Dodge Caravan 2005 250K
My car is slow to start and when it does it makes a big whining noise for a few seconds. I figure I need one of those block heater things I keep hearing about because it's minus degrees around here right now. Autozone has some in stock, but the one for my car has to be ordered and the price is twice as much of course. The guy also said I would have to get a mechanic to open up a freeze hole (or something like that) and add threads and it was a whole thing that I can't just do myself.
He mentioned that they also have silicone pads that I could use instead and those just heat up the oil pan instead of the whole engine.
Are there any drawbacks to the silicone pad method? Are they just as good as the kind you have to make a hole for and insert into the engine?
Why not just get one of these $32 dip stick heaters and call it a day?
Where do you live? If the ol’ girl made 250k without one, might not be worth adding now. Just make sure you have fresh oil and a healthy battery.
My car is slow to start
It shouldn't do that, regardless of temperature.
it makes a big whining noise
The serpentine belth is slipping. It shouldn't do that either, regardless of temperature.
I figure I need one of those block heater things
that won't help either problems. They might help an old carburetted car to start, but for you it would just warm up the engine faster.
it's minus degrees
minus what? Celsius ? Fahrenheit?
-1C is not that cold.
a mechanic to open up a freeze hole
Freeze plug? That's a misnomer. They're not for freezing. They're casting holes for manufacturing an engine.
Are there any drawbacks to the silicone pad method? Are they just as good as the kind you have to make a hole for and insert into the engine?
Block heaters directly heat up the coolant inside engine. They're like an electric kettle for your coolant. Since it's inside, the heat spreads out the rest of the engine and oil.
The pads sit on the outside of the oil pan and warm up the oil pooled up there. Obviously, they aren't nearly as efficient since half the energy is just heating up the air under your vehicle. The rest of the heat goes into oil that isn't even touching the engine block. As soon as you start up and the warm oil is circulated through the cold engine it'll cool down again. Since the oil is a bit thinner, it does help the engine start a little bit, but ....
No heater is going to help the two problems you have very much, and it isn't the correct repair.
Slow starting has many possible causes, but is usually fuel delivery. Other general tune up should be done too (spark plugs, air filter, intake cleaning, etc.). You also just a have an old worn out high mileage vehicle.
Belt squeal means you should be checking for belt wear, or accessories that are wearing out. Tensioner, AC clutch, etc. But most likely your charging system is struggling so load test the battery and alternator.
minus what? Celsius ? Fahrenheit?
American.
Belt squeal means you should be checking for belt wear, or accessories that are wearing out. Tensioner, AC clutch, etc. But most likely your charging system is struggling so load test the battery and alternator.
I ended up not getting any kind of heater. I was worried that my car wouldn't be able to start and lots of people around here have those heaters so I thought that was the thing to do. A not starting car didn't end up being an issue. It ran alright while it was super cold so maybe those people just have old cars, even though mine isn't exactly new. But now that it warmed up, it's developed a rumble.
Why not just get one of these $32 dip stick heaters and call it a day?
I wish the guy at Autozone had tried to up sell me on that instead of letting me walk away with a confused look. 🙂
If the ol’ girl made 250k without one, might not be worth adding now. Just make sure you have fresh oil and a healthy battery.
I didn't end up getting one, but I did have the battery checked.