Me again, with a new project:

Winter is coming, and the place where I live now (Thunder Bay, ON) is known for darn cold winters. We moved here this summer, so my car is not yet equipped with a block heater. I'm considering two alternatives, and I would like to ask for your opinion on either of them:

1. Tank heater for the engine. I bought one such heater a couple of years ago, but I'm reluctant to install it because it is too powerful (1700W) and it may trip the breakers on the parking lot receptacles ... On top of that, I really don't want to start cutting hoses to insert the heater in the cooling circuit, as this creates an additional, low resistance path for the coolant, in parallel with the radiator and the cabin heater core ... I know heat is good for the engine in winter, but it's good for me too

2. Heater pad on the oil pan. I tend to favor this approach because it warms up the oil (and, indirectly, the engine above it), greatly improving lubrication during cold starts. I've a 175W pad, which should be fine for my engine size.

The third option (heater retrofitted in one of the the block freeze plugs) is a no-no for me, I don't want to mess around with the engine block and install stuff that's been known to cause leaks, especially on older engines.

Secondly, I'm thinking of installing a second heating pad under the transmission (stuck on the tranny pan), to keep the fluid warm and thin. What do you guys think about this? Do I risk cooking the tranny, or damaging the valves because of the large temperature difference between the top and the bottom?

Thank you kindly,
Dan

 

I have never had any experience with the pad heater type. I can tell you that the in block heater installed properly ( have installed several) has never given any trouble with leaks at least for me.
Also ,the heater installed in the lower radiator hose worked quite well and haven't had any problems with them either. I'm not located as far north as you , but the temp where I am does go down to -30F here in Jan & Feb.

 

One question: how do you know the core plugs aren't rusted darned near through yet? I totally agree with Hanky (of course), that a block heater is a very good idea for keeping the engine warm when cold out, and they really do a great job. If you've ever heard of the Powerstroke engines, you only need the glowplugs for about 2 seconds (saving a ton of battery life) even when extremely cold out (-20 or more) if the heater is plugged in.
As for the tranmission, the heater (if small enough) will not hurt the transmission, as the trans is already cooled. Remeber, you DON'T need to boil the fluid, just heat it a bit. I've never used a trans heater (after rebuilding them for years, I know) as the biggest enemy of any auto trans is heat. However, in the very cold climates, you might seriously consider a thermostatically controlled trans cooler. These are made to not even open up the cooler until the fluid reaches a preset temp, usually around 150 degrees or more. One word of advice: when starting the car in an extemely low temperature, let it run for a minute or two, just to stabilize itself. Remember, just about everything else is at ambient temperature, which means the P/S is stiff, and the fuel will not vaporize readily. That heat generated by running it a few minutes really will help the car in the long run.

 

Thank you both for the advice! Mark, you're right - I don't know how badly rusted the plugs really are, I was just reluctant to help the nature do its thing by messing with the freeze plugs. You know the old saying about not fixing stuff that's not broken ... thus me favoring the least intrusive way to keep the engine warm, which is the heating pad. The lack of lubrication (because of cold, thick oil) is the biggest problem on a cold engine, so keeping the oil hot would alleviate this problem.

The transmission heater idea came from a different judgement: the cold, thick fluid can cause higher than usual hydraulic pressure in the transmission during driving, which can lead to possible damage. Keeping the fluid warm would get rid of this problem at the cold start. Once I drive the car for a bit, the minus 30 degrees Celsius fresh air will cool the transmission.

As far as letting the engine run for a bit before driving away: another great advice I subscribe to. I've always been doing that, especially in winter time. I know manufacturers usually recommend driving away from the get-go (because idling means a slower warm up, which, they say, leads to more engine wear) ... but I don't buy that. I always left the car idling in cold winters for at least 5 minutes or until the water reached about 40 degrees Celsius before driving away. A cold engine - without block heaters, like mine - has lousy lubrication because of the thick oil, so it only makes sense to keep the RPMs as low as possible until the engine parts and its oil heat up. And you're right about heating up the power steering and the rest of the systems in the engine bay. After all, it's chilly for me and chilly for the engine, so why should we both suffer when we can wait for a bit longer and drive comfortably?

I bought a block heater (Kat's) and will install it as soon as it arrives.

Thank you!!
Dan

 

Kat's were good heaters and they gave very little trouble.
I try to use synthetic oil in everything and so far have had good results even in the cold winter weather.

 

Dan:
I don't think that you really have to worry too much about high line pressures on a 4R70W transmission. Even at max on a really cold (-30) start, the most you'll see, and only for about two minutes is about 100 psi, which this trans can hold very well for quite a while. They'll just be a bit 'stiff' on the first few shifts. Even if you could get it up to 45 to even get to 4th gear, it's not a big worry. I think the real reason they don't want you idling them is emmsions. That's when the most emmsisions are formed, and the faster you drive away, you get the exhaust hot and light off the cats. This all reduces emmsions.
However, I totally (as always, it seems), agree with Hanky. I'd give this engine some nice clean synthetic oil at about a 5W-20 grade right before the depths of winter, and go in confindence. Or if the High temp for any protracted time period is going to be below zero for a week or more, with temps less then 20 degrees for a while, then maybe 0W-20 weight. This old car can take it.
But boy, I never did worry about this in Florida come December or January!

 

One more thougt from my tired old mind: You might try a heated oil dipstick type heater for the oil. The pad will heat the coolant (a good idea), and a dipstick type oil heater is even better, because the oil will already be warm (even 30 degrees is better then zero) and the oil won't be any too thick even after just a few seconds. It'll be nice and toasty under the hood, even on a REALLY cold night!

mark

 

Thanks a lot for the info, Mark! What I had in mind with the heater pad was to stick it on the lowest portion of the oil pan so that it'll warm up the oil directly - and, to some extent, through air convection inside the crankcase, the crankshaft and its surroundings - and double it with a freeze plug / tank heater to heat up the rest of the engine block through the coolant.

I'll also follow yours and hanky's advice on using synthetic oil, and will replace the transmission fluid as well, I never replaced it since I bought the car from her previous owner, 16kmiles and three years ago. Would you recommend any particular transmission fluid brand?

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Dan

 

Dan:
No, any fluid will do well. Just make sure that (if it's the original fluid) you use Mercon III;, but I don't know if it's still availble. In which case, Mercon V works just as well.
You know, I was really stupid for thinking that the pad would be put on the block. It occured to me that's what you meant after I got done writing my epistle. Since sloth has never been one of my shortcommings, I just didn't feel like writing a correction. Sorry for that, but I understand now.

mark

 

The easiest thing to do is use a good quality synthetic oil and transmission fluid (I use nothing but AMSOIL). Let the engine run about 1 minute after starting to ensure full lubrication, then drive away slowly getting up to speed. I start my Freestar up and let it run about a minute, then I idle out of the garage and down my driveway (about 100'). Then drive about 15 MPH down to the traffice light at the end of my street (1/10 mile). Then it's drive as normal. 108,000 miles without a peep from the engine or tranny.