That must have been designed in properly; good to see. It is my understanding that all diesel trucks, etc, have block heaters installed as of about 2006 or so; I know my '07 chevy did, and that was a godsend because it would have been no fun putting one in. Are skid steers not following the same path? That sure would be kind of a nice little perk. j
I installed a genuine Bobcat block heater in my T180 a few weeks ago ($40 or so from the dealer, including the line cord, a quality unit). Easy, just as Ken said. I have the Kubota V2403 engine. There's a freeze plug at the left hand side of the engine just above the drive belt housing. Once you drain the coolant, remove the air filter to gain a bit of wiggle room. I used a long drift punch to dislodge the bottom of the freeze plug, which caused it to rotate in the block (don't nick the block). I then grabbed it with pliers and pulled it out. I very lightly buffed the block with emery cloth so the o-ring on the heater would seat OK. Put a bit of lube on the heater o-ring so it won't tear or nick and so it will rotate easily. Once the heater is seated in the block, rotate the heater and you can feel the element contact the block. I rotated mine in both directions until I could feel it hit the block. Marked both extremes, then set it half-way between those points to give the heater element max clearance from the block. Then just tightened the screw as the instructions said, and I was done. Slick and easy. To make sure I had a good element, I plugged it in for about half a second before I installed it, to feel it warm up. It did, and fast! Careful here, I'm sure if you left it plugged in for a few minutes it would burn itself out. Once installed and the coolant is added, you can hear the element working when it's plugged in.
---RC
