Looking for advice on block heaters

[DM89]

I'm starting to get my car ready for winter and i'm considering getting a block heater. last year it was below zero in the mornings for a few weeks in a row here in Michigan and my camry had some trouble starting. It never failed to start but it did make some horrible sounds

i have a 89 camry with a 3sfe with close to 150,000 miles on it. Does anyone suggest a specific block heater? I have looked into some block heaters on-line. I found one on Napa's web site for about 40 bucks. It is the freeze plug style.

One concern i have is installing it. I have some experience working on cars but i have never changed a freeze plug. I don't want to mess up the block and create a bigger problem than hard starting in cold weather.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

You are wise to get a block heater installed if you're in a region plagued with sub-freezing winters. A NAPA block heater will work just fine, I had one installed on my Camry five years ago (and almost 200,000km ago) and it still works like the day I first plugged it in.

If you are unfamiliar with core plugs and block heater installation, don't do it yourself. It's one of those few things that just aren't worth messing around with yourself. I paid 45min labour to have it put in--not pricey by any means.

If you do try it yourself, and you goof it up (no comment on your mechanical ability, believe me), you'll have to tow the car to a shop to finish the job. Getting the core plug out isn't too hard, but installing and properly fitting the heater in the plug hole is tricky. Get it wrong and coolant will leak out around the ill-fitted heater--so you won't be able to drive it to a shop.

Hope this helps.

--Tim