Northernmost D's first impressions

greg · Oct 18, 2007

Well folks, I got my D on Tuesday and yesterday morning as I hit the temp readout it read "R U KDNG?" and it was only 10F

Anyway, first impression is that the D handles differently than I remembered it. It somehow feels stiff, which could be due to the tires (am considering Blizaks (sp?) or Diamond Greens.) I greased and lubricated everything before I left Hawaii.

Don't know whether it's the plates, the scoop or all of the above but am getting a few stares and pointings at the D. Given it's 14 miles to work I've racked more miles onto it in two days than in a couple of weeks in Hawaii.

Other than that I need to get a recirculation heater as even with the remote start and no heated seats in ten minutes I hardly see a difference - and we're a long way from -50F.

I'm having it winterized on Tuesday, getting a new T-stat and changing the oil (RP 5-30W at 7.05 a quart at NAPA or 16 bucks at the shop but they do give you the option of picking the parts up yourself) and I'll feel a little better.

I don't have my camera with me, I'll bring it on the next trip back from Hawaii at the end of November and hope to take some pics of the NOAA facility and of the Northernmost D

The Alaska Musher's Symposium is on this weekend, so that'll keep me out of the Malls :roll: and time just seems to fly by.

Happy trails from Fairbanks, Alaska

greg

phiber_optik · Oct 18, 2007

Hey sounds like you're having fun up there! Do you have the stock 195 stat or a colder one? Also what's your coolant ratio with it being that cold?

Durangutan · Oct 18, 2007

My brother spent his years in the Air Force up in Anchorage at Elmendorf. He still talks about the beauty and appeal of that state. Of course, he still talks about 15' snow drifts and temps so cold you could feel your brain contract when you breathe, but he said it was the greatest place he's ever lived. And since he was a relative youngster with a LOT of freedom, I'm sure there's plenty he's never told us, too.

greg · Oct 18, 2007

Well if he was cold in Anchorage at Elmendorf, he'd positively freeze out here. There's normally a 20 degree F difference between Anchorage and Fairbanks. So if it's -10 in Anchorage it'll be at least -30F out here.

I have the stock TS so that's why I asked for it to be replaced as well as add an inline heater just to be on the safe side. It's been a while since temps dropped to -67F but -45F isn't uncommon. As to coolant I'll let you know when I take the D in next week. It's been snowing all day here so I hope it'll continue as not only is it good for the trails for the doggies but also it'll prevent it from getting any colder until I can get it winterized next Tuesday.

Stay warm

greg

phiber_optik · Oct 19, 2007

Greg I've read that the standard 50/50 coolant mix is good for a maximum of -35 below so I was just wondering what they were going to set you up with. I have one of those plug in heaters for the D and it works pretty well. Also one of those insulated grill covers that covers up the front of the D and has optional vents you can open if you want. That also helps the D warm up quick.

thomsonc · Oct 19, 2007

You'll probably end up with a 60/40 mix of coolant to water. I take it you've already installed an engine block heater? We bought a kit with Mopar in Arizona before we got to Alaska for an engine block heater that came with a battery blanket, but we don't really use the blanket down in Anchorage.

Don't forget to reset your compass to Region 2 I believe, without looking at the manual.

greg · Oct 19, 2007

Well the damn A/T tires ain't worth crap on snow. There was a 3 car pile up on the Johannsen Expwy
yesterday so I decided to go get some Blizak snow tires - 6 hour wait so that threw today out the door

I'm having it winterized on Tuesday with blanket, T-stat and block heater. As to grill cover I'm not worried as with the Shaker scoop I'm sure enough cold air is coming in that I don't need to cover the grill. I also expect to get an in-line heater and when I get a house will add the heated seats.

The tranny temp barely registers with the cooler I installed but other than that the D seems to be OK for now.

