I see that Land Rover sells a frost plug block heater. My Minnesota dealer has very little knowledge as to where and which core plug must be removed to install this small heater. I have the aluminum 4.0 L V-8 and just want one for added winter safety. Any body with feedback?
THANKS Dave

 

Stick it in any block drain you want.
Personally I would put it on the front most block plug on the passenger side because the coolant flows from the passenger side to the driverside then to the radiator.

 

A block heater is for your comfort, an oil pan heater is for your truck's comfort. Use a synthetic oil like mobil 1 0w40 and you won't need either.

 

my truck has the factory one on the drivers side, closest to the firewall.

 

Anyone know how you install? How do you remove the frost plug and insert? I wouldn't mind putting one on along with a pan heater... then both the truck and I can be happy!

 

The freeze plugs are just pressed in. You should be able to punch them out with a screwdriver.

Eric

 

Yes exactly they are press fit, be careful not to nic the ring in the block it's pressed into and resist all urges to clean up the mounting surface (NO sandpaper/dremel/diegrinder/files/etc.... Frost plugs taper fit by a few thousand's of an inch and the new heater/or plug may not fit properly and could leak/blowout. Most heaters are o-ring seal and have a wing on the waterside that spreads as you tighten the nut/bolt/screw on the front. A little sil-glide or o-ring lube (not petroleum jelly as that will swell the o-ring causing premature failure) and tighten it down as directed. (if over tightened they will break easy). good luck!

 

More frost plug ('core' plugs in the casting world) info. My Mpls. Land Rover dealer quoted me $600 to install a frost plug heater (as of 10/26/2010). Fairly steep I think. I have placed these heaters in domestic engines----never in British or into aluminum blocks. Installation is fairly basic assuming you have room to actually access the metal plug. They resemble a large bottle cap and were pressed into the block after the casting core sand was removed at the forging plant. I have easily drilled a hole into the center and pried out the fairly thin metal cap. Most heaters have a neoprene rubber surround and by tightening the nut you expand the plug and effect a seal. Plumbers sometimes seal the end of large sewer pipes with similar gadgets. Having room to do all this is the problem. My Disco 2 has exhaust manifolds that seem to obscure a good part of the block where I assume the plugs might be located. The oil pan is aluminum I think-----------therefore the old easy stand-by of using the magnetic heaters is lost. Mechanics have epoxied on steel plates and then use the magnetic heaters--------------but it sounds a bit less effective. My parking spot at work is exactly 3 feet from a duplex 120 volt outlet. Previous vehicles have benefited from the coolant heaters and I would like to do my Disco 2------------but-----------?? THANKS FOR INPUT Dave

 

All the modern oil pan heaters are peal and stick flexible silicone pads then you RTV the edges, they are very effective and never come off. Google Katz heaters. As far as core plugs go, yeah they are hard to get to. Coolant/block heaters are for the passenger comfort anyways, oil pan heaters are what you need for cold starts. Where are you that you need block and oil heaters.

 

A magnetic heater will stick to the oil pan no problem unless you have a cast aluminum one.