94 850 turbo block heater

[skloon]

What is the difference between all of these ? did they change the block casting or is it a clearance issue I see the price ranges from 19$ up to 100$ plus

[Ozark Lee]

They are all aftermarket so your guess is as good as mine. I have installed a couple of them over the years but none in a Volvo. In my case the real cheap one didn't have a pump to circulate the water whereas the more expensive one that I had did have a pump. The more expensive one worked much better.

...Lee

[BEJinFbk]

What is the difference between all of these ? did they change the block casting or is it a clearance issue I see the price ranges from 19$ up to 100$ plus

It's hard to answer your question without better clarification.
Part numbers? Links? Pics?

[skloon]

There is the #9488625 that is for later cars but for the 94 it shows #9124945 #9134643 #9184743 and #9187099

http://www.volvooemparts.com/showAssemb ... bly=gr-608

[cn90]

Over the years I found block heater useless. It basically has about 300-400W, it may raise coolant temp from let's say -30C to -15C, and that is all.

Use synthetic oil, have a good battery and you never need block heater.

[erikv11]

This summer I installed a factory Volvo block heater on my 98, they are 500 W. I have only used it a little (this year), but it raises the engine temperatures substantially. On a 5-10˚ F morning, the engine is easy to start and then warm in just a couple minutes instead of 8 or so. A couple days each week that car gets driven only a short distance in the morning, it is great to have for that.

The OEM ones are hard to find, you can't get them from the dealer any more, the one I have somebody pulled from a junkyard car up in Canada.

[BEJinFbk]

Over the years I found block heater useless. It basically has about 300-400W, it may raise coolant temp from let's say -30C to -15C, and that is all.

Use synthetic oil, have a good battery and you never need block heater.

I respectfully submit that you are way off base here.

Preheating a cold engine is very important for numerous reasons.
You go ahead and keep peeling miles off of your car by cold starting,
but I'm interested in keeping my ride running for as long as I can.

To that end, I would also suggest silicone heat pads on the oil
pan and transmission. And always let the temp needle get off of
the peg when it's gotten cold enough to plug in.

[BEJinFbk]

There is the #9488625 that is for later cars but for the 94 it shows #9124945 #9134643 #9184743 and #9187099

http://www.volvooemparts.com/showAssemb ... bly=gr-608

I think there have been a couple of revisions over the years.
Sometimes, those just happen because the part gets tweaked
a little or the OEM changes and the PN changes with it.

IIRC, there was a difference between turbo and NA,
but I wouldn't bet my life on it.

I was looking around the net at this item a year or so back
and they were coming up Blue Box at 20-30 bucks.

[cn90]

Don't get me wrong, I used block heater in the past too.
Remember block heater heats coolant only and it does not heat the engine oil.
The engine oil sits in the sump and its temp is the same as outside temp after an overnight parking on the driveway.

The potential benefits of block heater are:
- Quicker heat for the cabin
- ? Less wear on tear on the engine

However, I have many cars that have no block heater and they last well beyond 200K miles.
The down side of block heater is to remember to plug it in, ideally there should be a timer that turns it on at about 4AM, so you get some effect at let's say 7AM when you go to work.

My personal recommendation for people is: if you live in a place with the coldest temp NOT below -25C, no need for block heater. But if you live in Fargo ND, or Calgary Canada, then it may help you.

A battery electric blanket may be a good investment too.

[skloon]

I'm 300 km north of Calgary, and some days when it is -30 or colder the poor engine will start but doesn't seem all that happy about it the factory heater actually heats the block not the coolant so much and I do have a battery blankie