If you wait, that means I have to wait too No sense in both of us having the same problems BTW, what brand coolant are you using? I've been doing some reading and researching and as near as I can figure out is if you flush it well you can refill with any G05 spec coolant or even the G11/G12 series. I'm not one for mixing brands and will add straight water in a pinch. The MB spec coolant is used in both their Gas and Diesel lines and the Dodge Sprinter has a Benz Diesel! The BMW blue coolant is also used in both their engine lines too. Besides, I flush and fill every two years anyway, so the additives and Ph aren't an issue. Without starting a "flamer" of a thread I'd appreciate your input. Pls keep us in the loop. Have a Merry Christmas.

Thanks,

 

I may end up doing it some nite after work next week but most likely next Friday unless he is not home. This weekend is out. I would do it this afternoon but i have a get together at the inlaws tonight at 5.

I honestly dont remember what brand i put back in it. It has been rite at a year now. I will reflush it though when i move the top hose. I am not as particular on brand of coolant as some people are, so long as it meets factory specs and is a decent quality it will work for me.

 

For what its worth i just figured out what size port is in the block. When I put my heater on I asked around on here what thread size it was and found out that it was a m18x1.5. I ordered a M18x1.5 male to 1/2" NPT female adaptor and it threaded rite in. I got one with a embeded oring washer so it sealed nice. I know it has been said in this thread or the one abought th etank heaters in the aftermarket forum that it is a 1/2 NPT port but i dont balive it is. Maybee someone on here can figure it out for sure but I can tell you that the M18x1.5 fitting threaded rite in and sealed as it should.

This is the exact part number I ordered and it threaded rite in.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVS...00000167042813

 

This is the exact part number I ordered and it threaded rite in.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVS...00000167042813[/QUOTE]

The link gives me an error on the part number. Can ya help a feller out

 

Thats weird. The link worked when I posted it.

Here it is again and if it dont work here is the part number to put in the search on the MSC site.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVS...00000167544087

Here is the part number.
84433523

I looked at the plug that I removed from the block the other day and it definatly is NOT NPT like some one stated in the tank heater thread.

I still have not got around to moving the hose or messing with it at all. I have a work car I drive daily and the truck is washed and clean in the garage avoiding all the crappy roads. I will get it moved I just dont know when.

 

That web site is setup so that linking to a specific product will not work. Need to link to the home page and provide the part # for the Search box, for that setup. It's not the only 1 that is that way.
Any1 can get there with the info you provided above...

 

Thanks to both for the info. I found the part and now just have to wait until Monday.......................Da*n holidays!

 

The heater inlet should be at the same level as the engine fitting or slightly lower put the outlet back into the heater hose, should work, the outlet hose should go up from heater outlet to engine conection no loops like you have , air lock, the hot water shouldgo into the engine as the heater warms in and it rises drawing more cold out of the engine. The heater sould be plumbed so that the inlet and outlet on engine are as far apart as possible. Does the heater have a thermostate? better if it does. The poor running after start could be sensors are all warm,so adjusts fuel rate for that, but incoming air is cold , and takes the computer a few seconds to find this out and adjust fuel rate ! just a guess Laurie

 

I cant get the inlet of the heater lower than the block port. It is not much higher where its at now. As far as th loop is conserned I know its not Ideal but I garontee you there is NO issues with flow. I can hold onto the hose and feel the hot coolant flowing threw the hose at a very high rate. Trust me there are no flow isues with the way I have it. I have every intention of putting the hose in a port at teh back of the head. I may try the heater line again just to see if it will flow but it literaly acted like it was hitting a shut valve not an air pocket. The heater and all lines would get real hot then it would shut itself down till it cooled and repeat. Even if I do get it to flow threw the heater core it then has to go down a mettal line on the side of the block back to the watter pump. That is where the heater core dumps into. It then has to travel back up into the engine from the bottom and by that time a lot of heat will have been lost. Not to mention the plug in the block I am getting the coolant from is twards the front of the engine and down low by the watter pump. It wouldent solve teh getting hot coolant to the back of the engine isue as well as just dumping it rite in the head at the back.

I should go work on it today. I dont drive the truck much anymore as I have a work car so I am not real ambitious abought getting it figured out. The truck is clean and in the garage.

 

OK now I am getting a little ticked. I went and moved the hot hose to the very farthest back port on thehead and now it wont flow at all. It acts like it did when I pluged it into the heater core hose. It just heats up the watter in the unit and hose and then trips itself out cause its to hot. You can feel the head rite where the inlet is and it is hot as well but no other part of the engine is hot at all. It presurises teh coolant system while it is on cause it pushes it out the radiator cap so I cdant figure out what the heck is going on here. I admit I dont know the flow scematic of the coolant in the engine but I asumed it would flow threw teh block and head and not be blocked and only be able to flow threw sertain parts of the engine. Any one know what the heck is wrong here. I wasent able to get rid of all the loop but most of it. It flowed fine with it before. The head around the inlet is getting hot but thats it so the coolant is trying to go into the engine it just cant go anywhere for some reason.

 

I'm not going to argue with you about it, but that is vapor locked. the same as I knew it was in your heater core.

has nothing to do with the port placement on the head. you just got lucky that 1st time you did it.

 

At this point I am gona try what ever it takes to get rid of any posobility of vapor lock. As you said I may have just got lucky before and now not so much so.

 

this is what you need to do. follow the options in the instructions. and it will work as designed. purging the system is important before starting the heater. run the engine heater on defrost through a couple heat cycles to remove any air pockets before you plug in the coolant heater.


http://www.hotstart.com/assets/PDF/T...216061-018.pdf

 

The outlet from the Kat's should be plumbed into the heater core return line, not the one in the head. Haven't done mine yet but the question I have is about that M18X1.5 plug. Is that the block drain or just a plug in the cooling jacket?

 

I’m not sure I’ve followed exactly where you’ve tied in and the fluid circulation path but having worked in the refining business for 40 years I can tell you one thing that will damage our pumps and compressors is cold starts when the machine case (block) is at an inconsistent temperature. Warming (thermal expansion) of the block metal should be accomplished as uniformly and evenly as possible otherwise you’ll have problems and a much shorter life because tolerances between your moving parts are all over the map. If you can’t heat uniformly then you may be better off starting totally cold.