A lesson in Metallurgy.

Ralph Moore

Ralph Moore

Well-known member
Well I was working on a project this weekend, and needed parts off a rig that was partially burried in a snow bank. No problem, I just hooked up my 4wd truck and yanked on it. After breaking a tow strap, I decided to use a chain. After a couple tries the chain slipped off, or so I thought. This is what happens when you pull on a solid piece of 3/4" steel at 60 degrees below zero.:eek: Needless to say the project is still burried, Oh well, it will thaw out about May.
 

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That's cold - too cold for me to even imagine! It was -2C in the garage last night so I decided to find something to do indoors in the warm :)
 
Does not have to be 60 below, did that here in TN with my Bronco pulling a F6 off one cold Feb morning at about - 10 or so.
 
Good thing no one was standing behind your truck when it snapped! That chain could have been lethal.
 
You have to keep 'em plugged in or they won't start. Up here that means a coolant heater(or block heater), an oil pan and ****** pan heat pad, and a battery heater.
Now when you get it started, it won't move for a while, so you go back and forth, until it begins to creep forward.Then as you drive down the road(sitting much higher than normal because the seat foam won't go down) you drive on four tires with flat spots for a couple miles till they get warmed up.
Oh, and your brakes don't work very well, because the fluid is like molasses.
 
Many people fly rather than drive in the great white north due to the obvious lack of roads way in the out yonder. Back in early days (and maybe a few still do in some cases), they used to drain the engine oil after shut down before it congealed then they'd heat it up on a stove prior to pouring it back in for a run to the nearest town. Every sort of heater & smudge pot you could imagine was used to warm stuff up prior to even attempting a start. Some big aircraft even used fuel to dilute the oil prior to starting just to thin it out. Only a controlled portion of oil was diluted in the special oil tanks then the fuel would evaporate as the engine warmed up and oil was further mixed with the rest of the oil in the tank.

With Herman Nelson heaters and electric heaters and such this laborous and sometimes dangerous practice has been deep sixed by most folks.

Kerby
 
My lesson learned was needing new plug wires on both vehicles when I moved up there. The resistance goes through the roof at those temperatures.

Lonnie
 
Being a Southern California resident, you guys are talking "Alternate Reality" in my comprehension. How can you live like that? Summers are beautiful, but ....... BURRRRRRRR
 
That brisk chillin feeling is why I'm in south Texas now. My ears, nose, fingers, & toes still remind me every time it gets even a little bit below 20 degrees F. That and the damn bird sized mosquitos that thrive on warmed up cold country soil in the summer time was the other reason.

Kerby
 
When I was a kid back in the mid-50's working in a Texaco Station I read this in some literature lying around the station. This man in Alaska bought a new fan belt for his car and was walking home. A dog ran out at him and he hit the dog with his new fan belt. The belt shattered! I have not thought of this in many, many years until I read this post.

Shadetree
 
I had been reading on the news about your record cold up there. But man, thats bad.Thats a beautiful place, I stopped over there in 68 on the way to the war and always wanted to go back for a visit but not in the winter. You guys are some kind of tough.
 
Besides the metallurgy, it tells you a lot about the snow up there!

I don't know how you guys survive up there.
 
When I lived in Anchorage back in the late 60s when it got really cold, like in the -40s and -50,s, we would not shut off or cars except when at work or at home. Everyone had block heaters and most of the businesses had electrical outlets at the curb so you could plug in. If you only going go be shopping for a half hour of so you just let your car run with heater going full blast. I use to have to scrape the ice off the inside of me windows. It was so cold that any water in your fuel tank would freeze and you could hear it banging around in the tank. I had a 55 Oldsmobile that was not real fond of the cold. That old Hydromatic did not want to shift when real cold. Looking back being 21 it was a great adventure.
 
Yea, and it's real hard on engines too. For about the first minute or so you hear rods knocking until the oil reaches them. Imagine trying to drink molasses through a straw. Luckily I won't be firing up my Flatheads at those temps.
 
"For about the first minute or so you hear rods knocking until the oil reaches them. Imagine trying to drink molasses through a straw."

I hear ya! I always liked to keep my engines at a minimum RPM until the oil got circulated. These computer controlled engines will go to 1500-1800 RPMs at startup and there is nothing you can do to change it.
 
I remember it being so cold in the garage I decided find something to do inside ................she will be 33 in August........
 
It was -70 when I was there..When that happens and you talk outside, you have to save the words and go inside and thaw them out to hear what was said.
 
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