Heater Plug Galore -- or how I wasted Saturday, got very dirty, and incapacitated....

[trucknorris]

Heater Plug Galore -- or how I wasted Saturday, got very dirty, and incapacitated the truck...

What a frigging Saturday! One of those days.... Gloomy and rainy Saturday so I took on some wrenching to kill the time... 5 hours later, and truck is grounded...

I removed my passenger rear side frost plug heater LR1483-1000W-120V to replace it with a 400W napa heater "KAT 11416"... It took me 3 hours to get the burned heater out, whilst getting a nice "golden", well green shower from the truck.
Perfect time to flush the coolant! I was a little bit worried about the coolant, since the previous owners didnt do much to the truck. To my surprise, coolant was very green without any oily spots... Good! I got about 5 gallons out.
Ok, onto KAT 11416... I put it in, and it just falls into the block, and sits a bit lopsided.. Pull out, try re-adjusting.. same thing.. The original part fit like a glove. The original part did not need to be bolted to sit in place, that's why it took forever to pry it out. But this thing... it's not the exact fit. The NAPA site had a 38mm and 41mm. When I drilled down to 7.3 IDI, it only offered me 38mm, so I went with that part... What a cluster mess.. Ok.. take the part out... and it wont come out.. The cheap backing metal expanded and its not coming out!!!!! The only way to get it out is to get the nut out... well I did that, and the butterfly mount falls apart into 2 pieces... and remains in the block! I cried a bit.
Quick trip to the tool box, and magnet, and luckily I got both pieces out. That was close! Ok, now I dont want to put my exiting plug back because it will take me 3 hours to get it out again, and with no plug to put back there, I go ahead and put a paper towel and push the truck out of the garage to wait the new part.... well... when i tried to put on the parking brake, the cable breaks..

What a day! Anyway, can anyone shed some light on this 38mm and 41mm.. This plug needs to go to passenger rear side by the starter. Is it 38mm or 41mm?

 

[riotwarrior]

UM MEASURE IT....and buy accordingly...*****

Sounds like a calamity of horrors to me...rofl...

 

[trucknorris]

I would, but I don't have a caliper.. The outer lip measures about the same, using a tape measure.... the inner diameters are different.

 

[riotwarrior]

I would, but I don't have a caliper.. The outer lip measures about the same, using a tape measure.... the inner diameters are different.

Take some silly putty or playdough or plastercene and stick it to something then press that against the opening and measure it when you pull it off...simple???? NO????

 

[trucknorris]

Fresh out of putty...

 

[riotwarrior]

Fresh out of putty...

Play Dough Recipe:
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring
Mix first 4 ingredients in a pan. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 – 5 minutes. Dough will become difficult to stir and form a “clump”. Remove from stove and knead for 5 minutes–add food coloring during kneading process. Play dough will keep for a long time stored in a covered plastic container or plastic sandwich bag.

 

[typ4]

It takes a 1.5 inch block heater. the website sucks

 

[trucknorris]

1.5 inch is 38mm... i wonder why this plug does not fit right? The LR1843-1000W-120V plug literally fits like a glove... it "snaps" into the hole, whilst KAT11416 falls into the hole.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

Why would you not go with the OEM 1K Watt?

Go to Kats website, and the proper BH is listed there

 

[trucknorris]

Ok, it turns out the Kat heater is not a quality product. I used a caliper and measured both plugs, and whilst they measure 38mm on the outer lip, the Kat's heater is not perfectly round....... I am taking it back to Napa. I went to the Oreilly's and picked-up exact replacement part that was in my block Zerostart® - Frost Plug Heater (LR1843-1000W-120V). The part # is 3100043..

Here is an image comparison:

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You can tell that my original block heater and replacement are made of full brass and have some substance to them. Appears to be cast brass, whilst Kat's appears to be stamped brass.

Thanks guys.

 

[madpogue]

So left to right, it's Zerostart, OEM, Kat?

 

[trucknorris]

Yes sir, that is the order: zerostart from oreilly's, whatever was in the block, and Kat.. Zerostar and OEM look identical, with identical stamp... I believe the bend on the used OE part was from whomever installed it, or it bend with age or heat prior to going out.