That time of year again, and I'm looking for options or opinions on different heaters to make it easier on the engine to start the car in the sub zero temperatures in Canada.
So far, I've found a few options as follows:
magnetic oil pan heaters. Supposedly a magnet heater that you stick on at night and remove before driving away.
Stick on pan heaters: stick them on once and then just plug in. Only downfall I can see is scraping them off on snow/ice but the front bash plate should take care of that.
Rad hose inline heaters: get stuck in the lower rad hose and are supposed to heat the coolant that then circulates through the system warming the engine.
Has anybody ever fit any of these? Or what other options are there to heat the engine up for winter starting?
TIA.
at which temperature do you think a sticker on the pan will heat all the oil .. instead of -20 it will be -15 .. no good to spend on that .. ( well i dont think)
the rad hose shit .. since the engine cool down , your oil will not have more temparature ..
best of all.. for me is to let the engine rise in temparature before you go .
Supposedly there are loads of the stick on pad heaters installed every year at Canadian Tire. Now knock CT all you want, (I do as well) but there is one mechanic in Regina that I highly regard and he reccomended the stick on heater. I'll give it a shot this winter and see how it goes.
RNN14
Is it not possible to put a block heater in an R?
All go, no show
1. The oil pan hangs low enough as it is and it would be a tight squeeze to get on to stick (and stay) on the side.
2. The pan has to be without ridges and grooves for it to heat effectively and stick well. Last time I checked R's have bumpy oil pans.
3. This is what ended up putting in. About 5 inched away from the rad on the bottom. They heat up hot quite quickly and if they're on for a while (30 min or more) the rad hose going into the block is too hot to touch. I noticed that the engine would heat up a little quicker than without the heater.
I asked a mechanic about just putting in a block heater but he said that putting a new block heater in an old car would probably leak and be a bigger pain in the ass.
I just finished putting on a magnetic block heater on my Gtir yesterday and I'm hoping it'll last the winter. I just got one off of ebay that one of my intstructors reccomended(who is a master Heavy Duty Mechanic). He's used them on everything from his truck to a quad and I guess their pretty good. The one I got is 4' by 5' and about 2' thick and heats up to 200 degrees Celcius. The block heater has a really strong magnet on it but obviously during the winter it wouldn't last more than a couple hours in deeper snow so I custom made a skid plate/ bracket for it in about an hour and bolted it right on. All the bracket is, is a thin piece of steel bent and formed around my oil pan and block heater. For a fairly redneck design but it turned out really well and there's no way in hell it'll get knocked off. So, if your interested and want some pics pm me.
Good Luck!
block heater from greg v http://www.gspec.com/p-7306-block-heater-kit-20.aspx , installation http://www.sr20-forum.com/179267-post14.html
I bought a rad hose heater, yet to put it in though as the garage always has other car projects being worked on. Once i put it in, i will let you know how it works. If it works good then i say its a good buy, got it for like 35 bucks at crappy tire, plus as a bonus it looks like a little turbocharger!
does that one fit the gtir block?
and I wonder how easy it'd be with the transfer case in there as well?
EDIT: Its located right by the knock sensor, so I'd imagine it is almost as much of a cnut to get to as the knock sensor. :\
RNN14
it should fit, the pain is getting to it, can't be installed without removing the front transfer case,engine, or trans. this is why i got my knock sensor circuit deleted from my computer
well from the looks of it, good luck installing the screw in type block heater.
Look where the plug is on the gtir engine with the oil cooler in place (note the coolant line overtop of the plug).
[img]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/paulb81/P1030065.jpg[/img]
On the other hand, the lower rad hose heater looks like it should work. Hopefully it warms up enough to open the thermostat though.
Peg_Pulsar, what size did you get the heater at? What power rating (watts)? is there a link to the canadian tire part? thanks.
RNN14
Its a 1.5 inch, i havent actually put it in yet, but from what i can find out, the gtir rad hose has an inner diameter of 1.5. It's 600 watt.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672419&bmUID=1232686676636&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443286686&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true
This is basically what i have, this model looks a little different though, but you get the jist of it, i think mine was $29.99.
hmm I picked up the 1.25" one Link : http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672419&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441888983&bmUID=1232689715877&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true and it was only rated at 375 watts and was 44.99 before tax. I will take it back tomorrow and get the proper one. The website says rated at 600W so I wonder whats going on...
