can the heater housing be split in situ....pleas help!!!!!!!

[oldiguana]

yo dudes,ive had a t**t of a time getting the dashout,now the screws holding the heater box in are siezed solid,is it possible to service the heater in situ,or does it have to come out....ive taken 12 clips off from around the housing and managed to split the heater box but the top half wont come out.grrrrrr...are there anymore clips at the back where you cant get,or have i missed something important......cheers guys

[ELVIS]

if the heater box hasnt been split before , the lid is held on by what looks like factory 'heat welding' or glue on all the little 1cm ling flanges evenly spaced around the box. if you have metal clips , these appear to be a factory'retrofit' for once the box has been split and the heat welds/glue broken.i sprayed evrything with WD40 and even then some of my mounting screws snapped -if you take the grille of you can spray the back of some of em IIRC .
i tried when i did mine and there dosnt appear to be a way of doing it in situ. Not enough height/room to lever lid off but seeing as its some sort of high density plastic it might shatter anyway.
plusgas and impact driver. i think there are 4 or 6 holding box in place - mine is happy with just 4 due to snapped heads.

[oldiguana]

cheers for that "ELVIS",IM A BIG ELVIS FAN BY
THE WAY......my stage name is "cactus jack-man in black(the alternative elvis experience)........anyway back to the heater,went back out and had a s**t of a job with them screw headed bolts,covered in blisters,but got them undone,id already removed 12 clips so i pulled the unit forward and found 3 more,undid them and the box split absolutely fine................,when i bought this van it had stood 6 years in a yard so heater was just stuck enough to not turn,turned it by hand for 5 minutes and fired straight up on all speeds,ive lubricated the bearing and tomorrow im going to wire up a seperate feed and leave it running for an hour or two to make sure its ok....so it might just be ok..............cheers to all.............

[Grun]

Well done that Man!!

Cactus Jack

Mike

[kevtherev]

well done lad...well done

[oldiguana]

nar then,i put a seperate feed to the blower switch and run it for an hour to check it was ok,when i had it on full blast the switch got slightly warm after about 15-20 mins of full power...is this ok or is there a problem.....i need to know before i build it back up as i dont fancy doin it again......i personally think its fine to get a little warm on full whack (it cools back down again on the lower settings!)as there is a hell of a ;ot of juice running threw the switch on full...........your comments are and always will be most appreciated..........oldiguana

[Grun]

Old iggy wrote.

i personally think its fine to get a little warm on full whack

Wouldn't worry me. Mine once blew the fuse first time I ran it on full chat shortly after I bought the van. I changed the fuse and made a mental note not to run it above the second notch on the switch, and it has been fine for many a year.

Mike

[bmouthboyo]

I'm having a satanic pig of a time with those Philip head screws holding it to the front bulkhead. 2 have snapped on the right already So I am thinking should I leave the job and just make do with no heater before I do any more damage.

My van has been sat still for 5 years too before i bought it and every bloody nut, screw and bolt seems to be binded with the surrounding metal (don't even get me started on my exhaust manifold bolt )

If the other 2 opposite screws snap am I looking at some real trouble? Or could i drill them out once the heater unit is out ? My concern is the lack of room to get a drill in there, and from the front of the van with grill removed you can only access the rear of 2 studs to clean up.

Also the walk through on the wiki seemed vague at most, it mentions having to undo 2 screws from the front grill but i couldn't find any? It also fails to explain anything about the heater cables.

Any help as always much appreciated

[oldiguana]

eyup duck.....where have you dragged this thread up from!!!!!.....give um a good spray of wd40 and let it soak in,use an impact driver,or smack ya scooby with a hammer to try to loosen them...use a scooby you can fit a spanner on to give you more turning torque.. can be drilled out ok i suppose.......but i did have a cow of a job with the bolts you mentioned.....good luck owdblade

[bmouthboyo]

ok i think im gonna give it a go as 2 have broke already so sod it.

Did you manage to find replacement screws? been looking hi and low but cant seem to find any reference to there size etc

Cheers

[Red Westie]

I hate to have to say this to you but....your fault is more likely with the switch than the motor.....don't get me wrong, it will have benefitted from the clean and lube but ultimately it sounds like your switch contacts are the cause of the motor innoperation.
Strip and clean the switch contacts or replace if you find that it is too burnt. Note* tell tale signs of high resistance in the switch are HEAT and wires becoming hard/stiff as the plastic gets hot and cools..also loose/tarnished terminals will need replacing with new spade connectors (soldered prefered)
Martin

[bmouthboyo]

I hate to have to say this to you but....your fault is more likely with the switch than the motor.....don't get me wrong, it will have benefitted from the clean and lube but ultimately it sounds like your switch contacts are the cause of the motor innoperation.
Strip and clean the switch contacts or replace if you find that it is too burnt. Note* tell tale signs of high resistance in the switch are HEAT and wires becoming hard/stiff as the plastic gets hot and cools..also loose/tarnished terminals will need replacing with new spade connectors (soldered prefered)
Martin

The switch? I don't think it was that as when i had the wipers going, if i turned the fan on, even though it made no sound and did not work at all it definitely made the wipers go slower, suggesting it is drawing the current but its seized so struggling.

Also the van has not been used in 5 years, so again points to seized. I could be wrong though. What makes you think its the switch?

Thanks

[Red Westie]

indeed...I'm not saying you were wrong stripping the blower down, it may well have needed it but a high resistance in the switch typically generates heat and prevents the blower working correctly. As an explaination..a bit like standing on a garden hose pipe and restricting the water. The switch comes apart fairly easily so you will see once you take it apart.
Martin

[bmouthboyo]

OK well at the moment the heater is still in the cab as i have snapped 2 screws and sought advice before snapping the other lol

I have the switch off an its kinda in 2 halfs, what would i look for to fault find? How could i test it? I have a multimeter but pretty new to electrics

thanks

P.S after re reading this thread i think you may have me muddle with the original poster? i jumped in yesterday as i am having trouble with the crews, not the heating up switch issue

my symptons were no movement in fan at all, and slowing down of wipers when fan switch turned on.

[ghost123uk]

I have been putting up with a noisy heater fan for years because I don't fancy all the hassle involved with stripping the dash out and then getting the heater box off !!