6 replies to this topic

[Pete0810]

I've long been fed up with the lack of hot air through the blower when I'm in the car in winter so thought I'd have a stab at really improving it. I have, mine now kicks out air warm as toast and here's how I did it. I used the TIS instructions to remove/replace the heater matrix unit but didn't follow it completely, as I explain below.


Heater Matrix Unit
I could hear a rattle in the front bay of the car when I turned left and the heater was on so thought I'd take it out to check, as it wasn't producing much blowing power when on. This is what I found:



What should be one unit had snapped in two so that the fan was separate to the heater and little bits of black plastic were lying on the bottom of the bay. So, while using my hot glue gun to seal it all I also had to make a metal lower section to hold the base of the flap that controls hot/cold airflow through the matrix, as mine had disintegrated.



I meant to take a photo of it completely repaired before I put it back in the car but in trying a dummy run to work out how to fit it back in the car I did! And then I thought, after much cursing and scuffed knuckles: "no way I'm doing that again!" I completely sealed the two plastic skins that form the unit with glue to stop any air getting out anywhere except the out pipe!

[On that point, the TIS recommends drilling out the plastic cable supports that are riveted to the radiator mounting. Don't do this, it's not necessary, just nick one side of them with a Stanley knife and wiggle them off the rivet, giving enough space to take out/put back in the heater matrix unit. (It really is that snug!) Once back in put them back in place and you're not left with lose cables and holes in the radiator mounting.]

I used foam-backed insulating foil sheets that are used on walls to radiate heat from radiators into rooms to cover the unit once it was sealed, to prevent heat loss. In the past, when the unit's kicking out hot air the plastic would heat up, losing heat in the cabin. The sheets cost a few quid in a big pack from B&Q. I had considered wrapping glass fibre around it afterwards to stop it falling apart but it was such a snug fit to get back in that nothing's going to split it in two!





Dash Board
Next I took the dash board out, cleaned out the airway, which was full of eight years' flies, dust and rubbish. Then I glued the foam-backed insulating foil to the dash and to the detachable airway, foil facing inwards this time to keep the heat in:







Finally, the grey foam that lines the air intake to the cabin and sits under the dash was filthy and flattened so I replaced it with thick foam. (I made the mistake of making it too tall so had to slice it down later in order to fit the dash board back on).

[Pete0810]

Heater Pipe
The old pipe was filthy inside and I couldn't clean it well enough. So I used a 4.5" tumble dryer tube that cost about 50p in B&Q and cut it in two, to attach one end to the cabin intake and one to the matrix unit. Problem was that the tube was too wide to fit on to the matrix so I cut it (wire cutters for its ribs and good scissors for the rest) and turned one side inside the other, making it about 2.5" diameter and easy to push into place.



Then I widened the end and cable-tied it around the air output of the matrix.





I lined the inside of the cabin air intake with the insulating foil as much as I could but the directional flap inside prevented much lining, as it touches the sides, top and bottom of the intake leaving no space for lining.



Then I fitted a tube to it in a similar fashion as before:



Next I joined them together, feeding the lower inside the cabin half so that the air would not come out at the join. I wrapped a few cable ties around the lower section's adjoining end and daubed hot glue on the trimmed cable tie ends to stop rough bits cutting through the other piece of pipe.



Then I used more cable ties to hold one pipe inside the other, et voila!





...and the one bloody thing I forgot to do was steal one of my Mum's pair of tights and make a filter to stop the bugs getting in! I'll do that tomorrow.

[Retset]

Thanks for all this info. I have decided to fit my new radiator myself as a winter project. One of the reasons is so I can take time to fiddle with heater/intakes/the V etc. whilst clam is off. Your guide will be very useful on the heater front!

[robin]

good guide wil be helpfull when i redo my heater exchange, only thing that you should of done was to do piping in the b&q drain piping to give a smooth run for the air to travel only a thought

[Retset]

That's true - I already have drainpipe. I will probably cover it in heat reflective stuff as well now. The rest of the guide I will be following though.

[PaulCP]

Forget the tights - they will contribute to reducing the effect of the blower. Instead use some aluminium fibre glass repair mesh from Halfords. You can mould a piece to fit as a filter which keeps the flies out but lets more air through. Just remove every so often and clean with a brush

Edited by PaulCP, 28 June 2009 - 09:31 AM.

[bradley]

Heater is fed by an aluminium pipe that runs down the drivers side of the car. This pipe is uninsulated and is outside the cabin! I have managed to get pipe insulation on much of the exposed pipe, having first removed rear wheelarch liner, sill cover and dash top. Car now nice and warm. No other heater mods.