[Vwdiesel] Block heater location observations.

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

  The big advantage of a block heater over the one you put in was 
evident on your hood, lost heat.  A block heater puts all the heat into 
the block and obviously will rise to the head.  One in the hose depends 
on siphoning to circulate the heat.  Heat is lost to the outside 
through the hotter hose, they usually use more heat to do the 
job and this can cause boiling, which can cause loss of coolant.  
  They should work much better in that riser hose that VW's have 
compared to putting one in a lower rad hose like when engine heaters 
first came out.  Replacing a dead block heater isn't necessarily all 
that bad.  Loosen the nut or bolt as far as you can without dropping 
the spreader off the end, inside the block.  Then a pair of channel 
locks to twist the heater free.  The hard part is getting the spreader 
pushed back in while pulling the heater out.  Usually you can get a 
screwdriver or such in there to bend it in enough to clear the hole.
  New ones are a cinch to put in.  :-)  Once the hole is clear.  Bentley 
says to put it in the forwardmost hole.  I've always put them in the 
center one.  Much easier to get to.  The easiest way I found to 
pull an old freeze plug:  I did quite a few at the dealer, time was 
money plus banging on a chisel in limited space, overhead, for 
half an hour is not only irritating but very taxing on your arms!
  I finally went to using an air chisel.  I'd do very short bursts, 
check, burst, check and so on until I'd broken through a slot 
about half an inch long, in the middle of the plug.  This takes about 
5 minutes instead of a good 20 or more.  THEN use a hammer and 
chisel to finish up a slot.  Then punch in an agle ended pry bar or 
first a screwdriver if needed, to open up the hole for the pry bar. 
Lever it out until one end clears the block.  It still usually won't 
come out easily.  Last a pair of channel locks will grab and lever 
the heel end of them against the block and pull the plug right out.
  A little sandpaper, wipe, a little grease and install the block heater 
and tighten.  
  I really need to do a couple of these.  If nothing else the car is 
warm much faster in cold weather.  That and less wear and tear 
on startups.
   Loren


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