PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

hey guys, i just moved to colorado up in the mountains. It will be VERY important that my car start every morning regardless of the cold. I have not had this car in a winter so i dont know how it will do. Anything i can do now before it gets TOO cold to make sure it starts? i think this would be a good thing for everyone to know, not just me!

Just make sure that your battery is good and that nothing is draining it. I have never had a problem with any of my cars not starting in the cold. Last winter it was -13*F here and other than cranking a little longer than normal it started right up.

Yup. Run some 5W30 oil to ease starting. Most importantly, keep the battery in good health. Would also be worth checking the coolant to see if it will stay liquid at cold temps.

Last winter it got to -20 degrees here and while Penny took a little bit longer to crank, and wasn't extremely happy to be awoken from her slumber, after a minute or so the idle began to drop and she was ready to go.

Sounds like you recently bought the car, what have you done regarding basic maintenance? How does it start now? Any problems you have now will become more acute in cold weather. Have the battery load tested to check it's health and consider using synthetic oil if you expect sub-zero temps.

unfortunately due to low oil pressure i have a thicker oil in her. which wont help. haha. its starts just fine now. cranks right up no problems and its about 25 degrees in the morning haha. just wondering if there was anything specific i could do. battery is good and pretty new.

Run Rotella T6. Very high quality synthetic oil with a weight of 5W40. Also very inexpensive at Walmart. It's all I run in my car.

OK i can do that. im running 10w40 conv. right now. its sad i have changed my oil like 3 times in the last 3 months.

How many miles on your car? Without knowing the condition/history of your car I would still recommend a thorough check of all the major components. Low oil pressure maybe a harbinger of bigger problems, did you verify the oil presuure with an external gauge? Do you use a quality filter?

172000. and ya i know. i have a huge post about it ive just given up on it to be honest. just driving it till it stops. its only low at idle. im ok with it eventually dying i dont have the money to try and figure it out right now haha.

Jbro238 wrote:172000. and ya i know. i have a huge post about it ive just given up on it to be honest. just driving it till it stops. its only low at idle. im ok with it eventually dying i dont have the money to try and figure it out right now haha.

Not to be a PITA, but it could be a lot less costly to figure out now than having to "cough-up" for an engine. I drove an old 1983 231 V6 100,000 miles needing new bearings, but I'm where it doesn't really get cold either. the 5W-40 would be a very good idea along with at least a can of "motor honey". I do hope it's not your bearings. - BC

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well theres the post i was talking about. and unfortunately i dont have a choice. i cant fix anything right now. not enough cash. i would bet its the bearings. bearing clearance or something. the shop didnt see it tho. whatever! ill drive it anyways haha

Low oil pressure usually means the same thing for a 3800, slow but inevitable death, but it really does depend on how low we are talking here. With how cheap L67s are, I'd dump the Rotella in with some "motor honey" and drive the sucker till it dies. Oil pressure problems won't be as prominent in the cold anyways.

thats the plan. i will do the change this week hopefully. haha

We had -40° here last winter, and my car sat outside with no problems. Good battery and keeping it well maintained is all you need to do. If you have access to an external outlet and can use a block heater, they help, but aren't mandatory...

good! just making sure. we will find out soon enough! its almost winter <3

on another note i am gonna complain how there is no place to put a snowboard in a bonneville, much less two, haha. design flaw

They go well on the roof with some bungie chords. Hahaha!

i would have a hard time holding over 600$ worth of equipment on my roof with bungies haha. i laid my passenger seat all the way down and they fit, sorta, hahaha