In Need of Heat

In the last two days we have seen the temperature fall nearly 50 degrees (Fahrenheit) here in North Dakota. With wind chill, we're looking at "feels like -50F" outside. It is not a pretty situation.

People start to notice things about their cars in this kind of weather, namely things like a failure to start. Batteries are so cold they simply cannot provide the power the starter requires. Oil is too cold to be an effective lubricant. Antifreeze may potentially be frozen.

This is why we use block heaters: coolant heaters, freeze plug heaters, oil pan heaters, etc. The main goal is to raise the temperature of the engine to something civilized prior to turning the key.

Now, I cannot stress this next point enough: if you live in similar conditions and lack some kind of preheating mechanism (preferably a coolant heater), you are murdering your car. Unless you park in a heated garage, that is.

I am a bad owner, as neither of my cars have a block heater. The temperature drops and I can't drive anywhere... But no more! I have ordered an in-line coolant heater for both cars, and will have everything installed in a few days. Never again will I contend with cranking the engine more than a second or two, and never again will I have to allow the car to "warm up" before I drive away.

In other news, the fuel gelled in the Beetle today... Gary brought over his 10,000BTU propane heater and we were able to fire it up after warming for about an hour. Never again will I be forgetful of the blend ratio of our diesel!

Oil Change Time!

This month I changed my own oil for the first time. It was worth doing for the knowledge alone, but I will likely never do it again. Likely, I will bring it to cheap oil change place and watch them like a hawk while they do it for me.

Some quick points:

1. Change it hot, change it often
2. If there is no clearance to get under your car then you will have a very difficult time
3. Keep an eye out for any leakage after any change

The whole oil changing process is pretty simple:

1. After the engine has had time to warm, shut off the car.
2. Allow the oil to cool to a manageable temperature, maybe 2-5 minutes.
3. Remove the oil filler cap for quicker drainage.
   
4. Remove the petcock on the oil pan and drain the old oil into an oil collector.
5. After the dripping stops, replace the petcock.
6. Remove the oil filter and allow it to drain into the oil collector.
7. Clean the oil filter socket (carburetor cleaner is fine).
8. Rub new oil on the gasket of the new oil filter, as well as in the socket (creates a seal).
9. Install the new oil filter and tighten by hand.
10. Start pouring your new oil.
11. Run the car for several minutes, watching for leaks. Specifically, watch the petcock and oil filter.
    
12. Bring your old oil someplace which handles oil recycling (it's free).

Congratulations, you've changed your oil. Simple, huh? But it's dirty. Really dirty. Plus we've skipped another common service given by those quick lube places: air filter change. No worries, though! I changed my air filter, as well.

It was a huge pain in every imaginable body place.

The Audi doesn't have an easily accessible air filter. Truthfully, the Audi doesn't have an easily accessible air box. I had to remove the metal piping going to my intercooler (cools exhaust headed for the turbocharger), an electrical wiring harness, and a headlight just to get to it. Even then, it took some careful maneuvering to remove and replace the air filter. I'm told I should be doing at least this once a year. I'm also told it's much simpler in most cars. However, since it's a royal pain in mine I will likely rely upon the quick lube places to sort it out. I'll just need to watch them very closely to make sure they actually change it.

I could have ended my punishment there, but no! I am a glutton. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to change my fuel filter, as well. I believe I'm having fuel delivery problems which have been worsened by the cold weather, and had reason enough to believe there may have been moisture in the fuel filter. Surprisingly, the auto parts store had the filter I needed in stock.

I couldn't find an official procedure in my repair manual for replacing the fuel filter, so I had to wing it. My friend Dusty noted there must be some way to depressurize the fuel lines, which I guessed would be pulling the fuel pump relay in the fuse box and turning the key. Close enough, I think. Following this, I disconnected the battery.

The fuel filter was tightened down strong. It is basically a large cylinder with one fuel line coming in one side and another fuel line going out the other side. While loosening the fuel filter, fuel began to leak into the engine compartment. Oops. I guess I didn't *really* depressurize the system. Better luck next time! The fuel filter itself was full of fuel, and needed to be drained. Dusty's garage is vented, so we ran the fan to clear out the vapors and odor. Replacing the fuel filter was simply the same process in reverse. Well, switch around starting the car and installing the fuel pump relay in the fuse box. And reconnect the battery last. All in all a very simple process.

That wrapped up my work on Casper for the night. I learned a few things:

1. It is very likely to be cheaper, and will very likely be faster to have your oil and fuel filter changed by a service... Just watch them closely and complain if they don't fully drain your oil. For serious.
2. If you do change your own oil, get your car up off the ground. You can likely reach everything while it is not, but life is so much simpler when it's jacked up.
3. Hot oil is hot, and I don't mean sexy. Unless that's what you're into.
4. An oil change every 3000 miles is a decent choice, but my repair manual calls for one every 7000... and states explicitly to use synthetic. Be familiar with what your manual says, not what the oil change place says.
5. If you're noticing your oil looks dull and black, change it more frequently. It gets this way as the filter is not able to remove small pieces of metal and other pieces of waste that end up in the system. For this reason, I appreciate that some oil change places will actually show you what your old oil looked like without being asked. So maybe your manual says 7000, too, but changing at 3000 still yields filthy black oil. Change it sooner!