I installed an oil pan heating pad

[TheGodfather]

Just prior to my recent transmission cooler line leak woes (repaired.) I installed a heating pad on my oil pan. I am hoping this will serve to aid in helping the X5 survive the garage-less -30C nights. Also, even if just a little, I am hoping the pad will decrease the likelihood of an oil separator system failure.

I will be redundant and mention, that the only certain way to combat the oil separator freeze-up is to take a lot of "hot" trips to prevent moisture build up in the first place/ never drive in the winter at all/ exclusively use a garage/ clean out the system regularly in addition to the above. I personally, never turn off the car until the engine gets to optimal operating temperature. I often drive with the heater off, so as to speed up this process. Of course this is all aggregated info/advice garnered from the vet's here at xoutpost. But I digress.

Below are some pics of my install. I have seen others inquire about this, so I thought I would share. I will let everyone know how useful/ effective this product is at a later date. We are having an unusually warm winter in Alberta so far though I am sure I will be able to test out the pad in the coming months.

I plan to only use it on very cold nights/mornings. The product description says it can heat 6 quarts of oil from -40C to +20C in less than 2 hours. I plan to use an auto timer to fire it up ~3 hours before I start her up in the mornings.

I purchased the CP 512 Polar Pad model from Canadian Tire for ~$120. I am sure you can get better/cheaper ones in the States and/or online.

Specifications: CP 512 Model : 3.5 X 5.125 X .075 inches. 250 Watts nominal/120 V, 2.1 amps. Suggested for engines with a 4.5-12.5 L oil capacity.

Simply peel and stick to a clean and flat surface of the oil pan. Apply heat resistant silicon around pad. Route wire to safe and convenient location. The pad just barely fit onto the oil pan, there is a small amount of pad, <1cm on the corner, that does not have any contact with the metal pan (which is not recommended.) You cannot cut the pad to fit.

It is easy to install. I was able to install it outside without a jack. Though reinstalling and tightening the reinforcement plate was an pain in the ass! The location of the front passenger bolt was just a real PIA to re-tighten. Perhaps it was just the darkness, and the cold at the time, but I was ready to flip out while tackling the reinforcement plate. I should probably get the bolts torqued to spec. I read somewhere they may even be one time use? Anyhow, I reused them, and tightened by hand as best I could for now.

Also, can anyone comment on the safety of the deadening material (pictured) attached to the reinforcement plate contacting the heating pad? I would imagine this should not be a fire safety issue, as the contact will be minimal, and the material should be designed to withstand high temperatures, seeing as how its right below the oil pan.

Hope this info is of some use to someone.