Any suggestions on engine heaters?

My '02 WRX gets grumpy in the cold too. The coldest it's been this year in my part of Massachusetts is -12F, and the Impreza starter turned the engine over so slowly it almost felt like I had to turn the key with more oomph (yes, I know there's no relation.) It gets like this for my car at any temperature below 15. It has always started for me in those temps, but it doesn't sound happy doing it with all the valve clatter, increased idle speed, and cold belts and pulleys. My manual gearbox gets so gummed up that it usually take 3 to 5 seconds for each shift until things get warmed up (less than

Byron

You want the block heater that goes into the coolant drain plug in the bottom of the engine. Got one for $37 at NAPA

I had a Kenlowe preheater on my last car, a Landrover.

David; I've recently taken advantage of a cold spell to check the time needed to warm up a Ford 3.8L engine, using a 600 watt in-line heater and a600 watt OEM block heater. The In-line heater uses a built-in axial-flow pump to circulate the heated coolant at the rate of about 4L/min. Ambient temp during the test averaged-29C, engine temp was -24C when the test started. After the in-line heater had run 15 minutes engine temp was -15C after 30 min. -9C, 1 hour -5C, 2hours +1C.

When the block heater was tested under similar conditions the temperature sensor showed a slightly higher temp than with the in-line, BUT when the coolant was circulateted (by pumping) the correcte engine temp was 3degrees C lower than with the in-line heater.

About "tank" and lower-rad -hose heaters; I'd like to see some performance figures!!!

I have a spare in-line heater you can have for the price of postage. It goes into either of the heater hoses and is about the size of a pop can. BTW it's made for 5/8" heater hose. If you prefer to phone: (613)584-2523. Walt

I hate any additional connections to fail...that's the main reason I use the block heater. TG

TG Consider the fact that when a block heater fails, springs a leak, or p pops out of the block, the owner can face a hefty repair bill. On the other hand, installation and replacement(if required) of an in-line heater can be done by anyone who can use a screwdriver.

Walt

What would be really nice is a coolant heater that runs of an auxilliary battery. Then you could be assured of a nice start when AC mains aren't available. Even if it was on a timer, that would be sweeeeeet !

I imagine, a power inverter would do the job. Dunno about the timer.

Power consumpiton? Dunno, heck, I'd line up a couple batteries in the back of the '92 Legacy wagon if it would ensure I'd get home from work okay !!

jw milwaukee

Have a look at these links:

Is that the big black plug to one side of the oil pan, with a big allen wrench hole in it?

Does that seem to heat it up pretty quickly at sub-zero temps? Because I'm in a situation where I can't supply it with power overnight.

walt woytowich wrote: [much thorough detail, and then:]

Thanks, much -- but I think I'm going to go with the one that screws into the bottom of the engine and see what that does for me.

I like how you're thinking. These are the kind of cold-weather mods I can imagine a niche market for. Somebody who'd take in your car and outfit it with various electric heaters, aggressive tires, maybe a bigger heater, stuff like that. Another candidate for a heater: the gearbox. This morning it felt especially sticky. You know it's cold when the engine stalls when you let out the clutch in Neutral.

Thanks. These are ones I didn't come up with in my websearch.

Wow. It sounds like exactly the same kind of deal. I wonder what it is. It's soooo sloooow. I'm really wondering about higher-cold-cranking-amp batteries. Because when I hooked it up to the (running) pickup's battery, it cranked a lot faster.

Hi, My kids MY00 Impreza RS starts OK in -30C weather up here in Alberta. What cold cranking? Your battery must be weak or small size. Last 10 days or so we had non-stop cold days, -30C(wind chill -40C or so). Never had trouble. You can install SMALL trickle charger and plug it in(uses lot less electricity than block heater) or plug in block heater on a timer. Or get a biggest battery you can have in that car. Tony

Hmmmm...

It's whatever battery the factory puts in 'em, and 2 years old now.