Actually, it is a 3-speed AT (and I *MEAN* 3-speed!!!) It tends to get into top gear rather quickly, and stays there even if you almost stop for yield signs.
I'm getting varying fuel economy. For the 'paper route' it gets about 23, unless I have to use AWD when it snows/ices, where it drops to ~20. For open road driving (I rarely drive >50 MPH, since it's spinning at ~3,700 RPM) it squeaks out 25-26. It hasn't been run for a while and had crap gas in it, so it gets better the more it's driven.
Definitely not the dipstick heater. Waste of money.
A freeze plug heater is pretty good for most people, but make sure you don't punch the freeze plug back into the block. On vehicles where you can specify a block heater when you order it, usually it is a freeze plug type. This is one of the options that cost less to buy initially than to have it done in a shop after you buy the car. That & they're a pain in the butt to install due to lack of space. My old (2005) Chevy full-size van was ordered with one, and GM now sees fit to install every block heater with a thermostat on the power wire. The heater won't work above 0 F. If you get one without a t-stat and have it on all night, you'll have warm air coming out of the vents in short order. With a t-stat, it's just "warm enough to start".
The one that's a metal sleeve in the radiator hose sounds like a tank-type circulation heater, which is for Arctic conditions. That's an industrial-strength heater. Unlike the freeze-plug heater (which relies on convection), this one has a little heater & pump that runs all the time you're plugged in.
I would use the dipstick or freeze plug kind. The kind that installes in the radiator hose is not warming up the coolant that will circulate when the car is cold started.
Maybe your subaru may get better mpg and power once you switch to a electric fan. Belt driven fans uses the engines power, I'm not sure if the alternator would work much more when you use an electric fan
There probably is not much of a difference in parasitic loss between a belt or engine driven fan and electrically driven cooling fans. Electric fans cost more to install than one mounted on the front of the engine, but they are pretty much the only choice for vehicles with transverse-mounted engines, since a fan at the side of the engine compartment wouldn't do much.
On my previously owned BMW E34, it had the belt driven fan and 2 auxiliary fans. I hear the auxiliary fans turn on many times that's why I assume that the aux fans do most of the work. The aux fans had a normal and high speed. I do remember replacing my fan clutch years ago. I was thinking the fan connected to the engine didn't work as much so as not to draw power from the engine. My aunt had a Toyota with a 4Y engine many years ago. I'm pretty sure it had both belt fan and aux electric fans but I'm not sure which fan did much of the cooling. However since they are called "auxiliary" I would assume they are just for supplemental cooling.
Obviously, designers use auxiliary electric fans if the engine-driven fan doesn't move sufficient air through the radiator and/or air conditioning condenser. You would probably see this arrangement if the radiator and air conditioning condenser has a relatively small surface area, like when the front opening is small, especially in cars with air conditioners.
I believe that in the U.S., the Toyota 4Y engine was used in the first generation vans and is still used in forklifts. I doubt if your aunt owned a forklift, so I'll assume that she had the first generation van. The first generation van had a mid-engine layout mounted behind the front wheels, under the front passenger seats. The location meant that an engine-mounted fan would not draw air through the radiator, so additional electric cooling fans were mounted on the radiator to draw air through it.
Most of the auxiliary fans are there to provide better airflow over the AC condenser unit than the engine driven fan can provide at lower speeds. They are also used in vehicles that have poor airflow characteristics due to the body design or aerodynamic styling. On vehicles with small engines they are also used to save some engine power.
Hmmmm...I mentioned before this is the only 'beater' I have that has a working R-12 A/C.
It's also the only beater I have that won't see roads in the summertime (the plate will be coming off it and going back on the Supra...)
So, it's a Winter-only car. I really don't need a fan running all the time, and when you stop the car for a while and leave the engine running, it really draws down the engine temp...almost to cold. So losing the belt-driven fan won't really be too hard to take. I bet the thing hasn't 'turned on' for at least two weeks...
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