I run the 5W-40 Synthetic year around also. Really helps with the Stiction issues. I am @ ~142.000 on factory injectors so I do have a bit of Stiction issues on 15W-40 dino. My truck also "tells" me when it needs an oil change, even with the synthetic. I get a bit of a cold startup miss, until the heads get warm when the oil is getting close to 5,000 miles. New dose of synthetic, and within a couple of days, its back to normal....
Joe - For me, here in the winter, when it is below 30, if my diesels are sitting outside, they are plugged in. At home, my electric bill is high, so I don't even notice the block heater being plugged in. At work, I have access to an outlet in the open air parking garage that I park in, so I plug them in there.... When, at home, I have a large family, and may have to leave at any time, so it's just easier to plug it in. At work, i like having heat quickly, and I want to make sure I get to go home. I've not had an issue with either one starting, but still..... good glow plugs, and synthetic in both crankcases (Yes the Jetta likes the synthetic also) but, guaranteed starting, and having heat (With the Jetta, and now with the EGR Cooler delete on the truck) I get on the interstate within 5-10 minutes of start-up, and at highway speeds, with the temps under 20-25 degrees, and no type of winter front, I have warm, not heat, just warm for the drive home. Before the EGR Delete I would get to operating temp just like in the summer, and when I would lay in the throttle, you could feel the air get warmer, but now, nope. I have driven home, which is almost 30 miles, most of that is 55+ speed limits, stopped at the gas station by my house, and the high idle will kick up because the computer doesn't think the engine is warm enough yet. It will warm up enough idling to kick off the high idle, but start moving again, and the temp gauge falls, on both of them actually.....
I've seen there are a lot of members that have a timer (make sure it can handle the load, I would look for 15 Amps to be safe) and have it come on 2-3 hours before they normally leave for work, and turn off, 3-4 hours after they normally leave. That way if they are running late, the block heater is still on.
My personal feeling is, it is easier on everything, including the block, to plug it in warm, and keep it warm, rather than letting it get cold, and have an uneven heating in the block as it comes up to temp. That is what caused the old 6.9L "A-Blocks" to crack when the block heater was used. Plus, the heater doesn't "have to work as hard" to maintain the coolant temp at the ~100 degrees it maintains, rather than bring up 20 degree coolant to ~100 degrees........ I even used this trick to keep the EGR Cooler supply hose leak (This is why the EGR Delete was done) from leaking for a couple of weeks before I got it fixed.
