V8 Block Heater Possibility?

M

m85476585

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I want to heat my engine in the winter so it runs more efficiently on my short drive to work and so the interior heats up faster to clear the windows and make the ride more comfortable. I've read probably everything written about block heaters for this V8 engine, and I concluded that the Toyota block heater probably fits, but I can't find it available anywhere. It is either discontinued or only available in Canada. There are mixed reports about aftermarket block heaters, but enough people say it doesn't fit that I don't want to take out a perfectly good freeze plug to try it.

I recently noticed a flat area of metal on the engine, and I learned that they make ~1 inch wide stick-on silicone heaters (https://www.amazon.com/Kats-24025-Watt-Universal-Heater/dp/B000I8XDBM/). But it turns out that the flat area is on the valve covers (I think). See this photo (right side): Completedmotor.jpg Photo by c0wboy | Photobucket

Would it be a bad idea to heat the engine through the valve covers? I expect fairly good conduction through all the metal, but I don't know what the valve cover gasket is made of. And I don't want to warp anything if conduction is not as good as I expect. I would probably put one 25W heater on each side so it can't get too hot, though two 25W heaters could fit on each side. I think these heaters are meant to heat pans of oil, but it seems like 25W wouldn't get too hot on the valve cover in below freezing conditions.

I might also put a heater on the oil pan. There is not much flat area there. A more powerful narrow heater might fit on the back of the pan, but I haven't looked at that area closely.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0163V2J9O/
Here's an example of one on a Tacoma: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oil-pan-heater-mod.52827/
I don't want to remove the paint from the pan, so I wonder if it would work on top of paint specifically ignoring the instructions that say to stick it to bare metal?

The silicone heaters are flexible, but quite stiff. They seem to have sheet metal in them. So I don't know how well they would fit on curved metal like most of the bottom of the oil pan.

Or maybe I should just put an electric space heater inside and run it from an extension cord when I need to deice the windows.
 
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Well, I can't say much on the block heater as I really don't have much experience with them. But it won't warm-up the vehicle any faster honestly, that's coolant not oil; if you're just looking for something warm up the vehicle for you a remote start will probably be better?

The main thing with a block heater is to get the oil warmed up so it's not super thick in near/sub-zero weather.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
Well, I can't say much on the block heater as I really don't have much experience with them. But it won't warm-up the vehicle any faster honestly, that's coolant not oil; if you're just looking for something warm up the vehicle for you a remote start will probably be better?

The main thing with a block heater is to get the oil warmed up so it's not super thick in near/sub-zero weather.
Click to expand...

Actually they warm up the vehicle much faster.
 
I don't think that the 25W heating pads would do much of anything, especially on the valve covers (most block heaters are in the range of ~700W and have direct contact with the coolant). The oil pan would be a much more effective place to install a heating pad, and I'd go with 100W or greater.

The V8 block heater requires knocking out a freeze plug to install (found my heater at TRDparts4u.com), but really will speed up the warm-up time of the vehicle. Up here in the frigid north, we often install a block, battery, and oil pan heater so that our cars will start even when it is -40° out.
 
RunnerAK said:
I don't think that the 25W heating pads would do much of anything, especially on the valve covers (most block heaters are in the range of ~700W and have direct contact with the coolant). The oil pan would be a much more effective place to install a heating pad, and I'd go with 100W or greater.

The V8 block heater requires knocking out a freeze plug to install (found my heater at TRDparts4u.com), but really will speed up the warm-up time of the vehicle. Up here in the frigid north, we often install a block, battery, and oil pan heater so that our cars will start even when it is -40° out.
Click to expand...

25 watts won't do it, but 25 watts on each side plus 125 watts or more on the oil pan gets close to a regular block heater. Initially I was planning to use two 25W heaters on each side, but since it's the valve cover I don't know if that's a good place for that much heat.

The closest Kat's heater is 400W, but several people say it won't fit. https://www.amazon.com/Kats-11414-Watt-Frost-Heater/dp/B000I8XCG8
The Zerostart catalog just says "see dealer"

Here's the best install thread for V8s: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/179593-04-v8-block-heater-install-question.html

Apparently there may be slight differences in 2uz-fe blocks, so compatibility for land cruisers or Tundras doesn't necessarily indicate that it will work for 4runners. It makes sense that Toyota might make design improvements to the block over the years without changing it functionally.

I don't think it matters too much if I heat the coolant or oil or metal. My goal is to heat the most mass, and eventually that will transfer heat to the coolant and to the interior of the vehicle. The coolant is designed to cool the block and the oil, and there is excellent thermal conduction with all that metal. The valve cover is not the best place to heat, but if it can conduct enough heat to the rest of the engine it would be OK.
 
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Bossman said:
Here is a potential alternative to the silicone heater option.

ZeroStart? Super Heat Magnet | Canadian Tire

https://www.amazon.com/ZeroStart-340-0017-Heat-Magnet-watts/dp/B000NM73QY

I used a similar product on my 88 Celica Turbo. That engine had no option for installing a block heater, so this was the best option that I could find at the time. Still have it somewhere in the garage.
Click to expand...

Where would you stick it? I can't find anywhere that would work except maybe the oil pan. I don't think it's really accessible with the skid plate on, and I think you're supposed to remove the heater every time before you drive. I don't want to be crawling in the snow to install and remove a heater.
 
Ah okay, most of the ones I have seen are just pads glued to the oil pan. If they have element to warm up the coolant that makes sense.
 
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