Warming up the engine on cold days?

[Fuzpile]

T'were me friend Nipper. Not a chance for me to disagree too strongly for he's of wisdom beyond mine in many areas. However if were a 6 to be a 9, who would mind?

Something curious about heating systems with these more technical Subie cars is that the heating valve for inside heat is Not old style. i will make a new thread.

[Fairtax4me]

Or rephrase it to "pre-cat American Cars".

[Fuzpile]

Yes Fairtax except the 318 was good and also the 350. I'm not very knowledgable about many more because i was into smaller vehicles while everyone was spinning wheels. I was into FWD since eek 1969 Makes me old AND VERY Unpopular back then. Yet there were times.

[Fairtax4me]

The SBC 350 really wasn't that great. Most went 150k miles and needed a rebuild because the rings were completely shot, and the stem seals were leaking so bad they would foul plugs on every start. The lucky ones that got mostly highway use could do 250, but not much more.

 

The Ford 300 I6 gets a bad rap for being "underpowered", even though it could tow more than the hailed for it's power 302 v8. But it's one of the toughest american engines ever made, if not THE toughest. If you can kill a 300 in under 300k miles you have no business driving a car IMO.

[nipper]

:banana:I disagree with a later post. Many engines went beyond 60k . A fellow was saluted a year ago with his orig Volvo P1800. It went 1,000,000 with the same engine. Toyo's and various diesels go a long time and many V-8 has 200k+ so maybe u should rethink that.

 

 

I should have said american (so I will clarify and not change), my mistake. As when i mean older carb'd in the US foregn cars were few and far between. Small engines (anything below a 8) didnt have any real competition till then.

 

Also deisels (up untill the last 2 years) did not have cats, nor carbs, so they do not count either.

 

Everyone knows of someone who has a car/widget/squeeqky that lasts way beyond what the planned life for the car/widget/squeeqky was planned, but for the moist part they were lucky if they got that far. Technically that is not a valid point either, otherwise i would be standing from the tallest rustpile exclaiming how the 1969 Rambler American was the best car ever built!

 

HEY STOP LAUGHING AT ME!

 

*giggle*

Edited December 21, 2010 by nipper

[Fuzpile]

I'm not laughing. I'm not saying you were actually...... yeh you mighta been.

So that means nothing. There was mention of the Ford <> 300 inline 6 . Well it was apparently super because folks put 300k mi on them. SXXX more than that. That was then. Remember those longass maifolds, where will yo ever see that agin. Tis gone. i would like to say the same of various other engines but some few rise. The huge flatheads the Big sixes and the eights. Well they could pull a freakin house down but ...well they were and are still great. Never again. Yet you have to like them a lot. Or not. Because there was .... The ..

[WRX2FFU]

I usually let mine warm up halfway before going. Most of my driving is 15min or less and if I just waited a minute or two i would vever warm the engine up which imho is worse than letting it warm up a little more under idle.

 

 

 

In the summer I pretty much just turn the key and go.

[Fuzpile]

Actually that sounds similar to what i did in a Honda CRX. It had a pretty good system also. The problem is that the change in temp and humidity causes a layer of moisture. We see it as vapor but it remains there until baked out. Then eventually rots stuff out from the inside.

[Fuzpile]

I'll say something else and it isn't pleasant. The Honda was a particular but nothing compared to a Subaru exhaust system. This is an expensive system. what happens with internal rot is a baffle dislodges and eventually clogs the exhaust at times.

[bulwnkl]

I live in a cold part of Idaho. Here's my warm-up routine for really cold weather:

 

1) Use lubes (especially motor oil) with exceptional MRV viscosity performance (that means super-good cold flow properties),

 

2) Buy and install a block heater,

 

3) First thing in the morning, go out and plug in the block heater, then come and take a hot shower before frostbite sets in,

 

4) When I'm ready to leave, unplug the block heater so I don't rip something out of the wall and start a fire, seeing as how I'm a firefighter and that would look very bad,

 

5) Start the truck and let it idle a few to several seconds,

 

6) Go on my merry way.

