OEM Engine Block heater

[jdpber]

so i ordered the engine block heater for my tahoe.. part no. 12560179, 10408653

This was a fairly straight forward install.. Being that i have an IRON block i looked at the bell housing and rear of the engine on the drivers side and located the engine block coolant drain plug. This is a large 2" brass plug with a 17mm allan socket. To get the plug free you will want a swivel and a 10" extension to clear the frame so that you can use a breaker bar for leverage and break the plug free. You do not want to use an impact as the copper could strip out.

tools needed:
17mm allan socket
swivel
10" extension
ratchet
breaker bar or a length of pipe on the ratchet.
bucket or catch pan
1 gallon od DEX-Cool (this is the GM specific anti freeze) DO NOT USE ANYTHING ELSE!
1" socket


-Ok to start gather the tools.
-position the catch pan or bucket under the drivers rear corner of the engine.
-use the 17mm socket, swivel, 10" extension, breaker bar in a counter clock wise LEFT LOOSE direction to break the plug free. With the plug free you can use the ratchet to back the plug out.

WARNING: you need to have the heater ready because once the plug is out the liquid is free flowing!

If you do this part fast with 2 hands you can minimize the coolant loss. I use my left hand to free the plug then my right to instantly plug the hole with the heater. BRASS MARS EASY SO do not cross thread the new heater. To insure the threads align proper turn the heater in a counter clockwise rotation until you feel the thread end do into the start thread inside the block. At this point you can start tightening the heater in by hand. It will go in by had a couple rotations until the thread lock tight seal hits.

Get your 1" socket and put it on the swivel and start to tighten down the heater to a snug finish. DO NOT OVER TORQUE!

Now you need to choose the mounting location of the power plug. I chose to have mine exit at the tow hook. this serves as multiple reasons. 1) in the summer i can tuck it in behind the lower valance. 2) It is a secure location.

route the cord. the supplied length is plenty to put it anywhere you desire. I have seen some people that like to crack the hood and have it by the battery. I have seen it in the grill. this is up to you..

Plug the orange end into the heater and route the cord to the frame. Leave slack clearance around the exhaust. The cord has a heat shield but you do not want contact. I them Zip tie the cord to the brake hard line that is running along the farme and continue to route it forward and out the tow hook. I used a zip tie at the tow hook and tucked it as far back as possible. In picture it is white but was replaced with black.

Now you want to neatly coil the remainder and secure it to the frame. I coiled mine and secured the bundle to the frame next to one of the hard lines.

You will need a timer and and extension cord. talking to a few people 2.5hr run time before departure tends to be adequate to have the coolant warm when you start the vehicle BUT LOCATIONS MAY VAIRY.


Now clean up the area as some coolant may have spilled. MAKE SURE TO PROPERLY CLEAN THE AREA as radiator coolant is toxic to animals. I like to squirt DAWN dish soap all over the infected area of the driveway and wash.

 

[Mr. 960]

nice!

 

[oldsman003]

Any true benefit?

 

[08grey]

my truck has one and I have never used it, let us know how it goes

 

[jdpber]

OK finally a cold night 22* low at 7am. I set the timer for 2 hour run time before my leave time. My computer read 88* coolant temp at initial startup. the run timer @ 1 minute mark was 145*. At the 3 minute run time aka the exit of my neighborhood she was at op temp of 190* and blowing FIRE out of the vents. The windshield only needed 2 squirts of frost melt washer fluid and about 1.5 min of Defrost to be fully clear. I am going to increase the pre heat timer to 2.75-3hrs this evening and see what that does for me as they are calling for low 20s again with this front. Then we will be at freezing level for a week which i think 2.5 may be optimal. I will make a small chart. but hell 3hr all the time may be the ticket. I feel a lot better with the cab air temp cooling fast for the baby. I think the block heater in combo with a 2 minute driveway run time that the Cabin temp may be ideal.

 

[scoobyxj]

What's your year? When I researched block heaters for my 04 I found that they where pretty much non existent due to the fact the ECM compares the coolant temp, and the intake air temp at start up, and will supposedly set a CEL if there are enough consecutive key cycles at ambient air temps above 0* and the two doesn't match.

 

[David Paul]

Subscribed.....

 

[jdpber]

What's your year? When I researched block heaters for my 04 I found that they where pretty much non existent due to the fact the ECM compares the coolant temp, and the intake air temp at start up, and will supposedly set a CEL if there are enough consecutive key cycles at ambient air temps above 0* and the two doesn't match.

