my truck doesn't have the wire for block heater. I'm wondering if anyones made there own instead of buying one from ford.

 

I ordered an aftermarket off amazon. I think it was $8.

 

Don't wait too long to buy one, they get scarce when it gets colder.

 

Make sure It's not Tucked in behind the front bumper first.

 

Especially since his is an 04, he just might have one, or a previous owner may have taken a shorted one off.


Feel above the starter for cord.

 

As others have said you're not at the mercy of Ford for the cord. I believe in '05 they stopped putting the cord on and made it an "as requested" option. You can get the cord through almost all of your local auto part stores as from what I understand all makes and models use the same. I got mine from O'Reilly and if you need can dig up the part number.

Matt

 

i crawled up under it today and saw that nothing was plugged into the block heater its self. i guess i should up date my profile... I've got a 06 now! how much of a difference is using the block heater? is ECT suppose to be 100 degrees or what?

 

I never seen mine get that high when plugged in. But I also don't plug it in unless under 20*F and then only power it up for 3 hours or so. I think 86 was the highest I've ever seen. It does help the truck start up better but it's no instant heat like my father in laws international DT466's do

 

A lot of folks plug the extension cord into a timer. Set it for 3 hours before they start up.

Here is something I did a few years ago on the subject.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-the-hour.html

 

Like someone said don't wait to long, because they go fast and Amazon is a good place to get them.

 

Don't forget Ebay.


Sean

 

If you want the exact one installed on the truck, might try your local International/Navistar dealership. As far as I know this is still a good number:

Navistar 1686485C91

The last price I saw was $27, but that was a couple of years ago and that might have been at a discount.

And if your feeling rich....

Ford 5C3Z-6B018-DA

$137 through Ford's online parts catalog
$91 through Tousley (though you still have to pay shipping)

 

Your local Navistar Dealer is your best bet if you can't find one on ebay or amazon.
I got mine from Navistar it was way late in the season when I figured it did not have one....It was a Cali truck I imported to the Midwest...

 

Mine was an as requested item on my 03.