[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by Blacky

We had a couple of -22°F nights this week. I was wishing all my vehicles had block heaters. It's much easier on the equipment and you get heat a lot faster. They start but they don't like it.

Exactly! I attached my OBD2 reader and monitored the temperature. I was at 69F before it started. After starting it dropped quickly to 64F. I assume it was losing heat to some colder spots in the block. Once it starting to tick back up, I figured I was good to go. The car started better and I got heat quicker. I still drove like a granny until it reached normal operating temperature but at least I knew that the block was at a reasonable and somewhat uniform temperature before I started driving.

My old school local mechanic (as opposed to the old school WV mechanic) swears that they see a lot more head gasket jobs in the spring and summer following a harsh winter because people push their cars too hard before they are fully warmed up. I witness this behavior every day. People are in an awful hurry to get wherever they are going. Personally, I like to be aware of my surroundings and enjoy them as I take nice easy starts and stops as well as when I am cruising at a nice steady and reasonable speed. People miss their lives as they are trying to race through it in an effort to somehow prove something.