Fixing the heating in my 1.9 Aircooled

[pouch]

We are in the middle of another winter and the van is freezing!!

I did think about getting an eber, but in did read that if you get the airducting (no fan on mine) working that it is reasonable.

Over Xmas I was planning to service all the heater wires and also look at replacing the air duct pipe (as it smells very bad).

Can anyone give me a view on if this is worthwhile? I guess it will take me ages and I don't know if it will actually be much better?

Also can anyone give me an idea where I can get the ducting hose from??


Danbury conversion, 1981, 1.9 Aircooled.

[Dud]

Think they all smell a little. Certainly mine do a little bit in comparrison with a modern car. However, if they smell fumey it could be more of a prob with the heat exchangers than the pipes.

I have an 82 Aircooled which I use daily. I would not say the heater is great, especially when going slow as like yours mine has no fan, however once on the motorway it keeps the chill off and the windows demisted.

Richard

[missusjen]

If your heating system really smells bad it could well be oil burning off on the heat exchangers - check the push rod tube seals/ rocker cover gasket (above the heat exchangers) aren't leaking - it's a 40 minute job that'll cost you about 20 quid to fix

[pouch]

Thanks I'll try that.

I'm sure I read on the old forum that someone had replaced all the hoses and the heating was excellent??

(albeit no blower)

I guess I will start at one end and see what needs to be cleaning or repaired on the way through!

[missusjen]

We didn't replace ALL the piping - but we replaced the worst bits, and renovated the 'pods' with silicone sealant and bandages - once done, the heating was most excellent - alas unable to be switched off, but excellent.....

[pouch]

So I guess from that Missusjen that your cables don't work?

Mine were working, but interfere with the back of the stereo and seem to have stopped working of late??

[missusjen]

No - the bandages got in the way of it turning to 'cool'........

[tobzman]

I recently replaced my disintegrated heater pods with aluminium flexi-pipe and I'm quite impressed with the amount of hot air I get. Only trouble is now it's hot or hot!!! Friday afternoon I was actually getting too hot in the van and had to open the window AND the cool air vent at the end of the dash. Now all I need to do is fix my leaky rocker gasket to stop my hot air reeking of burning oil!!!

[pouch]

Hi Tobz,
Where did you pick up the correct size ducting?

I am still trying to imagine being "too warm" in the van in the UK in the winter... can't still quite imagine what that would be like yet!!!

[tobzman]

Hey Pouch
I just picked some up from my local generic motorspares shop.
Ideally I think you want 65mm but they only had 60mm so I had to make do with that. It was a tight fit on the end of the heat exchanger but after a few split attempts and a bit of swearing I got it over there. I then stuffed the other end a long way into the plastic ducting and did a jubilee clip up really tight around the join.
It made a world of difference, there is actually now quite a blast of air from the hot ducts and I can no longer still see my breath after the 25mile drive to work!!!

[Tex Ritter]

I seem to re-call someone on the old forum fitting an extractor fan to his air cooled ducting, so that even on tick over you had warm air blowing in at a high rate of knots. (was it Cumbrian Keith perhaps?)

The funny smell could be oil burning off exhaust manifold or exhaust gasses or crud you have driven through burning off.

When I first got my van we were trying it out and I put the cable into hot position, what a shock we got, blue smoke poured out of every oriface in the dash. Turned out the guy we bought it off had never used the heater, and the smoke was from oil that had accumulated on the manifolds/heat exchangers/trunking over the years being blown through the ducting hoses, it was so bad we couldn't see the rear window of the van...talk about tear gas.

TR

[tobzman]

Yeah Tex I think it was Kieth who posted the link for the fan.
I made a note of it at the time as it seemed like a really good idea.
Here's the link for the fan:

http://www.jabscoshop.co.uk/item.asp?si ... ro&id=1921

It's a marine engine room ventilator.

[pouch]

You guys are stars, thanks for the tips and the link.

I was hoping clean pipework (new) lack of oil leaks (I think now solved) should end up with toasty cab...and no smell or oil!!

Thanks have a good Xmas

Martyn

[pouch]

....it looks like it will be a bit more involved than I thought!
One of the heat transfer pipes off of the heat exchanger has become unlocated. So the holes for the pipes don't even match up! I have had the van for 7 years and it was not like this before?

I have tried to look at moving them back, but there appears to be no give. I spoke to a local quick fit who suggested it will involve removing the exhaust?
Can anyone reccomend someone who works on these in the Oxford area.

Or any suggestions?

Explaination:
Looking from the back of the van one heat exchanger has all pipes located the one on the left is to the side of the cast metal connector?
1981 1.9 Aircooled Danbury conversion.

[Tex Ritter]

Do you mean where the pod/flap housing assembly fits onto the front of the heat exchager? if so, try loosening off the tinwork clamp/s and moving the pipe back into position,then tighten up the clamps starting at the heat exchanger end first. You shouldn't need to interfere with the exhaust manifolds at all.

Failing that, make up and fit a sleeve (a spare piece of large exhaust pipe from your friendly Kwik Fit centre perhaps?) to bridge the gap.

TR