Winterizing?

[militiamaiden]

Sorry if this already posted somewhere, I checked for a half hour to try to find one but couldn't. Anyway,

My 93 Accord F22 engine is my daily driver, and unfortunately, not garaged either. My biggest concern is with cold weather coming up, any preparations I should make for the below freezing temps creeping up? My main concern is the "warming up" thing. Do cars' engines really need to "warm up" in cold temps before driving? I've heard 50/50 about this and I'd like to get to the bottom of it.

Not sure if this matters for the process, but it's got a Spectre cold air intake, DC Sports 4-2-1 headers and 2.5" cat back exhaust.

[reklipz]

Warming up the oil will help it to lubricate better, certainly. Not many folks do this though, so take that as you like. How cold do you anticipate it will be?

[militiamaiden]

Warming up the oil will help it to lubricate better, certainly. Not many folks do this though, so take that as you like. How cold do you anticipate it will be?

Anywhere between 30 to -20 Fahrenheit for the peak cold season

[Cb7_Qc]

well i live in quebec where winter temps can drop to -40 celcius and i can tell you that winter is no big deal besides all the calcium they put on the roads to prevent ice and that make your body rust in a blink lol
i'd say tune up wise, just do an oil change for 5w30 instead of 10w30 as this will help on cold starts...5 being the oil viscosity at cold temps and 10 being viscosity at high temps, so its not a big difference for your engine since operating temp viscosity is still 30 but it does help in winter.
and make sure your thermostat is working properly and coolant level is good. you wouldnt want your thermostat to stay stuck closed as you will have no hot air coming from the vents.

as for letting the engine warm up...well its always better since when you get in your car, its already hot so your not freezing your balls on the seats lol...but besides that, engine wise, just drive it smoothly dont go past 2.5k rpm until the engine has warmed up and thats all...winter is no big deal on an engine they have been built and tested under all possible conditions. just dont race it when the engine is cold...wich you shouldnt do even in summer time.

if they put calcium on the roads where you live, i strongly recommand you wash your car once a week, you can do an anti-rust on it, but washing it weekly is the key to keeping your body rust free

[mtnbikaah]

Just make sure your coolant is the proper mix and that your oil is the proper weight. Other than that, you'll be fine. (I used to live in MA.) Oh yeah, and snow tires.

In terms of warming up the car: I just let the car idle for 10 seconds and go. Oil is multi-viscousity for a reason.

[militiamaiden]

well i live in quebec where winter temps can drop to -40 celcius and i can tell you that winter is no big deal besides all the calcium they put on the roads to prevent ice and that make your body rust in a blink lol
i'd say tune up wise, just do an oil change for 5w30 instead of 10w30 as this will help on cold starts...5 being the oil viscosity at cold temps and 10 being viscosity at high temps, so its not a big difference for your engine since operating temp viscosity is still 30 but it does help in winter.
and make sure your thermostat is working properly and coolant level is good. you wouldnt want your thermostat to stay stuck closed as you will have no hot air coming from the vents.

as for letting the engine warm up...well its always better since when you get in your car, its already hot so your not freezing your balls on the seats lol...but besides that, engine wise, just drive it smoothly dont go past 2.5k rpm until the engine has warmed up and thats all...winter is no big deal on an engine they have been built and tested under all possible conditions. just dont race it when the engine is cold...wich you shouldnt do even in summer time.

if they put calcium on the roads where you live, i strongly recommand you wash your car once a week, you can do an anti-rust on it, but washing it weekly is the key to keeping your body rust free

Oil wise and tune up wise I'm good then!

As for heating it up on the inside for myself, my blowers haven't worked since early spring. It won't even blow hot or cold air, and the actual amount of air that comes out is fairly weak and all of this started at the same time. Can't figure out why, but I'm getting some clues...

As for preparing the body for the roads, I hope to get it undercoated soon!

[militiamaiden]

Just make sure your coolant is the proper mix and that your oil is the proper weight. Other than that, you'll be fine. (I used to live in MA.) Oh yeah, and snow tires.

In terms of warming up the car: I just let the car idle for 10 seconds and go. Oil is multi-viscousity for a reason.

