maxbaby

I have used the inline heater before on a car I used to have... not on my pathy. They don't tend to last as long and I don't know why. It seems like after a couple of years the internals just wear out. I replaced the one on mine and pulled it apart out of curiosity and noted that the impeller had simply corroded a very little bit, just enough to impede turning. But while it worked, it was nice. A block heater just seems to last so very long, maybe because of its simple design. Contrary to popular opinion, it does not superheat your coolant so that it's super hot when you get in. It does heat it up and cut down on the length of time to when you get into your vehicle in the morning. It might save you 2 minutes. If your heater is working properly, you'll have heat quick enough. An old mechanic friend steered me away from it years ago and got me to spend some extra time flushing my heater core at the firewall every fall. That has always made for nice heat pretty quickly. The magnetic block-type heater in that bottom picture is great for heating the oil pan itself or the transmission in the ultra-cold climates of the north, but probably overkill for anyone else. I have a friend in Iqualuit where the average daytime temperature is -50 C... they need to use something like that if they turn off vehicles overnight. My mechanic friend said the oil dipstick-type heater is more of a gimick than anything. Oh, and he was a heavy duty mechanic working in the oilfields... out in the bush... where they don't have garages... he was very cranky too.

I have a 1994 XE with a 5 Speed manual... Don't think the fluids have ever been changed in the driveline during its 185000 kilometers, so I'm thinking it's time. I don't have the owners manual in front of me but I assume that the fluid specifications will be in there... Somewhere along the way I read a post about there being a defect in either the transfer case or the transmission and that you can't get the correct amount of oil into it... can someone clarify that for me? Any other surprises I should know about? Anything I should stay away from? Any other interesting recomendations? Thanks in advance

Okay, so if I take the brackets as well, then it sounds like I'm good for more than just 93 and 94?

I've got a 94 XE with the flat black bumpers which have not faired well due to rust. I'm interested in finding a front and rear chrome bumper from an SE at a wrecker... am I okay with the 1991 to 1995 model years in terms of being able to do a simple swap?

I'm going to go with the "lube the heck outta the doorlock mechanisms" I guess... Anyone with the water leak issue?? Anyone? Anyone?

My newly acquired 94 just today exhibited the dancing door locks. And my wife noticed that there was water inside the lense of the interior light between the front seatbacks. 1. I read the thread below on the dancin' doorlocks, but I'm uncertain if there is a consensus on what the cause is... I see that 88pathoffroad has much knowlege but am not clear if it extends to this problem. Can he or someone else clarify what to look for or clean up to fix this? 2. As for this water in the interior light, well... uh... how in the heck does that happen? I've had a look at my roof and no obvious rust, nor any holes. I'm guessing something to do with the roof rack, and again, anyone have an idea?