How to care for an engine over the winter, or months of non-use?

[teknomad]

I'm in Canada, and we have long, cold, snowy winters. My plan is to park this during the winter, and live in it. It may be moved once or twice during the winter months, but probably not.

I've read that we shouldn't idle the diesel engines cold. But i also know leaving engines sitting for months on end is bad. What sort of things should i look out for, and do, to preserve the life of a diesel engine during its hibernation months?

What is the best way to take care of a diesel engine during the winter, or for extended periods where the engine is not run?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Engines actually need to be turned over and run every so often. But I think a month or two over the winter won't hurt much. Drain any water out of the fuel / water separator. Put some Diesel Kleen / Diesel Doctor / Diesel 911 in the tanks, drive for about 20-30 minutes or idle for a couple hours to get it well circulated through the injection system, then top off with more fuel and / or additives as needed.

Keep the tanks full to prevent condensation forming water in the fuel. Also, check / test coolant to be sure it is up to properly protecting against freezing if this is a possibility. Might be a good idea to remove and store batteries out of the cold (concrete floors are said to discharge lead-acid batteries, not sure how much truth there is to it).

When hiatus is over, you may want to change the fuel filters and possibly oil / filter.

[cadillackid]

install some diesel fuel stabilizer like sta-bil for diesel, of course make sure your coolant is good for the cold. , I would set up an automatic battery tender to keep the batteries charged.. dead lead acid batteries will freezeand be destroyed so you will want to keep them charged up