unheated. No issues starting. I’ll throw my vote into the “gasser with a good battery” column.

And fwiw… all of the “light” vehicle fleet (e350 vans and f250/350 pickups) used by the USAP at McMurdo station in Antarctica use gas engines. The kiwis use diesel and deep field generally uses diesel, but a lot of that also is due to fuel sourcing simplicity. Easier to run everything on AN8 (Antarctic blend jet fuel) than have to deal with mogas/gasoline once removed from the McMurdo area. Snowmachines/snowmobiles not included.

 

[arveetek]

My diesel truck gelled up on me last year when it got down to -15ish in Missouri. The fuel was treated with Howes, but apparently not enough. It sat for a couple days until it warmed up outside. Same thing happened to several coworkers. Some of the other guys had no issue. I'd guess those of us that had trouble got summer fuel even though that shouldn't have been possible in the middle of winter.

I have had my diesel trucks gel up about three or four times over the past 30 years here in SW Missouri, even with using fuel treatments. I don't think we get the "winter" fuel like they do up north, even though the fuel stations around here say it's treated for winter time. If the temps get in the teens or below, I'm quite religious about adding extra anti-gel formula to the tank.

Casey