An oil pan heater might warm your oil up but everything else in your engine is still gonna be cold as *****.

I think a block heater would prevent more excessive wear from cold startup.

 

Truck is white.

That's the kind of information I'm searching for. Basically what option is going to be best to reduce engine wear on start up.

 

Must be a PITA to locate when it snows. No wonder you're inquiring about an oil pan heater.

 

Funny, I looked at a white 99 that was for sale today. Before I left the desert, my neighbors have lived in Chicago and recommended I get a heated dipstick. I am curious about where this will lead since I'll be wondering about this same topic once it gets colder

 

Just go with a full on block heater. The dipstick heaters are cheap, and they more or less kinda sorta work okay, but they also have a relatively high failure rate. It sucks to hear that big explosion under the hood that tells you that your lower radiator hose now has a third hole in it. It also sucks, if you have to fix it where it sits, to be stabbed in the neck and back by the stalagmites formed when the coolant dripped out.

Besides, with a block heater you get heat much sooner. It's nice when it's -30 degrees out to get some heat going before your danglies crawl up to snuggle with your pancreas.