Block Heater Installed

[Tatunka]

I really like block heaters and was bummed that my NV did not come with one as I don't live in Canada.  And on top of not coming with one I could not find a part number to order an OEM heater.  So I went on to the Titan/Armada boards and found one that would work.  The part numbers I found were Infinity numbers: Block Heater 11001-6P70A and Plug In 24076-3JA0A. I took a chance and ordered them up and they are the correct part numbers.

 

Here is a link to a forum with picture and a good write up : http://www.titantalk.com/forums/titan-engine-transmission-drivetrain/123916-titan-block-heater-diy.html

 

The installation went fairly well, problems I ran into were; because I have the 4x4 conversion and fat hands the freeze plug removal and heater install were a PITA and required a lot of patience and long extensions, the freeze plug is a 12mm Allen socket and I needed a breaker bar and a lot of pressure to break it loose, a lot more coolant came out than expected so be sure to buy some ahead of time ( the blue crap from Nissan, I needed 2 gallons). Other than those things it went rather smoothly.

 

I got to test it out in Bemidji, MN this week with temps in the -20 to -10 range and it worked beautifully, without the block heater my NV would start but not happily, now its happy. 

 

 

One more thing, I noticed in the owners manual that it is recommended to use a block heater when temps will be 20F or lower! Now isn't it interesting they mention that, but they don't install block heaters at the factory for northern trucks?  WTH Nissan.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Tatunka

[kenmnv]

Thanks for the info!

[xavman]

So I just did this.  It is a pain, but nothing that cannot be done without proper prep.  I would say that Tatunka's info is critical.  Get the pieces you need.

- the easiest way in is from below.  no removing anything.  just put the truck on a ramp, slide under.  look for the oil pan, then look to the alternator.  The frost plug is just behind it (rear of it, so closer to you then the alternator).

- Make sure you get 2 gallons of the 50/50 antifreeze from NIssan (about $55 total).

- Get the heater.  I would say that no matter what you do, buy this up front.  Most places that will do an install, wont carry the part anyway.  Oreilly sell zerostart (what I got, had it in less than a day), Napa sells Kat's.  If I had to do again, I would spend the extra and try to buy the OEM from Nissan.

- Make sure you get a 12mm (male) hex driver bit.  I got mine at Autozone.  I also got a 12mm hex key at Sears.  The trouble comes down to interference from the oil pan.  What I ended up doing was use the hex key (it looks like an "L"), stuck the long end into the frost plug, and took a 30 inch 3/4 inch steel pipe.  Because you need LEVERAGE.

--If you get a 12mm hex male bit, get a solid wrench, and a 4inch extender.  make sure you get high quality pieces or you will probably strip.   use 1/2 inch driver size, not 3/8.  still recommend the steel pipe as a cheater (lowes, home depot etc).  bring your wrench to lowes so you get the right inner diameter pipe.

- get a bucket to catch old coolant.  it wont rush out.  Literally, once i loosened the plug, i went and cleaned out a bucket and came out and then caught all the fluid.  NOTE: you will not stay dry at this point, accept the coolant, so if your car is warm, make sure it ain't scolding.  I ended up catching 1.5 gallons of coolant.  

- all i did was raise the truck onto 2 gorilla ramps.  I used an old box, opened it, laid it under and slid in/out easily.

- I (per instruction) put teflon tape on the heater.  I didn't have any torque specs, or a torque anyway, but I used about 25-35 pounds pressure (mentally).

- I then put coolant into the heater until it started raising the levels in the overflow.  I then started it up and watched for leaks and made sure I was ready to stop the truck or add coolant.

- I then plugged the cord in, ziptied it to the alternator wiring, again to some small coolant (maybe a/c pipe), then wove it out to the grill and ziptied it to the grill (block behind lowest, passenger side of grill).

 

PNR - Point of No Return - the second you have the frost plug unstuck ( it is a little biznatch getting loose).  I had everything already, but if i tried to do it and couldnt get the frost plug off myself, I was going to stop and take it in.

[MarioC]

Old post, new member. I though I would give an update to those that are looking at block heater for our engines. As it is mentioned in the linked titan thread (see link above) the alternative plug that works for our engines is the 999M4-YA002. It is no longer available from Nissan, and instead they have you buy the heater separately and the cord separately for a total of nearly $150! Well, I found a place that still have the 999M4-YA002 part available and it is here: https://gspec.com/p-7306-block-heater-kit-20.aspx and it was $26 shipped!! Just ordered it. 

[iowarhino]

MarioC   - did you get the plug yet and did you have any issues with install?    Thanks for the link, I just ordered one too as the best price I could get was $150-ish for separate parts..........heater from infinity and the cord from nissan (ans nissan discontinued the heater).   

 

 

update:   i got the heater from Gspec and installed it yesterday, works like a dream.   good notes from @xavman above....... the 12MM allen socket worked perfect and it was pretty tough breaking the plug loose but then rest was easy for install.  It was -5 temp last night so it was started alot happier this morning (sits outside but i have a Viper remote start).

Edited December 29, 2020 by iowarhino
update

[Tatunka]

Update for the 2017-2021 NV with the VK56DE V8

 

So I bought a new NV, but because we don't live in Canada no block heater, so same problem. After a little research I found a diagram of the 2017-21 VK56DE block with the location of the OEM block heater. The problem is that it is located in the middle of the block under the manifold, seriously Nissan! So I went to the dealer on an unrelated issue and asked about the heater location. The dealer confirmed the location, good news; the heater is a $65 dollar part, bad news is labor to install it is $740! so it's an $800+ job to install an OEM block heater! So that wasn't happening, back to square one.

 

 

 

So I found that the location for the frost plug is in the same location as the previous motor, and all the parts above will work as it is the same 30mm hole. If you can't find a OEM part that will work, Kat's Heaters has heaters that fit.