Is it possible to still replace the heater block even with the engine inside the bay. Or is it much easier with it out?

Heater Block ? ----not sure what that is....
or Block Heater ?-----for winter starting
or Heater Core ?----for warming the inside of the car ?

I'm sorry, but I haven't the foggiest idea what you are asking? Are you referring to the heating system "heater core" or are you referring to the engine block heater?

you people need to use a little common sense....

I ment the Block Heater for winter starting....

[QUOTE=BenzBoy8]you people need to use a little common sense....

I ment the Block Heater for winter starting....[/QUOTE


Well, than why didn't you say block heater? Hay, I'm tired too, been a long day!

I would highly doubt that you would have to remove the engine to remove the block heater, but you may need shorter arms getting up in there!

thank you for all the help. Sorry about the comments

BenzBoy8, I don't know why you were thanking those that replied. I didn't find most of their replies all that helpful either. I understood right away in your first post what you were talking about. Maybe thats because every vehicle around where I live has one and people have different names for them.

Anyyway, I have a '79 300 D and the block heater is leaking coolant (slowly). The fastlane picture (of my 300D and your SD) shows a threaded plug with a threaded insert heater element. I am wondering if you can get a large socket over this outer plug and get a ratchet and extension bar on it from unerneath. After 25 years of the heater element being in there in my case, I would expect some effort would be required. The fastlane one looks like it's made of brass, so maybe it could be easy to get out.

I can see the problem from above (with a mirror) because some time ago, I tossed out the non-operating air conditioner that would have been in the way.

Please post what you ended up doing. There isn't much stuff here on this topic. I am intersted in how it went.

The block heater is hard to get to from the top with the turbo and downpipe in place and the starter is in the way coming in from the bottom.

I'd suggest pulling the starter and go in from the bottom unless you were planning on performing service that required pulling the manifolds and downpipe...

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

What is a block heater?

You are going to need a big mutha breaker bar to break the block heater loose. Use a 1/2" breaker bar with a pipe extension over the end.

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Jim

This one was rather easy for me. Do not confuse the level of difficulty with that of removing the plug for your first block heater installation.

I've removed two different plugs that had been in there forever. Those needed a six foot breaker bar.

But the block heater element that went bad came out real easy. So did the coolant behind it

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

You can use an impact to remove them, but never to install.

When I bought my '95 E300D used from a Mercedes Dealer a few years ago, it had no block heater. It took the dealer 45 Min to install one.

The freeze plugs into which those block heaters install are usually relatively accessible on all models from underneath.

I used to own the same car as yours and if I remeber correctly, with the car on the lift it should be an easy 1 Hr job.


Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

Since I have my engine out of the bay, it is a lot easier to work on.
I took apart the manifold, turbo, starter and some minor things.
Yeah I knew I might need a huge breaker bar.

If you have the original threaded plug in there, some of them can be quite aggressive. When I rebuilt my engine, the only thing that anyone else removed was that plug. The guy who removed it(before he boiled out the block) said they had quite a struggle with it. I didn't have just the right wrench for it but something close. The threads are fine and probably 8 full threads of engagement. Start soaking with penetrant and heat if you can. Good luck

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Aggressive is putting it mildly.

I couldn't get that mutha out with an impact wrench. It took me and a friend, with a 4' extension over a 3' 1/2" breaker bar to snap it loose. That would have NEVER happened with the engine in the car (unless all manifolds are removed). But of course, if the heater is already installed, and you are just replacing the element, some channel lock pliers will get that out from below.

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'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88
'01 VW Beetle TDI
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD
'89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T
'78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110
Oil Burner Kartel #35

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