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Hot take: I quit using starting fluid on cold mornings after my 5.9 ate a piston ring
I used to swear by a quick shot of ether on any diesel that didnt fire in the first few cranks, especially on my old 12 valve when it got down around 20 degrees here in Fargo. Back in January I was late for a side job and gave my 5.9 a pretty healthy huff because it was acting stubborn, and it lit off with that nasty knock that i told myself was normal. Two days later it was blowing blue out the pipe and eating oil, and when I pulled the head the ring land on number 4 was cracked wide open. A retired guy named Earl who runs a small machine shop over on 12th Ave told me these engines will start fine at 15 degrees if your grid heater and batteries are actually healthy, and he was right once I stopped being lazy. I dropped $340 on new battery cables and a fuel heater kit instead of another can of ether, and it cranks up clean every morning now. Wish I would have listened years ago instead of frying a motor over being in a hurry. Any of you still keep a can in the toolbox, or did something like this make you swear it off too?
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