And before anyone says it, I already tried a search, didnt find the info I need.
What I need to know is
A) How hard was the install?
B) Is it worth it?
C) Where can I get one for my truck?

Let me know what you guys think. I'm just tired of climbing into a freezing truck in the morning. Oh, and remote start is out of the question, I park on a hill and refuse to leave my truck out of geer with only the e-brake on.

Thanks!

 

A block heater will not give a warm interior immediately but it will reduce the time before the interior heater will supply usable heat. It also makes life a bit easier for your starter, battery and internal engine parts.

The install is not too difficult. The Ford factory heaters usually just replace a block freeze plug with a heating element. There are also aftermarket heaters that replace the dipstick but they are not as effective. Probably the best heating is achieved by the aftermarket heaters that are a combination of a heating element and a circulation pump but that might be overkill where you live.

Ranger block heaters and battery blankets are standard equipment in Canada, Alaska and the U.S. north central states MN, ND, SD, MT, WI and WY.

Factory block heater retrofit kits:
3.0L Retail $100, Online $75+s&h
4.0L Retail $67, Online $50+s&h

Reference #11

 

i have one, its in my big d...hehehe diesel that is, id just get a remote starter if i were you or a heater blanket

 

if its that cold outside you should start it up and go back inside for like 5 min with the heat blasting and i promise it will be warm, and like put a chock behind or infront of the wheels and it will warm up the engine, and also your interior will be nice and toasty by the time you get in it!

 

yea, mine was stock.. but im in MN so yea...


oh and mister NC... itsgona be ALOT longer than 5 minutes n the dead of winter here... like 20 min till thw window defrosts and its somewat warm haha.. -30 aint no joke

 

It takes a good 15 minutes of even driving to get good heat in winter. From mid december to mid january it's not uncommon for it to be a high of single digits for an extended period of time. And I have to park outside.

 

I have one on my f150 and the explorer. They are simple to put in. I got mine at farm and fleet for 20 bucks.

 

Hmm, I like the sound of the Ford block heater. Doesnt sound like too much work or money. I'll have to check the local farm equiment places too, see what I can find.
As for just starting up and comming back inside....ha, yeah, it takes at least 15 minutes at idle for the truck to get luke warm up here, about 5-10 at highway speed on my way to work. But boy, that 5-10 minutes is killer. Sitting there with my teeth chattering, sounds like I got a bunch of gravel in my tires! lol

Thanks guys.

 

ok let it warm up for 10 minutes, im pretty sure it will be allot easier... lol...

 

yea i hate waking up and knowing what im about to go out too... and sometimes its actually hard to drive if im really cold and im shivering like yer back tenses up and cramps and then yer foot shakes so much constant speed is hard..lol but thats just me haha

 

ya i had one on my old truck.. i used it like twice.

it was on it when i bought it.

 

^^ yea thats me too.. i had my truck for a year never thought of it since my other cars didnt.. then one day i was like.. wat the hell, and finally used it, i like the sound of it starting in the winter better when used

 

Engine block heaters aren't made to specifically make you more comfortable to get into your truck. They're made so when the temps drops below 0 degrees that your truck doesn't get extra wear on parts from the coldness. Many cars will not start up here without an engine block heater, ESPECIALLY a few types of specific asian cars. Also, block heaters you plug in from when you park your car and they run all night long. The install doesn't seem to be that hard at all, it also costs exactly $300 up here everywhere, so that's how much you should only pay. There's usually an oil pan heating element, and a block heating element, sometimes which runs through your radiator, heating the fluid.

So how cold does it get in the winter? You shouldn't need it if your truck starts normally ok.

Aaron

 

it usualy stays around 15º-20º where I'm at, but if I head up the mountain like I do a million times a ski season, it's always 5º or less, sometimes as cold as -20º. When I'm up at the mountain is when I'd use it the most, because when it gets cold enough my truck starts rough and sometimes even stalls a time or two. >shrug<

 

Dude, if that's the case then an engine block heater is not going to help you. What you need are warmer clothes, a jacket, and some socks.

I'm sure the other FF's on the board that live north of the Mason-Dixon line will agree with me on this one. Nothing sucks more than running out to the truck at 3am in the winter. You never have enough cloths on and forget warming the engine up.

 

no no no.. i didnt mean to say it would help warm up my truck at all..lol, i was just saying it makes the engine start much harsher..

nope you can never really have a warm ride at first no matter the warm up time, you'll drive miles before its even warm

 

In the late nineties, there was a lot of interest in a product from Centaur Thermal Systems of Canada. It was a heat storage device that allowed the heat/defrost to work almost instantly on startup, even after being parked for several days. These were to be available as a dealer installed kit on some Fords and Lincolns and were supposed to be very effective. I haven't heard anything about the device since and cannot find a working link to the manufacturer.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/p...ess004161.html
http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_customer_happy_new/

 

What I need to know is
A) How hard was the install?

Its easy to install. If you don't want to do it yourself, any auto repair shop can do it for you in a few minutes. You just take a plug out of a hole in the engine block and replace the plug with the engine block heater. Then you route the electric cord so that it comes out the front of your grill.

B) Is it worth it?

Yes, it will heat the block up in about an hour. So the engine's much easier to start and the heater will produce heat a lot quicker. You can plug it in an hour or two before you use the truck, or leave it plugged in all night.

C) Where can I get one for my truck?

Call auto parts stores and get the best deal you can on one. Make sure they have one for your year, make, and model of truck. It should be $20-$50. If you have an auto repair shop install it and also have them buy it, before you take the truck to the shop ask what the cost is for the plug and for the labor to put it in.