Hey folks,

I just recently moved from California to North Dakota. Had new all season tires put on, had the cooling system drained, pressure tested and refilled with fresh coolant, used some silicone spray on all the door seals, put in some 0 degree wiper fluid and changed the oil.

I escaped California just a couple days before Donner pass got snowed in. Believe it or not I made the whole trip and did not have one drop of rain or snow while driving. But overnight in Butte, Montana I woke up to a covered car in snow and had to extend my trip one day due to a small strom.

Anyhow, the car made the trip with no issues mechanically (and the roads were covered with snow and I had zero slipping on the road), but a few things could have been better and that is why I am posting....to see what can be done to make life easier in this cold weather I now live in with my Jag. And where I now live it is not uncommon to have a -15 degree day with a -40+ wind chill.

The two main problems are my side windows fogging up and the J-Gate being very hard to put into gear first thing in the mornings even with a garaged car. I had no problems with the fogging until I got to North Dakota and hit 2 degree weather. I could keep my front window free of fogging with the defrost and a very high temperature (and yes...my air blend door is working as I could hear it and feel it alternate between hot and cool air) and my rear window...but the side windows were the issue. How do I solve that problem? I have heard that Rain-X makes a Fog-X product that works really good - but I didn't think I would need it with this car as I have never had fogging issues before.

As for the J-Gate, it feels like it is frozen in place at time...barely able to get it into reverse or drive. Feels like I am really forcing it. Is there anything I could spray (silicone) down in there to help with the issue?

Besides those two things it ran great and handled the snow really well...I was impressed actually. It was kind of scary driving through Idaho and Montana where for miles you are the only one on the road and the highway is covered in snow...but i made it.

I also found out that the zero degree wiper fluid does not work out here...I need the -40 degree stuff!! LOL

Any advice appreciated!!! Thanks folks ;-)

peace out,
daddylogan

 

Daddylogan, there is always the old school trick of putting some cardboard in front of the radiator. Do not cover all of it, but cover say half of it. I say this because part of what you are experiencing is the car is not able to get up to temp because you are: 1) pulling a lot of heat out through the heating system, and 2) the engine loosing too much heat through the block/what does flow through the radiator. By blocking part of the radiator, you are minimizing how much air is going through the engine bay and the radiator, minimizing the ambient losses, giving you more heat for the interior of the car. This will then help with the fogging on the side windows. Will it get rid of it all, hard to say. But, it is a cheap thing to try. Beyond that, trying a product like the Fog-X would be recommended.

As for the J-gate, thinking you may need to get down to the J-gate and spray a little silicon spray on the release latch. This is what locks the gear shifter into the PARK position until you step on the brake to say that you have control of the car. This may not be backing off quite far enough and applying a little bit of lubricant there may help it get out of its way. From there, you would need to hand over hand the shifter cable. May be one of those things you need to spray some lubricant down the cable to displace any water that may have gotten into the cable over the years. Granted, in the weather you are talking about, I would think it would freeze the cable solid, not letting you move it at all.

 

To add to Thermo’s recommendations, I would suggest you invest in an engine heater that will plug into house power while garaged at night.
we had them when living in Colorado and Ohio. It was great getting into your car in the morning, and find it nice and toasty warm at start up. At temps you’re talking about, even 0-20 oil will turn to honey.
There are many out there, from block warmers, to oil pan warmers, etc. Just remember to unplug before driving away.

 

the inside glass should be cleaned with alcohol and windex scrub away

 

One other helpful thing is always keep the "automatic" button on when using heat (or cool). This cycles the A/C even using the heat and dehumidies the air in the car.

 

"wiper fluid hack"

Pick up some thin copper tubing and wrap it around a radiator hose. Cover it with insulation. HVAC stuff that is on a roll with foil works well. Now rout your hose from the fluid pump through the copper coil and you now have a heater for the fluid.