Looks good I just have a few things to add and I'll post a few wiring pics.

First when you install the heating element you have to make sure the clip is rotated to the left side (with the plug triangle pointed up) if you dont do that it wont clip in, or your plug will point down. It will only fit in 2 ways since the element is "keyed" at the end.

Also unless you have some really rediculously tiny hands you wont be able to just reach up and put it in. A little trick is to put your thumb over the plug and then put your index finger on the other end of the clip, i tried a few different ways to plug it in and that was the easiest.

Here are my pictures

I went a little further up and to the right. Away from all that heat of the headers.

I also zip tied the little cap on, when I was running the cord around it fell off a few times, and it didnt stay on the end that well. but with the added zip tie its perfect.

There they are. Take from them what you will

 

Thanks Tacomer! Excellent addition. :thumbup:

Yeah, I didn't realize I could have rotated it enough to have the wire go up like that. I might have to try that later when I get more time.

-Max

 

Couple more little notes.

The clip will rotate on the body of the heater. So once you get the heater in the hole, you can back it out a little then rotate just the clip so that it aligns with the catch.

I routed the cord around the outside of the battery (torwards the tire side) then came through the hole for the headlight wiring. The rest is the way Tacomer did it. Going on the outside of the battery gets you to the end so that it leaves just about 4" to pull through the grill.

I'll try to get a couple pics of the wiring to add here tomorrow.

 

I installed my heater last year. I think I used it 2x :lol: Im glad I did not pay allot for it. :thumbup:

 

I know this is an old thread, but for anyone wanting to do this and take it one step farther, I'll tell you what I did on my F250 diesel. Now the only reason I use the block heater on my F250 is because all '03-'04 model 6.0L diesel Fords came with them from the factory. I usually start plugging it in when our nights start getting down in the 40s, not because it needs it, but it cuts back on the strain on my batteries, the coolant is already hot enough for the thermostat to open up so that the heat gets hot almost immediately, and the truck isn't so sluggish. If only they had a transmission heater so that it wouldn't shift so rough for the first few miles in the winter time...

Anywho, what I did is I cut off the factory male plug end, and went to the local electrical supply store and bought a recessed male receptacle. Now on Fords, the receptacle assembly was small enough to fit behind the Ford emblem, and then I did a little modifications to my grille emblem. Went to Lowes and bought a spring-loaded cabinet hinge, mounted it to the emblem/grille, and now when the emblem is closed it looks just like any other Ford grille, but then you can magically open up the emblem and there is my plug.

My initial reason for doing this was because when I get home I usually have at least one hand full of crap when I'm going into the house, and it's hard to hold both ends of the cord to plug it in with my hands full. So I wanted to make it to where it was just like plugging something into a sturdy wall socket where you only need one hand, and this was the idea I came up with. Now I'm trying to get rid of my F250 so that I can get me another Tacoma, but when I do get one I doubt I'll put a plug on it because the coldest we ever get is like 20 degrees. But you could probably think of something similar.

 

I know this is an old thread, but for anyone wanting to do this and take it one step farther, I'll tell you what I did on my F250 diesel. Now the only reason I use the block heater on my F250 is because all '03-'04 model 6.0L diesel Fords came with them from the factory. I usually start plugging it in when our nights start getting down in the 40s, not because it needs it, but it cuts back on the strain on my batteries, the coolant is already hot enough for the thermostat to open up so that the heat gets hot almost immediately, and the truck isn't so sluggish. If only they had a transmission heater so that it wouldn't shift so rough for the first few miles in the winter time...

Anywho, what I did is I cut off the factory male plug end, and went to the local electrical supply store and bought a recessed male receptacle. Now on Fords, the receptacle assembly was small enough to fit behind the Ford emblem, and then I did a little modifications to my grille emblem. Went to Lowes and bought a spring-loaded cabinet hinge, mounted it to the emblem/grille, and now when the emblem is closed it looks just like any other Ford grille, but then you can magically open up the emblem and there is my plug.

My initial reason for doing this was because when I get home I usually have at least one hand full of crap when I'm going into the house, and it's hard to hold both ends of the cord to plug it in with my hands full. So I wanted to make it to where it was just like plugging something into a sturdy wall socket where you only need one hand, and this was the idea I came up with. Now I'm trying to get rid of my F250 so that I can get me another Tacoma, but when I do get one I doubt I'll put a plug on it because the coldest we ever get is like 20 degrees. But you could probably think of something similar.

Would you kindly provide pics or link to the work you did to your ford?