[Legback]

Is there a way to install a block heater on the ej25?

[Buick350X]

If its cold enough for a block heater, you also want a battery heater.

 

 

[Sioux-baru]

 

Everyone knows of someone who has a car/widget/squeeqky that lasts way beyond what the planned life for the car/widget/squeeqky was planned, but for the moist part they were lucky if they got that far. Technically that is not a valid point either, otherwise i would be standing from the tallest rustpile exclaiming how the 1969 Rambler American was the best car ever built!

 

HEY STOP LAUGHING AT ME!

 

*giggle*

 

My grandpa had a Rambler, and boy could it run... He past away, so im wondering if my step brother got it?

[Sioux-baru]

Experience hear talking, Block heater, battery blanket and oil pan heater. The 3 things you need if you live in the Northern Plains.

Nothing worse than going out in the morning when its -30F, (Still dark out) and turn the key and nothing.

Go back in and warm up for 30 minutes, go back outside and then try to find another vehicle that will even start other than "ol trusty" and when you get it cranking, its cranks awfully slow because the oil is like molasses.( yes there is 5w-30 in the oil pan) and when it does fire up, the oil pressure doesnt even register on the gauge for a minute or two.

 

Then, it sounds like its going to explode or die as it idles loppily along., (is that a word, loppily?) then it takes 15 minutes to bring everything up to operating temps. Then drive it over to give ol trusty a jump to bring it to life.

By the time you get ol trusty running, its mid morning, what good is it to go where you needed to go hours ago?

 

Yes there has been days where I checked the antifreeze and it was slush, and the oil so thick from the cold it wouldnt even drain if I removed the drain plug. (did it just to see if it would.)

[Fuzpile]

I regret to the effect I sidelined this off slightly. You folks Know stuff and not just about Subarus.

[bru73]

i le t my outback warm up fur abought 10 min ( in summer or winter )usely becouse im smoking also i have over 200k on moter and trans moter has slight piston slap and if i just turn and burn my trans dose not want to shift

[987687]

My friends would laugh at me for letting my car warm up for 10 mins in the summer...

[bulwnkl]

Is there a way to install a block heater on the ej25?

 

Yep, and it's super-simple. There's a big screwed-in plug over near the water pump. I don't have pics, but I believe the pics of it that I found helpful were on this board. Drain the coolant, remove that plug, screw the block heater in, route the cord to wherever you want it to be, and refill with coolant.

[Suba9792]

I let mine warm up for about 5 min, but I also have cold start piston slap, summer eh a minute or two. It does help on the cold days to circulate the oil and warm it up some, I prefer to warm it. Yeah you waste gas but its cheaper to fill up then to go out and find a new motor because you ran the piss out of it while cold.

[cagranitz]

Here in Southeast PA, regardless of the temp, I start up and go immediately. Idling = 0 mpg. Making the engine do some work, instead of just idling makes it warm up much faster. 2000 and 2001 OBW, EJ25, 150,000+ miles, engines run great.

[Suba9792]

on an engine with many miles its probably a good thing to give it a minute or two.

[1-3-2-4]

I have a question right now I got 10W 30 in the car now but sometimes on some cold morning my lifters will be loud for maybe like 3 min and you can hear when they get oil because it will get much quieter.

 

I wonder would 10W 20 be better off?

[johnceggleston]

I wonder would 10W 20 be better off?

 

no, but 5w30 would be better.

[1-3-2-4]

I will switch to it when it's time to change

[heartless]

I have a question right now I got 10W 30 in the car now but sometimes on some cold morning my lifters will be loud for maybe like 3 min and you can hear when they get oil because it will get much quieter.

 

I wonder would 10W 20 be better off?

 

 

check your owners manual for recommendations - it will have a chart of temps and which weight oil to run for those temps. Follow that!

 

personally, i would not run 5w30 oil in a subaru - tried it once in my old GL wagon, it didnt like it! it got changed out long before the next change was due. just my nickels worth...