Dang, there it was!! Well, I think i'm still right that the heaters don't get mentioned very often along with the usual suggestions to free-up the intake and exhaust systems, raise compression, unload all the heavy junk out of the car, etc., etc..
I'm working on a real orphan, a 1985 Toyota Camry with the 1TC turbo-diesel engine. VERY few were sold here. This little 1800cc engine is a prime example of an engine that cracks heads, and in fact the head on this one was cracked, along with other serious problems. Potentially it's a nice little car, super-economical if you brew your own fuel from waste veg-oil, and since the aluminum head was easily weldable, I'm rebuilding the engine. To give the new engine some chance at avoiding more head-cracks, it's getting an aftermarket "tank-heater," the term often used for a heater that is plumbed into the engine's cooling system.
One of the benefits of the various heaters that I failed to point out in the first post was that a whole lot of people, especially older folk (and I'm one), frequently tend to make very short 1 or 2-mile trips in their cars. Vehicles used in this way never really get warmed up, and consequently wear out prematurely and waste fuel. This diesel Camry was being used by its previous owners in just this way, and I think this kind of driving is particularly hard on diesels.
Have I thumped the tub enough?
