1. what's available

2. who uses one

3. how well do they work

i don't think they are needed unless you have a desiel. i know my subie starts fine at -20f usally when it is that cold out i try to stay home

Shawn W. has a block heater on his Brat, you could ask him...

 

My Sub has always started well in real cold weather???

I usually get heat in a few minutes even in the coldest of times :cool:

 

Good luck,

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer with heater!

01 Forester also with heater!

I had a block heater on my GL10, cost about $60 installed. The car started fine without it, but it helps a lot with cold stressing on start.

 

 

I'll be putting one on my 'new' '95 Legacy this winter. The Pretty One's '00 will stay in the heated garage, but my side has been taken over by my airplane so I can finish the rebuild this winter.

I picked up a $20 one that is magnetic and goes onto your oil pan. Keeps the oil and oil pan hot and lets heat radiate upward into the rest of the engine.

 

You can also get one s that go where your dipstick goes or ones that replace your frost plugs. Those would prolly be more preprietary to a year/make/model (well atelast the frost plug ones) so I havent really looked into those.

is there one that screws into the head drain port?

 

I don't like cold

the ea81 block heaters screwed into the front of the block on the passenger side....

Block heaters don't work on JDM's, so I siliconed an oil heater on the bottom of my oil pan. Tank heaters, if properly installed, work well, also.

Block heaters don't work on JDM's, so I siliconed an oil heater on the bottom of my oil pan. Tank heaters, if properly installed, work well, also.

Oh? My '85 has a block heater (threaded into drain on bottom of block) and I am pretty sure that it has a JDM in it (pre-me, but done by in-laws).

My JDM has a plug in it, but the opening isn't threaded.

The '84's got one, sits in PS of engine block. Haven't checked it out yet, but I'm a planning to.

Don't hold me to this but I am 90 percent sure that the block heaters they sold for the 2.2 will work on the ea81 and ea82 engines. You need the 14MM hex tool to get the plug out. Your dealer parts counter will probably have the kit in stock.

 

BE ADVISED: There is a metal plate that sticks to the inside of the block heater dummy plug that will come out and go into the coolant passage in the block. If this happens you can have coolant circulation problems.

i have 4 of the threaded block heaters installed in ea82 blocks.

 

pretty much any auto parts store[napa-etc.] should be able to get them for you. mine cost between 28-32 bucks each.

 

there is a threaded plug on the bottom of the passenger side head that takes a 14mm hex [allen] head tool. the heaters are easy to install, i would put some sealer on the threads just for grins.

 

there can be ONE problem... sometimes the plug in the block is darn near impossible to get out. steel plug alum block, been there since new, whatever. they can be really stuck.

 

i had 2 come out easy.

 

i had one that took a 1/2 breaker bar and 2 foot piece of pipe, and only came out after running the motor till hot, then it broke loose. [different expansion rates of steel and alum i guess]

 

i had one that was a horrible nightmare to get out- breaker bar, pipe on breaker bar, finally stripped the hex head. put in bigger and bigger ez-outs...

 

finally ended up drilling out the whole plug with a step bit.saved the threads in the block, thank goodness.

 

block heaters are the way to go in my opinion if you have day after day of below zero weather like we get here. sometimes we can go the month of january and never get above zero f. even during the day, with nightly lows in the -30 f. range.

 

with a block heater, your car will always start, barring any other problems.

Not subaru specific, but I hope this helps.

 

When I was a kid Dad used to put a hot plate under

the oil pan of his sports car to make it easy to start in the

winter.

 

He also installed a heater in the pickup. This heater went into

either the heater hose, or the top radiator hose. I do not

remember which. Basicly after splicing it in series with

which ever line it was the thing just bolted to some free

surface under the hood and a line cord lead out the front

of the truck's grill. Just ran an extension cord out and

plugged it in at night.

 

Having said all that I have never had my 88 1.8L turbo GL Wagon

fail to start on a winter day, but I am usually in either NYC, or western

PA durring the winter, so I do not see extreme subzero weather.

 

-Brett

If you're installing an aftermarket heater, the way to go is a coolant heater. Just splice it into your lower radiator hose, and it heats the coolant, causing it to circulate throughout the engine. Easy to install, and it's probably time to replace rad. hoses and flush the cooling system anyway.

 

Oh yeah, and though soobs are generally great at starting up when cold, using a heater will reduce engine wear, you don't have to warm it up as long, and the heater will blow warm air sooner.

The block/coolant/oil heaters are a real good choice for all the aforementioned reasons.

 

Cold starting is hard on your engine.

 

I have another solution that is more oriented toward the occupant (i.e. me) than

the engine as we do not suffer much in the way of sub zero weather.

 

I have a ceramic cube heater (1500 watt) mounted on an aluminum support positioned in

the rear of my wagon. Cord exits the tailgate and is rigged for auto disconnect.

 

This is controlled by a timer which turns on approx. 1/2 hour before I leave for work.

 

I get into a serious warm car and by the time it cools off the heater is putting

enough heat.

 

 

After all - it's all about being comfortable.

so where does it go on to the ea82 turbo?, it looks like the exhaust crossover blocks the port

I think JC Whitney also has an inline heater that you splice into your radiator hose.