New oil pan heater.

[vtec-e]

So i got my heater installed but it didn't go as planned. First, there was waaay less flat surface than i had remembered. I did go for a small 3" round heater but the most flat area on my oil pan is about 1" by 3". A heater to fit that would not have sufficient wattage to do anything other than waste electricity!
So i had to find a more suitable location. The front of the engine block has a curved area where an AC compressor would live. This was just a little too small but was my only chance of this working. I have tried looking up info about the 1nd-tv engine block but can find nothing. There may be a chance that the coolant jacket might go all the way down to the oil pan but i doubt it.
Pic:

As you can see, there is overhang to the left. This would seem disastrous but the power lead is connecting there and there will be little or no heat, apart from radiated heat from the actual heating area. I powered it up and felt the pad heating up but no heat went out to the overhanging area. Relieved? Oh yes!
I looked at the rear of the block too but there was no chance of it working there either:

You can see the vertical bulges where the block bolts are. I thought the pad might bend around them but the radii were too small. Grrr. There was even factory installed insulation over that part of the block!
Ah well.
I thought about using some kind of metal putty to fill in the grooves in the oil pan but i was worried about the putty not taking the heat away from the pad quick enough. Plus i dont have any putty like that.
Aaaanyway, the heater is wired into the existing pumped block heater and is currently sitting parked ready for heating two hours (it's on a timer) before i go to work. I normally get up to 50 deg c out of it. Let's wait and see what it gets up to and sounds like when i start the engine.

[Piwoslaw]

Wow, there's barely room for anything in there!! I remember that when I ordered I thought that the 3" pad would have lots of room on the oil pan, but it turned out to be a very tight fit, any wider and I'd be in trouble. Maybe the oil pan got smaller in the cold?

I hope your engine will be even happier now Even if you don't see a higher coolant temperature at startup, there will be more heat in the block and it will be more evenly distributed, so the oil will warm up faster once you start cranking.

Good job on the install in such tight quarters I hope the overhanging part won't cause the rest to gradually unglue, make sure that the electrical leads are fixed tight and don't dingle to and fro.

[vtec-e]

Started up after 2 hours pre heating and it was up to 55c. So the oil was definitely heated to some degree....geddit!
Sounded a little quieter too. Mpg was 3.3L/100k after my commute which was about 0.2 better than before. Not that my SG can be trusted though. So it will be a full tank before i notice any difference. Within which i hope to put in a new thermostat.
I want a hotter one than the 82c one that is supposed to go in there but can't find one to match it. In any case a standard one should improve things a little as the one thats in it has been there from new, 120,000 miles ago.....
While i'm at it i might change my block heater to a 2Kw one and halve the time to heat the engine.
So much to do,, so little time!

[DonR]

Before they changed it, I thought their websight said that they could be mounted on a simple curve, just not compound. I don't know if this would have helped in your situation or not.

[vtec-e]

Originally Posted by DonR

Before they changed it, I thought their websight said that they could be mounted on a simple curve, just not compound. I don't know if this would have helped in your situation or not.

It would have helped. The new ones are a little flexible but not enough to follow the curves i wanted at the back of my engine. Definitely not the ones on the sump!
Anyway, the four holes around where the heater is now will hold a reflector and some insulation to keep more heat in the engine. To be done after i replace my thermostat.....hopefully...