It's still snowing out, so drive safe?

greg

Durangutan · Oct 19, 2007

Wow, Hawaii to Alaska. Now there's a climate change! Are you going to change your avatar to a palm tree now?

greg · Oct 19, 2007

Wow, Hawaii to Alaska. Now there's a climate change! Are you going to change your avatar to a palm tree now?

No way! :cheesy: But when I called my wife this morning in Hawaii to tell her it was snowing again, she said "don't forget to write and call often" :roll:

greg

D Tyrone's Ride · Oct 19, 2007

Gee Greg,
WOW I missed a lot in the last hand full of weeks. Hawaii to Alaska. Had to re-build PC?s harddrive as the previous one crapped out. Re-installing XP was fun! Plus, perform{-ing} necessary maintenance fix-up items around the house here. Not had the opportunity to read nor post on forum lately.

Yup the little woman is right! Write, call often {almost daily} and sent email communications. And a suggestion, get a cell phone deal where you have free minutes to the one you call most often. Our case, we use Verizon; call any Verizon customer and it doesn?t cost against your allotted minutes. I know is saves a ton of money, over normal telephone communication call costs?

Stay warm up there! (Is the little woman ready for that move? October temps just double digits above the zero mark?)

:mrgreen:
-Steve

greg · Oct 20, 2007

Yo Steve!

Welcome back. Yep, we have a family plan with T-mobile so that shoudl keep us OK. She should be coming out with my Little Girl in March or sooner I hope after th enew year if I can find a house. But now that the D has arrived and passed its IM inspection, has snow tires and will be winterized on Tuesday I should eb good to go to merit AK plates! :cheesy:

Other than that, so far it's great. We have the Alaska Musher's Symposium this weekend. Next week the Alaska Federation of Natives is holding its Annual Conference here in Fairbanks and we got 7 inches of snow yesterday. And of course folks forgot how to drive, put off getting their snow tires on so the Johannssen Expwy was closed after 8 accidents. Luckily I managed to get home before that.

Anyway, today is beautiful and sunny and real warm? 24F nearly too warm.

Happy trails!

greg

Duranged408 · Oct 21, 2007

Wish I noticed this post earlier? I had the same problem, allthough when I went with the blizz. were slightly used, they were incredible on ice, crap in deep snowsnow, with no lie, I had to check three times to see if I had a flat. They pack up real easy, and they wear faster than if you were power braking with OEM at every light. But that's me, I like plowing my own path :cheesy:

IndyDurango · Oct 21, 2007

greg said:
Well folks, I got my D on Tuesday and yesterday morning as I hit the temp readout it read "R U KDNG?" and it was only 10F

Anyway, first impression is that the D handles differently than I remembered it. It somehow feels stiff, which could be due to the tires (am considering Blizaks (sp?) or Diamond Greens.) I greased and lubricated everything before I left Hawaii.

Don't know whether it's the plates, the scoop or all of the above but am getting a few stares and pointings at the D. Given it's 14 miles to work I've racked more miles onto it in two days than in a couple of weeks in Hawaii.

LOL, nice reading about your adventures

"R U KDNG"? I had to read it twice and then, finally, LOL

"it feels stiff"? are you sure it was handled correctly in shipping?

"stares"? a hood scoop in -10+ weather, yea that'll do it. LOL. Make sure you plug the holes to make them non-functional.

IndyDurango

Messersmith · Oct 22, 2007

Can't wait for the pics Greg.

I've felt that "stiff" feeling in cold weather (0 and below) on other vehicles I've owned. I think it's just a combination of everything being cold and stiff - tires, shock fluid, rubber mounts, seat cushions, etc.

Oslo D · Oct 24, 2007

Hi Greg,
you can always exchange experience with D owners from Northern Norway. I searched among sellers up there and found one in this link that you can refresh from time to time (I tuned the search to north of 70deg only, to the Finnmark territory.) http://www.rubrikk.no/MarketBrowse.aspx?mg=9&fc=43,9,0;44,256,0;52,12,4 (A link with 'send e-post' will appear).

