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I have had this happen to me twice on ice fishing trips. One time it was -20 and the other was -35. I can get the engine starting fine but after driving back off the ice all of the oil in the engine is GONE! Nothing on the dip stick. Probably a 25 minute drive. There is oil down in the bottom of the Argo but no evidence of it spraying, dripping or anything. I thought something major had occurred. But after getting it into a warm garage and filling it up with oil, there were no leaks. Nothing. Ran just fine. I cant figure it out at all. The first time it happened was about 6 years ago and the last time was about 3 years ago. It has run great since then. I have since stopped running it when it gets that cold. Any ideas? It is an '04 Avenger with the 25 HP Kohler.
When I was in the Army, we had similar experiences with several vehicles in extreme cold. The Engineers from General Dynamics and FMC explained it was due to metallurgy and shrinking in extreme cold, when that happened, and the engine warmed quickly, the expanding metal caused temporary seal failure due to the metal transitioning from extreme cold, to warm and expanding. Once warmed, we typically re-checked fluid levels and soldiered on without issue. It was a cause for alarm the first time we encountered it, but got used to it.
I have had crankcase breathers freeze up and the oil will blow out whatever is weakest: seal, dipstick, gasket ect(not on the argo). I have started and ran mine in the -20s*C quite a bit I always let it warm up for 15 minutes and have had no problem. I have not gone much it the -30 range though, I have put a trouble light under the engine with a blanket over the hood for a couple hrs before starting that cold. I would not call -35*C extreme cold, still not nice though.
I've experimented with all kinds of oil in temps of -40 or lower. Before synthetics were common we would cut the top of cans and set them out. 5-30 oil pours like honey at about -25 f. Heaver oils 10-30 10-40 you can stab with a screwdriver and leave a hole in it. 10-30 synthetics as in Mobil1 pour easily at -40 and lower. Most of the cold start leaks I've encountered are at the oil filter or cooler adapters. The heavy oil won't bypass the filter or the pressure regulator and pushes past filter gasket until it thins a bit. Very common to see one puke out several quarts. I run synthetics in all my little stuff. Bigger vehicles all have electric heaters on oil pan to keep oil liquid. My first winter in Alaska I remember pulling the dipstick on an old truck and slipping the glob of oil off with a rectangular hole in it. It could be rolled up like putty with gloves on.
I'm in agreement with Noel Woods and his solution. Warm your engine up 10-15 minutes in those temperatures and double check the oil level. It sounds like you have a seal/metal that is contracting in the cold and letting oil leak out. Have you tried double checking the tightness of all of your bolts and/or replacing your seals? Too bad you can't find where its from, that would make life a lot easier.
I've had good luck with Amsoil 0-40 in my Argo, its more expensive but works well in the conditions I drive in (-47C one day then +6C the next).
Solid post Noel. Thank you. I have since switched to Amsoil. I will make sure I get the engine warmed up next time before moving.
And i'll keep an eye on the oil level as I go.
Seems like I remember something about what Noel posted being told in the Army to us also. What worries me more than anything is the fact you guys will go out in that cold a weather to fish!!!!
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