My truck is an '04.
As fast as the way the ECM and BCM communicate at ignition I cannot answer that. But what I can is she fires right up. I will grab the computer from buy buddy within the next few days and look at the signal readouts at start up to see it anything odd pops up. But I have Zero codes and zero issues.

How would the coolant temp and air temp be any different that let say. You start a cold engine at let's say 32* and let it warm up and you drive to Waffle House for some food. On the way you reach 190 op temp. And you park the car and go in for some food. When you exit it has been 15 minutes and the coolant temp is now 155. The ambient intake temp is still 32* and the coolant temp is 155*. These temps are way apart and yet no issues.

So I feel it is fine.

 

[David Paul]

Great.....thanks for "making" me spend more $$$$. Lol. Great write up and nice mod for here in NJ.

 

[08grey]

What would be the effect of you left it plugged in all night. Is there a downside to it? I honestly thought that was how it was supposed to operate.

 

[jdpber]

What would be the effect of you left it plugged in all night. Is there a downside to it? I honestly thought that was how it was supposed to operate.

The down side is higher electric bill. Now in the Alaska temps for examp run it all night. Me I'm 20s at night at the moment and decided to run it on a timer to conserve electricity.

 

[David Paul]

Completed install today, and of course it's 50 right now, but it's done.....

 

[electro]

Nice job. Makes things really clear for when I get to to! Thanks.

 

[Goodinblack]

Nice thread

May have to do this

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[jdpber]

it was 20* this morning and the computer read 83* at start up, run timer was 3.22 minutes and the temp was 167* and blasting heat out of the vents and the cab was already warm.

I am telling you if you have your vents set to blast mode on fire setting, it does not take long at all to get the cab nice when the engine is already warm.

Toss the little man in the cab at the 4.55 mark after i got his sweater on him.

the computer was reading 184* and i backed the blower down to 1 and left on fire mode.

This is basically my morning routine now. let it run a few while i brush teeth, then toss any daycare crap in and my drink then get the little man. and i do all this in under 5 minutes and the cab is about perfect!

no significant sign of electric bill increase and i have been using it everyday for a month solid.

 

[JonTiffany1]

I drive ~9-10 miles in the morning from home to work, a majority of that mileage is on the highway, going 65-70mph, and my temp hardly ever reaches the 195 my thermo is rated for. Keep in mind, i let my truck warm up on cold mornings for almost 15-20 minutes. Would i benefit from having this heater? Or does it sound like i have something wrong with my truck? Thanks.

Jon

 

[electro]

I drive ~9-10 miles in the morning from home to work, a majority of that mileage is on the highway, going 65-70mph, and my temp hardly ever reaches the 195 my thermo is rated for. Keep in mind, i let my truck warm up on cold mornings for almost 15-20 minutes. Would i benefit from having this heater? Or does it sound like i have something wrong with my truck? Thanks.

Jon

I would suspect you would gain slight fuel mileage, faster warm up, less wear on engine at startup, and a more comfortable ride

 

[jdpber]

^^^ all correct statements. having the coolant already warmed up makes for a fast and easy start up on the cold mornings for me. the warm up time is drastically reduced. and i have heat blowing almost instantly. My daily commute is a massive 5 miles to the office and this includes dropping kid at daycare. So without a heater and without any warm up my truck would not even register on the dash gauge and be about 90* once at the office. My total drive time is less than 10 minutes in the morning.

As for fuel mileage i have noticed a 1-2 gain for my winter numbers. still not at my summer numbers but this is in part to the few minutes each morning running in the drive heating up where as summer this is about a minute.


THE MAIN REASON I DID THIS WAS for the heat so that the cab air temp was warm for my son. And it has done exactly what i want with other added benefits.

 

[jdpber]

http://www.smcautoparts.com/Engine-block-heater-kit-10408653-for-LSX-engines-p/10408653-axx001.htm

 

[BeenChevy]

Thanks for the write up. Been using one in the Yukon for years and now time to add one to the Tahoe. Due to a likely intake manifold leak in the Yukon, it's a rough start when the temp dips below 28F. Well it's -6F today and with the block heater she fires right up and no hesitation.

The Tahoe fires up okay at -15F with a minor squawk sound but with the block heater i'm sure it'll be easier on her in these temps. Order placed.