Block heater question
- Thread starter Clayton
- Start date
NJKen
is a daddy!
If you can manage to clean up the pins and put some penatrox on the cord end it is. If you plug a cord into it and use it like that it will just burn the cord up.
Ken
Ken
They used the same block heater from '83 until '94, I believe...I don't think they ever changed the heater design. The block heater design actually wasn't the problem...the problem was a defect in the engine block casting. This defect was corrected partway through the 1985 model year...so, the real question is, what's your engine block serial number?
The updated block design started with #173828, FWIW...
The updated block design started with #173828, FWIW...
I could be mistaken, but I don't think you can see the added block ribbing from outside the engine. I haven't taken a close look at a late 6.9l/7.3l block heater mounting point, though....yours looks identical to mine, which is an early 6.9l that risks cracking 
I would go ahead and get the block number and compare...
I would go ahead and get the block number and compare...
dyoung14
Is getting worn out
My block heater blew out going down the road the other day, but if all your glow pligs work do you seriously need a block heater? i have 6 glow plugs and mine cranks great, and it gets cold were i live, its about 2000 feet above sea level here, coldest this year was 2 degrees, 2 years ago i saw -14 on the thermometer burr that was cold
burr that was cold
I tend to agree with him...I'm not in a financial position to do anything about it anytime soon, but I'd like to get a hose-mounted coolant heater someday...to make cold starts easier and to get the cab warmed up more quickly. I'm in a warm enough climate (and don't have access to 110v power near where I usually park the truck) that it's not a high-priority item, but it'd be nice to do someday.
Yeah, these trucks will start on glow plugs alone in fairly cold temperatures (by the standards of California and the South...I'm sure the people in Canada are
at that statement ), but why put the extra strain on the engine when you don't need to? 
smolkin
Stuck inside Mobile
I replaced my heater last month and it's been great so far. I have an early block but my gp's are shot. I weighed my options, and decided the block heater was cheaper than removing heads to get broken gp tips out .
So yes, I've been using it on mornings when it's been as warm as 40F, because it saves several rounds of cranking with 2-minute waits between.
In an earlier thread I noted that it is very easy to install the heater so that the element is actually touching the jacket-side of the cylinder wall, and postulated that maybe this was the cause of at least some of the cracking issues. Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel more confident, I don't know?
For what it's worth, I'm using a block heater carefully installed in the 11'-o-clock position on an early '84 block. No cracks yet.
. So yes, I've been using it on mornings when it's been as warm as 40F, because it saves several rounds of cranking with 2-minute waits between.
In an earlier thread I noted that it is very easy to install the heater so that the element is actually touching the jacket-side of the cylinder wall, and postulated that maybe this was the cause of at least some of the cracking issues. Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel more confident, I don't know?
For what it's worth, I'm using a block heater carefully installed in the 11'-o-clock position on an early '84 block. No cracks yet.
dyoung14
Is getting worn out
I replaced my heater last month and it's been great so far. I have an early block but my gp's are shot. I weighed my options, and decided the block heater was cheaper than removing heads to get broken gp tips out
So yes, I've been using it on mornings when it's been as warm as 40F, because it saves several rounds of cranking with 2-minute waits between.
In an earlier thread I noted that it is very easy to install the heater so that the element is actually touching the jacket-side of the cylinder wall, and postulated that maybe this was the cause of at least some of the cracking issues. Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel more confident, I don't know?
For what it's worth, I'm using a block heater carefully installed in the 11'-o-clock position on an early '84 block. No cracks yet.
i would use either long before i used the heater in an early style block
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