S_F

Greetings all. I'm new in the neighborhood. Long time Honda owner (since 98).
Thanks for having me here.

So, on to business. I have a 95 Civic with a 1.5 L engine and am interested in adding a block heater. I have read some posts about this kind of thing but I'm still unsure. Do all of the 4 cyl. engines have a freeze plug behind the manifold? Is there an OEM block heater I can get? Really any information anyone can give me on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks again.

kaoliu

This post will help you ALOT! As it has helped me
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...stall-765.html

Del Namco Solo

why do you need a block heater? its not like you have a huge displacement engine to heat up, its a freaking 4 cylinder. My d16z6 heats up in less than 5 minutes and my buddies b16 heats up in like 7-8 minutes. whats the point of this mod>?

boostB4beauty

In extreme temperates, you plug the block heater in and it warms your block a bit.
It replaces a factory "Frost Plug" (or some call it an expansion plug) and uses a smalll 110V (household) element to give a bit of warmth to the coolant and oil on cold mornings.
Up here in Canada, we deal with them all the time during the winter.
They REALLY make a difference when you are trying to turn over your motor in -30C weather.

Del Namco Solo

lol -30, that sucks, we never get down to that here in eastern us. lol.

boostB4beauty

And to further answer the OP. YES, all Blocks have frost plugs and YES your Honda Dealer should have a listing for them. Approx $50-80 for a kit. (heater and power cord.)

boostB4beauty

I just moved here to B.C. (west coast) to get away from -50C where i used to live!!
It doesn't get that cold here, we don't even have any snow yet this year.

thumper64

You lucky SOB, we just got a storm here...and I have a 4 wheel drive truck, so I'm laughing at people sliding around.

S_F

The dealer said that they can't get one for my car. I have read the ecomodder thread. Maybe I should check it out again as that same block heater will probably work for me.
Anyone have any information on aftermarket ones? And not the ones that plumb in through a hose.

Thanks for all the responses guys.

tlarimer

iTrader: (3)

Check out napaonline.com KAT P/N11419 or Balkamp P/N BK6053231, I feel your pain as it is -20* today, I also went to a higher temp T-stat to keep it up to temp while driving.

S_F

Thanks for that.
Yeah, it's cold here up in the mountains. My car is covered in ice and snow and I'm just about to get in it and freeze! + my mileage goes to hell with a cold start.

tlarimer

iTrader: (3)

I know what you are saying, I live a 6500ft and it was a bit brisk this morning, both civic's covered in 8" snow and ice. I just let them run for 5-10 minutes before I get in to drive. The 195* t-stat really makes a huge difference in warmup time too.

S_F

Yeah. When I replaced the thermostat last time all I could get was a 180* and I think it's bad for any number of reasons in the winter. Heater is colder, warms up slower and it might be part of the reason I get such poor cold weather mileage. Not sure on the last one though. But when it's warm I get about 43 on the highway and in the winter I get about 35! I will get 41 if it's just a straight highway shot for an entire tank but if it's broken up into multiple highway trips I still get poor mileage. I'm thinking that car is just dumping fuel for some reason on cold start.

miguel329

damn -50! thats crazy, i was coming in here to ask why the hell u need a block warmer but nevermind! haha

tlarimer

iTrader: (3)

Try blocking off part of the radiator with a piece of cardboard, I know not ideal, but I did this with my 95 civic 4dr and it brought the operating temp up to the correct range and kept it there. I think that might be part of your winter mileage probelms, the car is not getting or staying in the correct operating temp range. I am gettting 45+ right now, but speeds dont reach anything more than 55mph. Plus all the additves they put in winter fuel to keep it from gelling up like diesel fuel does.

S_F

Yeah I've been thinking about a heater block. What are you getting 45 MPG with? Is it a stock VX or something? I understand that they get great mileage if you keep 'em outta vtech. And what's with the 55 MPH limit?

tlarimer

iTrader: (3)

To be honest I am getting that in my 93 civic SI with a jdm d15b vtec. I cant explain it, but my Dodge mega cab Hemi 4x4 gets 19+mpg, which is unheard of, has to be the elevation + the quality of fuel + driving style. In the summer at highway speeds I am down in the 38-42MPG range. 55mph is the fastest safe speed from NOV-APR here, we end the season with a 6" base of ice on the highways, we dont salt the road, sand only.

Always_BROKE

ah, so that's what that is...I was wondering why i had a plug cord in my engine bay...got to love HT.

S_F

What's the standard thermostat temp? The manual says it should start to open at 172 + - 4 and be fully open at 194. So wtf does 180 or 195 mean? Is that fully open? If so we should all be using 195* thermostats. If not, are there any problems with using a 195* thermostat?

S_F

Anyone? Thermostat temps?

TylerB

The number associated with thermostats is the degree in which it is fully open. 180 degree's is Honda's OEM specified temperature.

A colder or hotter thermostat could possibly mess with fuel consumption and emissions, I would stick with the 180.

Edit: I seem to be conflicting results with what Honda actually specifies as far as temps. It seems to vary from supplier to supplier. I have seen 170, 172 and 180 from 3 different companies claiming the oem temps.

S_F

But my manual says 194. So shouldn't I got with a 195? Well it says 194 for fully opened in the section for troubleshooting the thermostat. It also says something like 200 +- 4 for the V-TEC. So 180 seems off to me, if what you say is true about the # being the fully opened temp. Where did you get your info that 180 is stock?

TylerB

I highly doubt using a non-oem specified temperature is going to harm anything. Just trying to help you guys out. Also, consider the information in your manual is 15 years old now, Honda could have changed their recommendations since then.

Edit: The information seen here is a web based application by NAPA that our commercial customers (garages/dealerships) use to look up and order parts without having to call the store.