Any winter survival tips?

Having woke up this this morning to be greeted by snow on the mountains and my in-laws 17 grand Honda 4x4 with the bonnet up and a "mystery starting fault" that still hasnt been fixed i wondered what can be done to get my 1996 LPG Disco V8efi through the long cold wet winter with as little fuss as possible, im going to make sure the antifreeze/screenwash are all topped up, im gonna spray litterally everything with WD40 to try to prevent any damp/electrical faults, ive read quite a few threads where discos seem to refuse to start if left for any period of time so im gonna try to go out in it at least once a day but if i dont go out 1 day should i just start it up and leave it running for 10 mins? any other dos and donts? cheers

yeah i would like to know this too. I might be leaving my Td5 for up to a week without starting it, and the temp might drop to around -25.

Any tips etc. Would a double pre heat help E.g using the preheaters twice before start?

-25? Where do you live,outer Mongolia?

French Alps 1500m up. .Last year hit around -25 for a week, and a resort a bit further up which i go to alot was - 30

mrnice said:

Having woke up this this morning to be greeted by snow on the mountains and my in-laws 17 grand Honda 4x4 with the bonnet up and a "mystery starting fault" that still hasnt been fixed i wondered what can be done to get my 1996 LPG Disco V8efi through the long cold wet winter with as little fuss as possible, im going to make sure the antifreeze/screenwash are all topped up, im gonna spray litterally everything with WD40 to try to prevent any damp/electrical faults, ive read quite a few threads where discos seem to refuse to start if left for any period of time so im gonna try to go out in it at least once a day but if i dont go out 1 day should i just start it up and leave it running for 10 mins? any other dos and donts? cheers

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Whenever you try to start any vehicle in cold weather, you need to bear in mind that the drop in temperature has several effects:

1. The capacity of the battery to deliver power is reduced by the lower temp;
2. The oils will all be much thicker, so the engine will require more effort to turn over;


To alleviate this, try the following:

1. If no garage is available, try parking in a winded shaded place (reduces wind-chill);
2. Before turning the engine over, ensure that all non-essential electrical stuff is turned off (eg radio, fan, lights etc)
3. Use the heater plug cycle twice before turning the engine over.

We regularly get down to -15° through winter and the vehicles are parked outdoors, but still start ok.

If you plan to leave your vehicle unused for a bit longer, why not connect an Optimate battery charger permanently, to keep the battery in 'optimum' condition

If it's a manual, start it with foot on clutch. This saves the battery having to turn the gearbox as well as the engine. Regarding the TD5 glow-plugs, I read a post on here that said they don't switch off when the light goes out - they're heavy duty and stay on until it's warm enough. That's what it said anyway. Do sensible things like switching off heater and lights BEFORE you switch off the engine, maybe take the bulbs out of the interior lights, and keep your earth straps tight and your battery terminals greased.
Cold starting is just about the only problem I've NEVER had with a Land Rover (SIII, 300TDi, Freelander, 200TDi, TD5!)