I usually let it sit for about 2 minutes, wasn't too sure on how long to let it sit before it goes

[reklipz]

I don't know... BITOG says that even a 0W-30 doesn't lubricate for crap in the cold. There's a series of articles about the topic that I recommend you read if you're serious about the issue.

If you've got the 5 minutes to let the car warm up, do it. If not, keep the RPMs low until the engine has warmed up.

[militiamaiden]

I don't know... BITOG says that even a 0W-30 doesn't lubricate for crap in the cold. There's a series of articles about the topic that I recommend you read if you're serious about the issue.

If you've got the 5 minutes to let the car warm up, do it. If not, keep the RPMs low until the engine has warmed up.

Ohh hmm.. I'll deffly look into that for sure. And I didn't know about the low RPMs thing either.. :x

Thanks for the heads up on that one!

[SlimmTex]

oil Wise And Tune Up Wise I'm Good Then!

As For Heating It Up On The Inside For Myself, My Blowers Haven't Worked Since Early Spring. It Won't Even Blow Hot Or Cold Air, And The Actual Amount Of Air That Comes Out Is Fairly Weak And All Of This Started At The Same Time. Can't Figure Out Why, But I'm Getting Some Clues...

As For Preparing The Body For The Roads, I Hope To Get It Undercoated Soon!

I'd be getting to the bottom of that blower motor issue. You're going to need defroster to safely drive in wintery weather, not to mention freezing your nuts off behind the wheel sucks.

[militiamaiden]

I'd be getting to the bottom of that blower motor issue. You're going to need defroster to safely drive in wintery weather, not to mention freezing your nuts off behind the wheel sucks.

It's been busted for awhile now, I've treated the windows and it helped with fogging significantly, but I'm still cold hah.

My only serious guesses with it is either,
a) Blower motor itself is busted
b) Heating/cooling cores are busted
c) Both

I've checked all wires, fuses, etc etc and everything is good, but I was reading another thread last night about how the thermostat may be sticking or that there's gunk in the tubes. Not sure if that would effect A/C as well since that doesn't work either.

[SlimmTex]

The problem is the fan doesn't turn on right?
Start by checking all your fuses.
If fuse is good just turn on the switch and see if your getting power to the fan. If you're getting power test the ground side, if grounds good replace the fan.
If there's no power you'll need to dig up a wiring diagram and figure out why you're not getting power to the fan (bad switch, short, fuse, etc..)
A thermostat can affect how hot your heat blows but it won't cause it to not blow.

[militiamaiden]

The problem is the fan doesn't turn on right?
Start by checking all your fuses.
If fuse is good just turn on the switch and see if your getting power to the fan. If you're getting power test the ground side, if grounds good replace the fan.
If there's no power you'll need to dig up a wiring diagram and figure out why you're not getting power to the fan (bad switch, short, fuse, etc..)
A thermostat can affect how hot your heat blows but it won't cause it to not blow.

All my fuses are solid, those were the first things I checked. My grounds are good, just redid them all. It gets power, it's just sometimes it won't kick on. It will kick on if I literally smack the fan a few times then it'll come on, but very weak. And like I said earlier, it's weak and usually only blows outside temp. I'm thinking it's shorted or there's a loose wire somewhere, but I'm not sure if that has anything to do with temperature regulating either

[SlimmTex]

It could be short but i think its more likely that the blower motor itself is bad. They aren't too hard to change.
As far as the air it blows not getting hot you could have a clogged heater core, or the blend door isn't moving to the heat position. My previous cb7 had broken linkage between the blend door and the controls in the dash. I had to reach down on the passenger's side under the dash and manually move the blend door to go from heat to cool. Note if the A/C system doesn't work it will blow outside temp if its in the cold position.

I'm assuming the car is filled with coolant and is maintaining proper operating temp.

[militiamaiden]

It could be short but i think its more likely that the blower motor itself is bad. They aren't too hard to change.
As far as the air it blows not getting hot you could have a clogged heater core, or the blend door isn't moving to the heat position. My previous cb7 had broken linkage between the blend door and the controls in the dash. I had to reach down on the passenger's side under the dash and manually move the blend door to go from heat to cool. Note if the A/C system doesn't work it will blow outside temp if its in the cold position.

I'm assuming the car is filled with coolant and is maintaining proper operating temp.

Car itself runs fine, as of the other day, the blower went out completley. Will keep giving updates when I can.