Posted by Henry Jacobs on February 14, 1999 at 23:44:51:
In Reply to: Won't start...Help! posted by Peter Hewko on February 14, 1999 at 15:13:09:
Well, Peter, I'll tell ya... it was 84 degrees here in Arizona today (that's +84F to you) and my 230 started up just fine. Lemme tell ya, I've forgotten where I even put my jacket.. just plumb forgot... haven't had any use for it...
Anyway...
I concur with the general advice to get things as warm as possible in general, however, your experience has been such that we would expect it to start at -20F let alone +3F. Fuel doesn't evaporate very fast at very low temps so "flooding" can happen easily and take a long time to pass. Starting fluid makes this problem better in general. I would check for something that might have been damaged by the cold. Anything with water in it (like the water jacket! I've heard of this on Alaska trucks) might have frozen and burst. You might check for water (with the motor heated up a little) in the bottom of the oil pan by draining just a tad bit of oil.
Also, bad things can happen to cast iron at those temps, especially *old* cast iron. It can be very brittle and can break with shocking ease. This goes for all of the truck, by the way, not just the engine components. Check the throttle and choke linkages to make sure they're moveing fully, then I guess all you can do is recheck fuel spark and timing and try again. If that still doesn't do it then let us know and we'll think of something else.
Stay warm!
HLJ