air-cooled heating

[edmundator]

sorry to bring this up again...

I have looked through old threads (including one of my own) but what I would like to do, at no small expense to the exchequer, is replace the whole bloody lot. I'm not sure exactly what parts I need but at the moment I plan to replace:

heat exchangers
control pods
riser arms (I think that's what they're called)
control cables

I think there's some insulated pipework that's hard to get hold of (any suggestions?).

Are there any gaskets/seals that I'll need when I install this stuff?

Any advice from anyone who's successfully restored heat to the cabin of their Aircooled van would be appreciated.

E D I T: In exchange for your help I will write-up the process (if successful) to go on the wiki

[geordie skydiver]

Ok, I did the exact same thing a few years ago.

I replaced the heat exchangers (two snapped studs = nightmare), both pods (rusted on = nightmare), one control cable (under petrol tank = nightmare), and then found that certain bits of the tinware were missing, and it really needed them.

I then had to repair the hose at the front as it had came off, but I preservered as I wanted it to be warm and 'original'.

Once it was all done, sure enough I had warm air into the cab, smelly warm air, like burnt oil, it made my G/F sick . (slight drippage onto the heat exchangers).

If I had to do it again, I'd just fit a propex into the space where the radiator goes on WC models, cheaper, warmer and doesn't smell like the sump.

I'm not saying don't do it, or that you can't make it work, just that I would NEVER go through that again.

Good luck.

[Rozzo]

i just stuck some eberspacher blown heatin ducting from the end of the exchangers into the corrugated rubber ones and taped it up. this gave me toastie hot air all the time in the cab. then i taped up the fresh air grill at the front which made it even better. hot air all the time now and in summer i just wind the windows down m8. cost about 10 quid

[badger]

Any advice from anyone who's successfully restored heat to the cabin of their Aircooled van would be appreciated.

E D I T: In exchange for your help I will write-up the process (if successful) to go on the wiki

Fit an eberspacher under the glovebox, reliable heat on the move or stationary

[jason k]

just fit what should be there. geordie skydiver the only reason you had an oily smell is because you had an oil leak if you fixed it it the smell would have gone.. my ol Aircooled was the warmest thing imaginable. just put the stock set up in and it will last you yrs.
pm andy-van as he has the pipes you will be needing

[cumbriankeith]

I'll second Jason's views. The heat is there to be used if you get it working right - like it did originally.
I sorted mine out shortly after I got my camper - the pods were so rusty they were unrecognisable and I also renewed the control cables, which were virtually seized. Make sure all pipework fits together well and any gaps are filled with some high temp sealant.
Sort any oil leaks out especially from pushrod tubes and rocker covers or it'll stink and be usuable.

[3rustateers]

From my own experience there's no such thing

Sorry not very helpful but I think there's just too much work involved in getting these things to work (from my own experience).

[edmundator]

Thanks guys, I suppose it's just a case of dismantling the whole lot and doing my best to put it back together again properly, with all new bits. I'll see how it goes (shame I wasn't around to sort this out in the summer).

[geordie skydiver]

I'll second Jason's views. The heat is there to be used if you get it working right - like it did originally.
I sorted mine out shortly after I got my camper - the pods were so rusty they were unrecognisable and I also renewed the control cables, which were virtually seized. Make sure all pipework fits together well and any gaps are filled with some high temp sealant.
Sort any oil leaks out especially from pushrod tubes and rocker covers or it'll stink and be usuable.

That might well be the case, but basically the amount of work involved for the reward received was disproportionate, and it'll need done again in X years because it gets a lots of abuse from road salt, rain etc.

I've done this 3 times now, to some extent and I wouldn't do it again, no matter what anyone says.

PS I did fix the oil leak, but the lingering smell of oil from a rocker cover gasket that failed in the middle of Norway remains probably until this day.

[airhead]

Yeah it's a stupid inefficient system. If you can replace it, I suggest you do. The system that the kubelwagens had was far better. It used to just take the warm air that was blowing out onto the road after cooling the engine and vent that into the cab instead so there was no heat exchangers and the whole system was much simpler.

[cumbriankeith]

OK - I sort of agree with the sceptics as well.

It's not as good as some heating systems in many ways - volume of warm air is dependent on engine revs so I fitted an in-line booster fan.

Making a curtain or partition to separate the cab from the camper reduces the volume of air that needs to be kept warm whilst driving (we don't do kids or passengers much!)

And I've have also fitted a Propex - and I don't use the van much in the cold months anyway so it doesn't get much salt and grit to rust the pods etc.

[cumbriankeith]

oops

[edmundator]

I have a propex in the back, but I don't see the point in paying extra for warmth in my van if I can make use of all that excess heat that's generated from just driving along. And it's probably a bit better for the environment... not that driving an inefficient 25-year old van is especially good for the environment.

[jason k]

put it this way..... the heat from my heaters caused a can of coke (which was left sitting by the rear cab vents ) to bloody explode on the way to vanfest!!!!
we just had time to lob the bloody thing out the window,it blew as soon as it went outside (as those who were behind me will confirm!!!)_ it used to melt cd covers n everything!!
my new wasserleaker just aint as warm honest!!!
just pay attention to the seals on the air pipework and it should be awesome.

[pmc]

My 1980 devon conversion had two heat settings - fully on or totally off - neither of which was controlled by the heater controls on the dash but by the wiring open or shut of the heater flaps underneath the van.
Further control could be gained in the summer by using duck tape to block off the vents to the back of the vans interior or by removing said tape in the winter.
Occupants either froze or boiled - the pipe work worked a treat but the control wires seized on a regular basis - there has to be a reason why so many vw van owners wear a coat while they're driving.

pmc