Eh, well the claim was made by the manufacturer, Zero Start, who make heaters of all kinds for all applications, including truck fleets.

JC Whitney has a great return policy, and I got several gauges for $12-$15 when the EXACT same gauges from veggie oil kit companies cost $40-$70. Plus, they've had the Pollak 6-port valve for sale for $55 for months, compared to $79 from most veggie sites. They also answered the phone within 2 minutes of me calling. So I'm OK with them at this point.

They may have improved since their catalog-only days. Used to be they led the charge with sub-standard parts, including fuel magnets and all sorts of snake oils.

Zerostart is a good product, from Minnesotbrrr...

"It looks like the bottom intake on the tank heater got teed into the output of the water pump, or whatever is a 5/8" hose right above the alternator." So you got a good heater with a very poor installation. Perhaps because there's too much stuff under the hood, perhaps by installer without a clue. My vote is for the second.

Put your hands out in front of you, with one hand slightly higher than the other. The higher hand is the engine block and the lower hand is the heater in a good installation. It's that simple. So you have to 1) lower the heater and 2) find another inlet. Deep pockets for labor or do it yourself, which isn't that hard. If you can bleed brakes then you can do this.

How about a picture of your engine bay. And find out where the heater outlet goes. Worst case is that you don't have room for a tank heater, but let's see what we're getting into before giving up. I prefer tank heaters over a frost plug heater.

I called my mechanic. I read the instructions to him. As he put it, they "put the cart before the horse by trying to find a location to put the block heater before reading the instructions."

So I'm bringing it in on Thursday to have them rework it. Should I ask if I have to pay for it or not?

If I were you I would give up on the tank style heater now. I tried the tank style heater, and while it will work if installed correctly, there is no comparison to the stock heater. The only way you can get it to work on this engine is to run a line from the front of the engine, to the rear port on the head. It must be mounted really low, and does not work well at all, especially in anything below 0F. Check out the install here:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=122677

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If I want to install a block heater. Can anyone tell me where that is?
I know its in the starter area. Does anyone have a snapshot, of what I am removing?

I guess go to the dealer to purchase a block heater?

Sorry for the dumbness, this is my first diesel!!

you can get it at Fastlane:
http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1G30Q5TQW1N9177G0R&year=1985&make=MB&model=300-SD-002&category=All&part=Block+Heater+Kit

It's a 19mm (3/4") allen plug in the block right by the starter.

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Thanks!!.Appreciate it!....I don't have an allen that big. I am gonna have to check the local parts stores.....Just take that allen plug out, and install heater?

It doesn't sound hard to do.

Are you joking? You screw up the install and I pay a second time to have you fix what you didn't do right the first time?

Check out the "search" for block heater and see what some have had to resort to. It can be a CHORE.

MonsieurBon: It goes something like this: Be in a good mood and talk only to the manager/owner. Remind him that you're bringing in the car because you appreciate a shop that fixes their mistakes, and you're not the type of person that tells 100 of their best friends that a shop is bad unless they really are bad and you really have to in order to protect your 100 best friends. If the fella tells you that there will be a charge then leave and chalk this one up to experience. And please do tell 100 of your best friends and write a letter to the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce. Most shops try to do good work and don't appreciate the bad names they get called because of a few crooks.

Breckman99: Tank heater is the cat's meow if installed correctly. A bit slower, perhaps, but I like the circulation and clean windshield in a top-notch installation. Down side is that some cars just don't have room.

:eek: That block heater is going to be a bear to install.

update
 

So I took it back. They spent $240 labor on it, all free under warranty. All new hoses and clamps were free too. It's now located on the passenger frame rail, near the back of the engine.

The plug is, um, zip-tied to the brake hose in the passenger wheel well! I am going to buy a 3-foot extension cord and run it somewhere else, like under the front bumper. It's kind of inconvenient to have to turn the wheel all the way, get a flashlight, and get both hands and forearms dirty plugging it in.. Yeah.

BUT.... I plugged it in last night and set the timer to have it turn on 2 hours before I leave. When I put the key in and turned it to ACCY, 60C on the temp gauge! Woohoo! It blew warm air right away.

I opened the hood and the block was super-warm. I'll probably take a reading with the infrared thermometer to determine how much it will warm the fuel system components for my WVO conversion. I'll also test how long I actually need to have it on.

So, it's performing exactly as the manufacturer indicated.