RNN14
I haven't put mine in yet, so i guess i'm not 100% sure its 1.5, but that seems right. I'm putting it in today hopefully, i'll let you know how it goes.
Okay, so 1.5 doesn't fit into the hose, the hose is 35mm, which is to small. i guess is will get a 1.25 inch heater instead, then just tighten it right up.
peg_Pulsar: that heater will not work. I emailed the company and asked about the location of the thermostat and how the heater would work, and the rep replied that it would not since the t'stat is in the way. Looks like it is a stick on oil pan pad heater, or a magnetic jobber.
RNN14
Well, that rep is wrong, i put in a 1.25 incher yesterday, plugged it in over night and the car started perfectly. Normally it cranks really really slowly. But this time it cranked at normal speed, just took a couple more cranks than in the summer. I dont really know the facts or science behind rads, so i'm not really sure how it works. I can't imagine it gets hot enough in there to open the thermostat, but i popped the hood in the morning and both rad hoses were warm. Meh, works so far so i'm gunna say that rep wasnt really sure what he was talking about.
hmm, if both hoses were warm and it was easier to start then it must have flowed through the rad and somehow down towards the engine again. No idea.
I think I'm going to go with a stick on oil pan heater and see how it goes. Need a new battery too which sucks. :\
RNN14
Ya, i would go with the oil pan heater too, this rad hose heater seems to be working, but if its not "supposed" to, then its probably not really working as well as it should be.
bump. my last engine was getting tired and I think the turbo went. Either way, I was blowing my oil out of the valvecover and there was lots of pressure in there.
I'm not sure if the cause was the oil pan heater or not. Ryan, how did yours work over the winter? (Ryanking I mean).
RNN14
Peg_pulsar.... are you still running the rad hose heater ? does it work ok for you ? can you post some pics of how yours is installed ?
i am uesing a oil pan heeter and its woring good so far but its only been -20 so far but we will see when it gets really cold. and im in northern BC so....
why drive any car.... drive your dream car!
Block heater is installed and works fine.
[IMG]http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa126/MrLynx17/GTIR/Trans%20swap%20fall%202011/DSCN1515.jpg[/IMG]
lots of good info with part numbers:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/nissan-rogue-block-heater-questions-updated-with-part-no-s-and-where-to-buy-t424038.html
I used BK 6053235 from Napa. Cheaper than Nissan oem (if you can even find one, I couldn't) and comes with the cord. Guys on the rogue forum were saying that they received their Nissans new off the lot with the same block heater factory installed.
To install, you have to bend the 90 deg coolant fitting out of the way. I loosened it first, then tightened it past where it was to clear the heater. Then remove the threaded plug with a 12mm hex socket or allen key and install the heater. Works great, no leaks.
And you'd also need to loose the oem oil cooler/warmer too. Correct?
RNN14
good info
No but you might need to run a different hose that's longer than the stock one so it would connect because you have to rotate the fitting.
Lynx- Did you have to remove anything else to have access to the Hex headed plug, or were you able to contort your arms enough to get in there with tools?
All go, no show
I took the engine out to replace the transmission and did this at the same time. You will have a HELL of a time installing that with the engine in car. I would take the exhaust and probably the oil distribution block off, and maybe the starter. I'm sure it's possible but good luck.
I'm going to look for a narrow strip heater (1.5") and paste it onto the bottom tank of my new rad (aluminum @ 2" wide). I just have to find a strip that narrow. 6-10" long, 120V, 125-500W. This will help a little bit and is much easier as the rad tank is nice and flat.
Update: I found one pretty quick though it is a little on the small side. I could add another if this doesn't help enough. http://shop.wolverineheater.com/Model-91-125-Watts-CSA-CE-Certified-91-CSA-CE.htm
Update: Found another one. http://dieselproducts.com/cgi-bin/online/storepro.php It appears as though these are all the same parts.
GTi-R, the best ugliest car I've EVER seen/driven. You can make it cool, you can make it fast but you CAN'T make it look pretty.