Block heater (how long)
 

Starting to get cold down here in the mornings.

How long should a block heater run to get it to the right temperature. Going to use a timer on the scoket but want to know how long to set it for. 30 mins?? 1hr?? 90 mins?? More.

Not even sure if I have a block heater though so i'll have to do some digging.... I imagine a 87 300sdl should have one though.

PS of block near the rear of it right?

Well, I seriously doubt that NC sees temperatures that will cause any problems for a halfway decent engine. At 0 degrees F or below, I usually count on at least 2 hrs of block heater time to reach the highest temp the block heater can produce.

It doesn't get that cold..... but am noticing a much increased hard start right now as to when I got it in the hot summer.

A couple hours is usually pretty good.

You might check out your glow plugs.

Two hours should do.

My 87 300D hasn't seen much use of late, two bad GP's and waiting for a weekend with decent weather to change them out.

Yesterday (Friday), I didn't have much choice but to drive it, as I needed to leave the Jeep at home for a auto glass repair service to come by and replace the cracked windshield.

I already had a timer and extension cord set up for the Jeep - not to help it get started, but so I could get some bloody cabin heat out of it that much sooner - set to come on at 3:30 AM and go off at 5:30 AM just as I'm leaving for work.

Plugged in the 87 the night before. Went out at 5:30, let the four remaining glow plugs do their job until the SRS light went out. Mid-30's up here in Mooresville, and it fired up smooth as glass.

I set my timer for 3 hours on my 300CD (617 turbo).