I have a 2014 Hyundai Elantra that I purchased an aftermarket block heater for. The engine has a cavity for a cartridge style block heater which is much easier to install, but the instructions call specifically for a silicone product made by novagard to be used to coat the inside of the cavity as well as the cartridge itself which is supposed to help with heat transfer and to keep dirt and debris out.

I can't find this stuff anywhere locally (I'm in Canada, eh) and the cheapest it would be to buy online is over $30 which is more than half of the cost of the block heater itself and I only need a small dab of it. I was looking at Permatex 22058 which is also silicone based and has an almost identical temperature range. I called KAT'S (the block heater manufacturer) and they said it would be fine, but I had also emailed permatex and their response was that it would not work because it is an insulator.

What is so particular about the novagard product and is there anything else that is suitable to use instead? Thanks.

 

Maybe you could use the heat conducting grease that is used when mounting transistors to heat sinks. Any electronic supply store will have it.

Here is a link to a 1 oz. tube on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Conductivity-Thermal-Grease-Toothpaste-Type-Computer-CPU-Heatsink-White-Orange-/321254114478?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4acc3cc4ae