Need Help - Ford 1720 Block Heater Installation

[OldBulldogger]

Hello All,
Well winter is just around the corner here in Minnesota and now is the time to prepare while the weather is still decent. I have a 1989 Ford 1720 that I purchased last spring and I have to say, these are great little tractors!

It starts pretty well with just the glow plugs however I recently purchased the Ford oem Engine Block Heater kit for it as an extra precaution for really cold days. I have never installed one before and wondered if anyone could share their knowledge and or photos of how to install it? It seems simple enough however I have never popped out a frost plug on an engine block before and am admittedly leery about doing it.

Any and ALL help would be appreciated. Also, for those that have them, how well do they work?

THANKS :thumbsup:

 

[RickB]

Open the box & read the instructions. The NH kit has pretty good detail. Get after the frostplug with a suitable punch near the edge; rotate it 90 degrees, grab it with pliers, pull it out. Most important thing is to clean the block bore VERY clean before installing the heater.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Hello All,
Well winter is just around the corner here in Minnesota and now is the time to prepare while the weather is still decent. I have a 1989 Ford 1720 that I purchased last spring and I have to say, these are great little tractors!

It starts pretty well with just the glow plugs however I recently purchased the Ford oem Engine Block Heater kit for it as an extra precaution for really cold days. I have never installed one before and wondered if anyone could share their knowledge and or photos of how to install it? It seems simple enough however I have never popped out a frost plug on an engine block before and am admittedly leery about doing it.

Any and ALL help would be appreciated. Also, for those that have them, how well do they work?

THANKS :thumbsup:

It's as easy as RickB described. It'll take a lot longer to drain the coolant then to install the block heater assuming there are no access problems. I did one on a Ford 4610 a few years ago and it was about 30 minutes start to finish. It doesn't take much to pop out the core plug.

Now that wasn't the case with our TD95D. It had a big allen head plug to remove that I had to make a special tool for. Then I screwed around for several hours trying to find the correct position for the element. Believe me, the 4610 was easier!

I bought a timer to use mine and set it to turn it on two hours before I feed the cows. The tractor starts on the first turn in all the temperatures I have encountered down to -20F.

 

[jimmysisson]

Agree with the others, but add from my very limited experience: the ears on the expansion "nut" that clamps to the sides of the block hole are a finicky fit, and none too strong. I saved the nut from the old one and reused it as superior to the new. That was maybe 4 years ago - new ones might be better. Just something to pay attention to.
For the same reason I'd advise the first fill with plain water, much less trouble if you end up with a leak. YMMV
Frost plug is pretty simple to remove. The block is much tougher than the plug. Clean the bore well before install, as Rick says.
You'll be happy to have the heater.
Jim

 

[aczlan]

Make sure you punch out the right freeze plug. The Kubota L3650 has sleeves right behind its plugs (you cannot use a freeze plug heater in it) and if you try to punch out the plugs, they will not come out without making a hole in the sleeve.


Aaron Z