I actually grew up there, and I remember once I bought a Ford Scorpio that came out from the inlands up there during the wintertime. It was very stiff and gave a bumpy ride. After 2 or 3 days out at the coast, it sort of 'melted' and behaved normally afterwards. I'm convinced that the problem was the shocks.

I was up there in May again to visit my mother and sisters. A two hour plane trip took me up there, and I actually drove half way from Tromso to Alta where this guy is. ( map )

The rental car was a hybrid Prius, but I was more interested in studying the local saturday meet of the american car club than loading groceries!

And I also cut down some driving time by crossing fjords by ferries.

The US friendship-town to my home town Tromso is Anchorage, and I have always wondered how it looks up there. Add some pictures when you get the camera!

WarrensD · Oct 25, 2007

Crazy b'turd! It's 48 degrees & raining here and I'm FREEZING! Only three weeks untill the move to Sint Maarten & I can't WAIT! Keep yer bloody snow! To each his own?lol

thomsonc · Oct 25, 2007

Are you taking your Durango to Netherlands Antilles? If so, I think you'd be our southernmost Durango.

WarrensD · Oct 25, 2007

thomsonc said:
Are you taking your Durango to Netherlands Antilles? If so, I think you'd be our southernmost Durango.

No Thom, but that's not stopping me from starting the "Caribbean DOC Chapter." There are a TON of D's on that Island!

greg · Oct 26, 2007

OK back again. To answer some questions.

Had it winterized and will do the plate changeover on Monday. The antifreeze mix in there now's 75-25. Oil is RP 5-30 full synthetic, transfer is ATF+3 and Diffs are RP 75-90. Since they gave me the wrong Mobil-1 filter the shop put in a NAPA one.

All nipples were greased prior to coming out.

I sprayed all rubber gaskets on doors with silicone spray to prevent them tearing with the cold. I'll be doing that monthly.

No the scoop is fully functional. No problems so far but then again the coldest it's gotten is -15F

Winterizing has definitely helped warm up the car faster. I'll be getting an inside heater connected to the fan out of the 110V engine block heater connection to help and will avoid having to do any work on getting seat warmers as I don't have any tools at the moment.

Tires. I got the Bridgestone Duelers as no one here carries any tires for 15" rims. Seems everyone has moved on to 16 or 17" minimum. Luckily Sears had some. Unfortunately Sears had some given it took 6.5 hours to have them put on as they were backlogged.

The PIAA off road lights are working great, so I haven't had to switch on the powerful 200w Cibies to really light up the night.

When the car was winterized they did mention, and I had noticed that the headlights were UV discolored. As such and seeing an opportunity to change out the OEM headlights, I ordered from eBay the "angel" LED light one piece to replace the OEM 2 piece headlight. Should arrive by Monday so hope to have them installed by Wednesday.

The Viper remote start is a champ given the fact that warming up your car in extreme temps is a must. If you simply start your car and drive it off you'll blow the pressure lines and your tranny in no time. Thus letting it warm up for 10-15 minutes before you drive it's a must. The only thing I want to keep an eye out is the battery life in the FOB. The run of the mill battery they provided didn't last very long and I changed it over to an Everready. Hopefully it'll last longer.

Other than that, it get the occasional sideways slip but so far the D is holding up great and given the mileage I'm putting in 32 miles round trip I shouldn't have any parts die of boredom.

We have 8 inches of snow on the ground so hopefully we can start doggie training soon in something else than an ATV.

The Alaska Federation of Natives is having it's annual conference this year in Fairbanks and that's always an interesting show not to mention a great place to buy Christmas presents.

More details and pics to follow in the near future. Happy trails

greg

FSTDANGO3 · Oct 26, 2007

Sounds Like you're adapting Well Greg.
Steve
DOC Pres

Northernmost D's first impressions

greg

phiber_optik

Durangutan

greg

phiber_optik

thomsonc

greg

Durangutan

greg

D Tyrone's Ride

greg

Duranged408

IndyDurango

Messersmith

Oslo D

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