Engine block heater...

block heater...

Are there block heaters made for our cars? Are there universal block heaters that would work. A search on the net yielded nothing....just curious.

Late,
Trav

The block heater is available from your Toyota dealer... It's a dealer installed exterior accessory for $154.00 (Cdn) in Canada.

Mine came with one from the dealer, 1993.

You woun't find a generic heater for it. Gotta go to the dealer. The dealership sold mine for like $60 or $70... It's easy to install.

what exactally is a block heater

It's a 110 volt plug-in electric heater element in the engine cylinder block that warms up the coolant to reduce strain on startup in freezing weather.
Click on 'EXTERIOR', then 'Block Heater' for pic and details; http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObj...c920000e%2ehtml

ya that would freak me out if i found a plug in my car

whoa, u plug it into ur house???

yeah theres an outlet under the radaitor, i was confused when i first found it

Hahaha... you guys are funny. I was the same way at first.

Yeah, in cold climates people rely on heaters to keep their vehicles from freezing up. Back in the old days people up here in Alaska would drain thier oil every night, take the can of oil inside, the next morning they would heat it up on their wood stove and take it outside and pour it back into the engine. This would thaw everything out and ensure a good start.
The extreme cold (even heat) will ravage your vehicle if you let it.

Some tires that didn't have enough natural rubber in them would freeze, shrink and break the bead seal. So then you would have to take your wheels off every night when it got cold, only to install them in the morning again.

Now we have block heaters. The one for the 01/02 corolla is like a 1/2" round x 2.5" long aluminum cylindar looking thing with a metal clip on the top and a cord coming out of it. Also they make these rubber heater pads and you glue them onto your oil pan and trans (or trans fluid pan) with RTV sealant.

The best way is to plug into an automatic timer set to come on 3 hours before you start your car in the morning. This saves some money on electricity.

They say, 20 or below, plug it in. You notice a big difference in starting in like -15 or colder.

i wanna see this plug under the radiator!!! is it in the 98s also?

It is an optional accessory, most cars now have a space in the engine block for a heater.
It's just like a regular extention cord, usually zip tied to the underside of the car...

This is a relatively new application... you might find it a little amusing.



http://www.arcticleash.com/

Everyone in Alaska has probably "invented" this idea.
But only one person actually did something...

I simply installed a battery warmer ($20 at WalMart) and it worked great.