Blades 0311

I was wondering what kind of heater would be best for my 94 4runner 3.0 v6? I live in MD but it still gets to around 10 ° Fahrenheit or so. When it gets that cold it will almost never start.

Marc

Welcome.
A block heater.
But it should start without it at those temperatures.
Is your battery good? How are the plugs and timing?
Mine starts at -15F without being plugged in no problem at all unless it's sat for a couple of weeks and the battery goes dead.

Blades 0311

Battery, plugs and wires are all new. The timing isn't right though, have the distributor advanced as far as it allows and it still lags. Possibly the timing chain? It just takes a little bit of effort to start.

Blades 0311

What kind of block heater?

scope103

Like the man said, 10°F is nothing. Make sure the timing is set correctly, and that you're using an appropriate weight oil for "cold" weather. If your problem is that the engine cranks well (good battery, right weight oil) but it takes a while to catch, you might check the Cold Start Injector.

nortonian

I put in a block heater in mine last year, not because it needs it to start but because it takes longer for the oil to get pumped through the engine when its cold. When I get up in the morning on cold days I flip a switch for the outside receptacle and by the time I go to work its ready to go. It also seems get the heater working faster.

I have the kind that fits in the block, not the hose.

It was around -10 F here this morning.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I think you have some other issues as well.

Just do a search for block heaters .

Although I think they can be a royal pain to install on some engines.

Just remember to always unplug any coolant heaters before cranking

Marc

Do you mean block heaters as well?
Up here many, many vehicles with remote starters get started every winter morning with the block heaters plugged in.
I'm talking thousands, if not many thousands every morning.

scope103

Now that's a serious block heater! I make a point of never parking anywhere where it get's below zero anymore, so I don't have first hand knowledge. But I understand that a "dipstick" heater has to be left on all night, starting from when you drive up. It only has enough power (thermal connection?) to keep the oil warm, not to heat it up from dead cold.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I learned that lesson the hard way about unplugging a long time ago perhaps on little engines it is no big deal .

As the water pumped moved coolant an air pocket hit that hot element it popped but with no way of knowing the next morning -20 F not a groan out of the starter.

Then things could have improved used to be a warning on the heaters time flies when your busy living life.

Sebastian F7

They sell magnetic heaters you can stick on your oil pan or engine block.
Be aware though they suck TONS of power. I recommend putting it on a timer to start heating a few hours before work not all night.
There is definitely some issues elsewhere my 3.4 started all last year in -20*F no issues. Just lots of whining noise from the speedo cable while driving.

It also makes sense that the heater would work sooner because the block is warmer than the ambient temp.
The block heater on my Cummins would make the entire block warm to touch in sub zero temps. I used it strictly to help have heat before I got to work before I put my winter front on though.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Consider a battery blanket too.

Just remember to unplug them before you take off. When I was stationed in Alaska it was funny watching people look at you like you were stupid trying to get them to stop as they were backing up and pulling the cords out of their grill and ruining wiring etc.

Blades 0311

Thanks for all the info, found out I have bigger issues, did a compression check and had readings all over the place. Supposed to be around 140-170 psi and I have one in that range at 150, one at 185 and the rest are 95,50 and two are at 60. So either the headgasket is done which I hear is very common on this motor or perhaps the valves are too tight and staying open which would drop the compression? Luckily I can walk to work so I can put it in the garage but it's hard to find the time to deal with it right now. I also don't want to spend the money for shop time.

Blades 0311

I bought it at 150,000 miles and it apparently the motor was rebuilt already, and the heads on it look resurfaced so it would seem like they were telling the truth. It ran fine for 20,000 miles and now this...so... If it is just the valves needing to be adjusted then I can deal with that but if the motor needs to be removed then that will take quite some time. Need to save up the money for a swap.