chuxtruk

in a 1993. Here's the story:
I always plugged in my truck, ever since new and when the outside temps went below 45 steady. I never left without unplugging. Undoubtedly, leaving the hood part ways closed when plugged in helped there. Anyway, one day I see a spark when plugging in the old original cord. And upon further/closer examination I see the cord's rather scortched and obviously unsafe for further use. So I unplug the cord from the heater and notice a buildup of debri where the cords connects to the unit at the block and so I clean it out with a pick and blow it all out, nice and clean....great so far. I go to Dodge and buy a cord as the Cummins dealer left this area and went north to a place I won't go no matter how much I like them and I dislike Tacoma Dodge and I think it was about the high side of a $20 bill. So I go home and plug the thing in and reroute the cord through the grill, just like the other one. And then I plug that in to the power outlet just like usual and all of a sudden WE HAVE ANOTHER ELECTRICAL PROBLEM as this new cord starts smoking even worse than before!! Well after unplugging it and uttering a few choice words after seeing 20 dollars go up in smoke with the snap of a finger, I figured out quickly that the problem now MUST be in the sending unit itself. So, back to Tacoma Dodge I go and this time I get to spend a total of around $75 for both the sending unit AND another one of those !!$#@&&% cords...
So back to home thinking this is going to be an EASY fix and so I wheel the toolbox over and start messing with this easy fix for about half an hour before I have another learning experience and realize that:
1. This isn't going to be easy
2. I'm probably going to need a puller
3. My hands (like the rest of me, 6'3" 250+ pounds) obviously aren't made for this job either
4. With my luck, I'll get the dammed thing out and then won't get it back together for some unforeseen reason. So....I then thought of all of you guys that have done this "easy" job before. I've even done a search on the "block heater" and didn't see anything about R&Ring one.....Soooooo, Here I'll ask.
What am I going to need to take out the old one and put in the new one? Any tricks or tips on the job?? Thanks....and say a prayer for me, huh??
Chuck

bgilbert

Quite simple. It's held in by way of a hex screw. The screw is located center and below the plug on the block heater. Just be careful the heater doesn't fall into the block when you loosen the screw.

torquefan

Drain the coolant first. (the block heater is all that's holding it in)

Loosen the hex screw several turns, but don't try to remove it completely. You should feel resistance when you get to the last thread. Stop there.

Yes, they can keep a terrible grip on the block, and there's not a great place to hold to pull it out. It's just an O-ring and built-up crud holding it in at this point. I try to tap a screwdriver in under the edge to pry them out. Don't gouge the block.


When it's finally out, clean up the hole with sandpaper until it's smooth to the touch. Lube the O-ring on the new one- I use silicone grease sparingly. Pop it squarely into the hole, and do up the screw. Don't use the screw to pull the heater into the hole, make sure it's already completely engaged before doing up the screw. The screw doesn't have to be super tight, just snug.

chuxtruk

O.K. Thanks!! I'll give her a go....

chuxtruk

Well, we screwed around trying to get this thing out for over 2 hours last Sunday, all to no avail. The nut backs off/ unscrews fine all the way to the end, no problem there. But we used every kind of sharp bladed pry tool imaginable, along with large pliers....WE TRIED EVERYTHING!! And we never even got this thing to move let alone come out. There's just no lip there exposed at all for prying so I give up on this "easy job". It's stainless steel and it's fairly thick so you just can't knock it out either without probably damaging the block. A puller is out of the question....what are you going to anchor the puller to and what would you pull?? There's nothing there tuff enough to pull on. Anyways, when it goes in for a valve adjustment, I'll have the dealer swap this thing out. There HAS to be an easy way to remove this thing without wanting to rape and kill from the frustration soooooooo, this one goes to the shop for repair as it's beyond me/us how this dammed thing comes out.
It must have been that kind of day too as I tried removing the drain plug in the tranny AND I COULDN'T GET THAT DAMMED THING OUT EITHER!!! So off to JiffyLube where they charged me less than the price I was charged for 5 quarts of 5W-30 synthetic at the auto parts store....WAY LESS frustration and I didn't even get dirty either. Now that the plug has been removed once it should come right out next time....but it'll go back to JiffyLube for that task should it be needed again later on as I was extremely pleased in the way they serviced my Dodge....the price was right too with way LESS frustration!! Better luck next time.... Chuck

Baja

Sorry about your troubles, God knows how many times I (we) have the exact thing happen to us. I some way I am glad to have your misery company. Just about every time I work on the truck, I think I should send my wife and kids somewhere, board my pets, and let the neighbors know what is about to happen.

bgilbert

Rubber mallet tapped on the piece that the cord attaches too should do the trick. PAYING a shop to adjust your valves ?? Something simple as that? Well if ya ain't got the tools, then ok.

chuxtruk

Rubber mallet tapped on the piece that the cord attaches too should do the trick.

tried that....it came off on the second hit.


PAYING a shop to adjust your valves ?? Something simple as that? Well if ya ain't got the tools, then ok.

I have tools but have never done that on a diesel....I must be getting old as I seem to have more important things to do. And when the frustrations mount....no thanks! I also have some money from a good paying job and don't mind paying $125 Cummins charges for the service as this will be the third time they've been adjusted since the truck was new, a bargain. A friend has never had his adjusted and it seems to run fine and gets as good of mileage as I do so who knows?? Chuck