Do you have a winter front? My 6.2 loves it during the winter. Warms up quicker and stays warm while driving. This is the one I have on my truck:
http://www.jatonkam35s.com/cucvwinterfront.htm
I actually have a winter front but didn't need it going uphill for several miles. I missed an exit on a rocky mountain freeway one winter and ended up going downhill for a mile or so to the next exit... enough to make the engine so cold it was smoking out the back like from a cold start. I suppose I could have turned on the glow plugs (I think I probably did with no effect), but that's the one time I've actually seen the engine get that cold. I once tried putting the winter front on when it was really cold (can't remember temp), but it actually made the engine get too warm. I had to pull over again and take it off.
I'm not sure how the 6.2 t-stat works but the one's I'm familiar with close off the bypass when the t-stat opens, but that is on newer engines.
I'd put the heater on the bypass side to heat the engine side of the system first. That way the engine side of the circuit would warm up first. That would help the engine crank sooner and helps the oil warm up a tiny bit so it isn't quite as thick.
If it gets warm enough the t-stat will open and help warm the coolant in the radiator.
Well I put in synthetic Shell Rotella T6, 5W-40 for those -20F days. I haven't seen anything showing that the bypass gets closed when the thermostat opens on this engine. What year engine are you talking about?
I agree that it seems better to put the heater on the bypass so it goes through the water pump and engine first, and hopefully not through the water pump, radiator, heater core and crossover, back to the bypass. The instruction manual says to go to the heater core which then goes to the engine, but that seems to be how most other engines are set up, not this one. I found an engine manual that shows that early 1983 G-P (I don't know what G-P is) engines have the heater core return going to both the radiator and water pump. On my 1985, the heater core return only goes to the radiator on the same side as the radiator outlet to the water pump which is essentially the same. The heater core intake comes from the crossover before the thermostat.
WOOAAAHHH !
I did not realize the scope of that heater. That is something like for big rigs. Now way would I use something like that on a pickup truck. I totally misunderstood this from the beginning.
Like the previous post said if you are having a hard time keeping it warm even going down the road install a grille cover. I even made one out of cardboard.
If you want extra help with the plug in block heater you already have, install a coolant heater in the lower radiator hose. They work pretty good. Is your thermostat working right? Are you running a winter additive in your fuel?
The engine runs warm enough to run smoothly under most conditions, just not downhill in harsh cold of winter (eastbound past the Eisenhower tunnel in Colorado at the Continental Divide) where it's basically coasting downhill and getting big windchill. Otherwise, I'd like to be able to park it away from a power outlet (on the street, parking lot, ski resort, etc.) when it's really cold out for a few hours, and still be able to start without tons of smoke, extra cranking on the battery and glowing while cranking to keep it from stalling until it's warm enough to keep running in gear. There are plenty of pickup trucks using this heater, especially where it's really cold (-20 all the time). Anyway, it would also be nice to get some heat in the cab sometime before half an hour, even better if it's before starting and the windshield has already melted ice and snow off!
What winter additive do you recommend? One of the Power Service ones? I usually put one in, but haven't gotten one specifically for winter.
