tdi - coolant heater?

[djstorm]

I've heard a block heater is useless in our tdi's and that an inline coolant heater is what is required. The is no way I would be able to do this myself, is anyone up for it? I'll buy whatever parts etc and am more than happy to compensate you for your time + expertise. I've heard the one from the dealership ain't so great, but outside of that I have no idea what I am looking for.

Anyone able to assist, or recommend a place that can? Even if I just know what parts and where to get them, I can always go to a shop to get it put in - just wondering if there are warranty concerns or anything like that as well.

Thanks in advance!

[stefan]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

i wouldn't say useless... for the sake of cold starting, block heater or oil pan heater works just fine. if you want the heater in the car to blow warm air sooner, then yeah, circulating coolant heater is nice - they do work better i think.

[Stonewall]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

TDI's don't have block heaters are there are no frost plugs. I could help you put the heater in but it will have to be in a couple weeks. You will need to ge the heater from crappy tire (about $60) and the hose, you can get the part numbers off the TDIclub. You will also need some coolant from the dealership and some distilled water. Install should only take an hour or two.

[RobG]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

I have the part number for the upper hose that works from Napa. You can also get the Temro heaters that have thermostats in them from Greggs.

[Stonewall]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

You don't want the heater with a thermostat built in. It will block the flow of coolant when the engine is running.

[GoNzO]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

I bought a FROSTHEATER. www.frostheater.com

Best investment for winter yet(besides my nokians).

I was very unhappy with the starts with just the oil pan heater. Bought the inline heater and its great. Nothing like getting into a cold cald with medical scubs on in -35 weather and no heat for most of your ride home.

Very easy install. Good instructions and took me no more then 20 mins to do it. Had to buy a bit of VW antifreeze to top up what I spilled doing it.

Look them up.

At the hospital I work at there are 4 TDIs and I think everyone has them installed. Everyoen agrees with me it makes a worth while difference.

[RobG]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

You don't want the heater with a thermostat built in. It will block the flow of coolant when the engine is running.

I have one of these, It's a manufactured item, why would they make something that dosent work? I think it's excellent, It's only 750W instead of the 1000W one from Canadian tire, The 1000W heater is enough power to heat a big block chev from -40. It's not a thermostat like what's in a car, it's a temperature switch that turns the element on and off as the temperature in the heater changer with convection.

[Stonewall]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

Well Thermopro do make one with a thermostat cut off and although I have heard of the one you describe I haven't read about to many being installed. I think you can buy a kit from TDIheater.com (opps now frost heater) but I think the price works out to be about the same in the end (although it saves the hassel of finding all the parts).

[GoNzO]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

frostheater is the same as TDIheater. They changed the name. Either way if you do a search for it they both come up. TDIheater takes you to a link to go to frostheater.com.
Same people, same product, same price. New name verse Old name. I personally like the old name best.

[Red90]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

The thermostat versions look identical, but unfortunately cost a lot more. Your better off money wise to get a normal one and use a timer at the plug to turn it on in the morning.

IMO, you should get a pad heater for the oil pan first. It is more important for your engine to heat up the oil.

Frostheater is a bit more expensive. $112 USD (so around $125 CDN). Versus around $75 purchased locally.

[Stonewall]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

I wouldn't risk the oilpan heaters, they have been known to fall off and set your car on fire (and I mean a BIG fire). Using the coolant heater will heat up some of the oil as it is right beside the oil cooler. Personally I use a normal heater with a noma (etc) timer as it is way more adjustable for the time as you can control the time for each day as well as multiple times per day.

[zero10]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

I have the kit from frostheater installed in my 05 golf and it is excellent. Combine that with heated seats and this is the best car I have ever driven in the wintertime
Install took about 45 minutes and was pretty painless.

[Turkey]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

I've been looking into this and I can only seem to find info on TDI's. Is it the same parts and install procedure for a 1.8T?

Also, to sum it up it seem like the general idea is oil pan heater is bad and coolant heater is good. Correct?

So does the coolant heater actually help with heating up the oil? I'm not so much worried about being cold. I am more worried about stress on my engine.

[GoNzO]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

With a gas engine you dont need a coolant heater. When you start your car in the winter you can leave it at idle and it will warm up to operating temp. With diesel they dont warm up. Since we have no spark and only compress fuel we dont warm up on idle. I can start my car and leave it for 20 mins and hardly get the temp gauge to move. You must drive it (and it takes a while) for the temp to increase to operating temp. Coolant heater keeps everything warm and allows warm air to blow when first starting. If you dont keep the RPM up or drive the thing after starting it the temp gauge falls and soon you will have cold air blowing again. This is the same for cold days and coming to a stop/park....if you leave your car running the temp gauge falls.
One of the down sides to diesel....but I will live with it.
I hope this explains it for you.

[RobTheGob]

Re: tdi - coolant heater?

People put the recirculating block heaters on gas cars - but it's not very common.

Diesels just don't have enough waste heat at an idle (and not that much when they are underway, either!). When it is really cold, you can even watch your temp guage drop down when you stop for a period of time...