I got one of the adhesive oil pain heaters they recommend on four sons off road on youtube, unfortunately they use them on suzuki's.... my Sambar's oil pan isn't flat, it's all bumpy. What kind of heater can I put in? The truck doesn't like to start in anything worse than -15, and I work overnights so the truck sits outside at work all night. At home I can just put a space heater beside the engine in the garage for like 30mins, but nothing I can do at work. I can park beside an outlet, that's why I was going to use the oil pan heater. Any ideas? I've heard of the coolant hose heaters, but would that impact anything with the radiator being all the way in the front with the engine in the rear? Would it even work?
Its a shame I use the same heater on my carry and it works like a charm. Another option is recirculating coolant heater, there is a small pump built in that move the coolant around. There is also a oil plug heater, it replace the stock drain plug on your oil pan.
Coolant heater is probably the better way to go. That is if it spins over quick and just doesn't catch easily. Carbed motors have trouble starting since as soon as fuel hits anything icy cold and metal it will puddle/pool. Globs of fuel don't like to burn. A coolant heater would do a better job at getting the whole block warm. You also have the added bonus of heat in the cab way quicker. If it's turning over slow a battery heater might be the way to go. Maybe even a larger battery.
I live where it gets cold, and the truck was bought to carry a snow plow. So, I want it to start reliably. I have wired it for shore power through a marine grade 15-Amp breaker. That feeds a maintenance charger for the battery, which comes on any time the truck is plugged in. There is a feed through a thermostatic switch which closes at 0-degrees C, and powers a battery heater, and two stick on pads on the oil pan and transmission/transfer case. And a -20-C switch which feeds a lower hose heater. This is the newer version of the one I installed: Kat's 14400 400 Watt 1" Lower Radiator Hose Heater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I8TQ0O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Ct3kEbYCD0MNM A lower hose heater would probably work for you. If, you put it close to the engine, it should establish a convective loop to circulate the water. A circulating heater might be better. But most of them are designed to install in a 5/8-inch heater hose. My Hijet doesn’t have those. Not sure if your Suby does or not. Plus, one would take more space than there is available on the Hijet.
Thanks for all the info guys. Currently the battery is brand new and I can tell the engine is spinning fast enough, it just doesn't.... grab? That little shutter when you know if you keep trying that it will start eventually, if you know what I mean. It's totally fine when it's been sitting in the garage, and on warm days so I know it's nothing wrong with the truck since fixing the spark issue, just too cold. Would the coolant one be the best for my situation close to the engine as possible? How does it work, plug it in like a block heater? I'm interested in the drain plug one as I haven't heard of that before, but from what you've all said the problem may not be the oil being cold, but fuel hitting cold spots?
This one is probably more suitable for the engine size: Kat's 13080 850 Watt Aluminum Circulating Tank Heater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I8VKOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_pOjlEbM6F21W4 These are convective, and not pump driven. So you need to be sure you have the space to orientate it with the discharge up, and mount it securely.
