OP
Made some progress on winterizing the Jeep today and wanted to share since the information is scarce, at least when compared to which oil to use.
Installed:
ABN Oil Pan heater ($20, Amazon) someone more experienced that helped me stated that this was overkill at 150 Watts
but would be fine.
Zerostart 3100072 Freeze Plug Engine Block Heater | 120 Volts | 600 Watts ($37, Amazon)
Trickle charger, Built 4 Charging 1.5 Amp ($60, Auto skills Center, shop around if possible)
3 way extension cord, 2 ft, Arctic Grade ($18, Auto Skills Center)
Xerex G05 x 2 ($44, Autozone) + distilled water ($1.50/gal). I used facet water. (Don't be like me). Dilute and test to -50 to -60° F
RTV, High-temp ($10ish)
Zip-ties
2-6 hours of time
Oil Pan Heater
Self adhesive pad. Easy enough. A tip I was told was to use RTV to fill in the "X" on the bottom of the oil pan. Apparently leaving air gaps can cause the pad to burn out. Also adding too much, like a glue, could act as an insulation layer and lessen the effectiveness of the heater, or so I am told. I placed the pad towards the rear of the pan to maximize the flat area due to the drain plug. Then route the power cable, making sure to avoid the exhaust and other sharp/hot areas. I routed up to the AC lines on the AC accumulator and towards the battery.
Trickle Charger
Disconnect battery cables. Connect Pos to Pos and Neg to Neg for the charger. Make sure to zip-tie or secure the box somewhere safe. On that note, I would wait to secure the power cables until you have all the heaters and junction cable in place to ensure you have enough play. Leave battery cables disconnected until the end.
Block Heater
Drain coolant from radiator through drain valve. Remove serpentine belt. Drink frosty beverage and wait.
There are a few ways to remove the forward most freeze plug, as per my heaters instructions. The route I chose was to remove the power steering pump to gain access and leave the AC compressor in place.
The steering pump has 3x 13mm (I believe) bolts holding it is place that need to be removed through the holes on the pulley. Move out of the way and snake a punch or similar object through the compressor lines.
Place a drip pan underneath to catch the coolant that is going to come out of the block. Place the punch on one side of the plug to rotate it vs punching it in the center and into the block and spiralling into a fit of rage. I put my pinch bar on the right side (3 o'clock) of the plug. Now proceed to beat that thing. Seriously, after 16 years that plug has settled down and laid roots in there. I removed the grill support rod for extra whacking room (2x 13mm).
Once the plug has rotated, snake the plier-like-device of your choosing past the steering pump bracket and pull the plug out. Now remove any burrs in the freeze plug hole, I did not find any, and clean with a rag. Install your block heater according to the MFGs instructions. My instructions were to lubricate to o-ring on the heater with coolant or soapy water and press into the hole at the 12 o'clock position (hoop facing up). Once settled and flush, tighten the bracket bolt on the heater to 25 in-lbs. Attach and route cable. I routed mine to the AC lines once again and across the engine on the intake pipe.
Now replace coolant with mix that you have tested to be adequate to your area. I went with ~ -65° F. Reconnect battery and burp air out of the system in whichever is your preferred way and check for leaks.
Route and secure junction cable. I routed mine between the body and frame through one of the rubber flaps on the passenger wheel well. Secure excess cables
.
I hope if someone needs to do this in the future, they find it mildly helpful. Anyone with more than a weeks experience in Alaska is more than welcome to let me know if I missed/messed up anything. If deemed worthy, I'll clean up this post, add a bit more explanation and post in the how-to section as I have only found a few youtube videos.
Stay frosty my friends.
Installed:
ABN Oil Pan heater ($20, Amazon) someone more experienced that helped me stated that this was overkill at 150 Watts
but would be fine.Zerostart 3100072 Freeze Plug Engine Block Heater | 120 Volts | 600 Watts ($37, Amazon)
Trickle charger, Built 4 Charging 1.5 Amp ($60, Auto skills Center, shop around if possible)
3 way extension cord, 2 ft, Arctic Grade ($18, Auto Skills Center)
Xerex G05 x 2 ($44, Autozone) + distilled water ($1.50/gal). I used facet water. (Don't be like me). Dilute and test to -50 to -60° F
RTV, High-temp ($10ish)
Zip-ties
2-6 hours of time
Oil Pan Heater
Self adhesive pad. Easy enough. A tip I was told was to use RTV to fill in the "X" on the bottom of the oil pan. Apparently leaving air gaps can cause the pad to burn out. Also adding too much, like a glue, could act as an insulation layer and lessen the effectiveness of the heater, or so I am told. I placed the pad towards the rear of the pan to maximize the flat area due to the drain plug. Then route the power cable, making sure to avoid the exhaust and other sharp/hot areas. I routed up to the AC lines on the AC accumulator and towards the battery.
Trickle Charger
Disconnect battery cables. Connect Pos to Pos and Neg to Neg for the charger. Make sure to zip-tie or secure the box somewhere safe. On that note, I would wait to secure the power cables until you have all the heaters and junction cable in place to ensure you have enough play. Leave battery cables disconnected until the end.
Block Heater
Drain coolant from radiator through drain valve. Remove serpentine belt. Drink frosty beverage and wait.
There are a few ways to remove the forward most freeze plug, as per my heaters instructions. The route I chose was to remove the power steering pump to gain access and leave the AC compressor in place.
The steering pump has 3x 13mm (I believe) bolts holding it is place that need to be removed through the holes on the pulley. Move out of the way and snake a punch or similar object through the compressor lines.
Place a drip pan underneath to catch the coolant that is going to come out of the block. Place the punch on one side of the plug to rotate it vs punching it in the center and into the block and spiralling into a fit of rage. I put my pinch bar on the right side (3 o'clock) of the plug. Now proceed to beat that thing. Seriously, after 16 years that plug has settled down and laid roots in there. I removed the grill support rod
for extra whacking room (2x 13mm).Once the plug has rotated, snake the plier-like-device of your choosing past the steering pump bracket and pull the plug out. Now remove any burrs in the freeze plug hole, I did not find any, and clean with a rag. Install your block heater according to the MFGs instructions. My instructions were to lubricate to o-ring on the heater with coolant or soapy water and press into the hole at the 12 o'clock position (hoop facing up). Once settled and flush, tighten the bracket bolt on the heater to 25 in-lbs. Attach and route cable. I routed mine to the AC lines once again and across the engine on the intake pipe.
Now replace coolant with mix that you have tested to be adequate to your area. I went with ~ -65° F. Reconnect battery and burp air out of the system in whichever is your preferred way and check for leaks.
Route and secure junction cable. I routed mine between the body and frame through one of the rubber flaps on the passenger wheel well. Secure excess cables
.I hope if someone needs to do this in the future, they find it mildly helpful. Anyone with more than a weeks experience in Alaska is more than welcome to let me know if I missed/messed up anything. If deemed worthy, I'll clean up this post, add a bit more explanation and post in the how-to section as I have only found a few youtube videos.
Stay frosty my friends.
