Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 18:16:02 -0700
Reply-To: Joel Cort <joel_cort@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joel Cort <joel_cort@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Installing new defroster/heater fan INSTRUCTIONS - LONG
In-Reply-To: <1d7.12732f41.2cc58968@aol.com>
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Hi Jeff and other Listees,
You DAWG! it is not even cold yet in SO CAL but you need to get that squeeky fan fixed.
I have an archive instruction from the past for you to use in splitting and removing the heater box. Read on and ask any questions if it is not clear. PS I grew up in Anaheim I know how cold it gets.. Dude! ok ok in the desert it gets damn cold.
First many thanks to David for helping me out with my first heater Job:
David Beierl -- dbeierl@attglobal.net has been a great resource and wealth of
information on how to do this for me. He even shipped out FedEx those darn
11 clips to me.
This is a fairly easy job as far as Vanagons are concerned but
be ready to spend the weekend. Before you get started with this project you may also want to order those darn 11 clamps at your VW dealer. They are
VW Part number 321 819 059 and you will need them to reseal the heater unit.
Having the Bentley guide will also be helpful.
Below are some basicinstructions for doing the job:
Disconnect the battery: You will be working without the dash and with exposed “hot”
terminals so it is best to disconnect the ground connection. To do this move the passenger seat forward, remove the plate under the rear of the seat protecting the battery and loosed the ground connection. Pull the ground wire off the terminal and fasten it so that it does not flip back and touch the battery terminal again.
Instrument cluster removal: Pull the instrument panel off and remove all the wiring.
There are 4 Phillips #2 screws holding the plastic tab of the instrument cluster. Be
careful, these tabs can get brittle with age. They will break and shatter. Wiggle you
hand behind the speedometer and unclip the spedo cable. Just squeeze the connector
and it will come out. Next pull out the switches by pressing the tabs to release them from
the cluster. The cluster should lift out and remove the big wire connector plug. This will
provide you room to get under the dash board. Put the cluster in a safe place that you
will not sit or lay other components on.
Vent lever removal: Release all the vent levers. If you pull on the black/blue and red rubber knobs they will work off the lever. You may need to spray some silicone to juice
things up. (unless you are in So Cal and the rubber is warmed up and softened). Once you pull these off, you will be able to remove the face plate. It hase two plastic pins -
that break and can be brittle - wiggle that off and you will be able to see the mounting nut
after the lever panel is removed. You may have to remove the front and rear heater fan
switches as well. Also remove any auxiliary wiring on the dash that you may have added
on.
Radio: Remove the radio – you are on your own here
Remove the Glove box: – press the retaining tabs and lower the box to the floor board.
Slide it off its pivot. Be careful not to press the retaining tabs to much or too hard, they
could be brittle and break.
Syncro dash plate: (Applies to SYNCRO Model) Remove the Syncro dash plate and
Differential lock switch(es).
Steering column: Remove the two bolts holding the steering column to the dash frame.
These are safety bolts without a head because it is meant to snap off when the bolts have been torqued at the factory. I used a pair of vise grips and was able to turn these bolts
loose. I replaced them with normal bolts. I think they are a thread of 8x1.25 mm and 25
cm long. THere are two other 8x1.25 bolts on the lower end of the steering column. Loosen those to give it some play. The steering column will drop/lower to the driver’s seat
and that is ok and out of the way.
Dashboard attachment: Unbolt the dashboard –
a. 6 or 8 #2 Philips head below the windshield - these could be rusted so use your charm and tools.
b. 4 big bolts along the door jams. You will need to be able to open the doors wide
enough to get your screwdriver/bolt driver in there
Dash removal: Ok the Dash should be loose and ready to pull off.
a. Lift it up slowly and check what else is still wired and connected, like the cig lighter
or AC switches, You will have to unplug all.
b. I did it by myself but with an extra person it sure is easier to lift and pull the dash out
one side or the other.
Review the heater unit: With the dash out you can now see the heater unit shell.
a. Fastening clips: Check to see if there are black metallic clips (11 of them) snapping
the upper half of this heater together. This is an indication that your heater has been pull
out and separated once before for service. If there are no clips then this is the first time
this heater unit is being serviced. There is a smooth factory mold gluing the upper and
lower half of the heater unit sealed from the factory. You will have to run a blade or knife
along this edge to separate the two halves. Make sure that you order the 11 clips
available only at the VW dealers. It will be tough on a Sunday afternoon to find these at
NAPA. They cost about $2 or so. VW part number 321 819 059
b. Heater unit support: Ok the heater unit is held in place by 4 fat Philips #3 screws, into the firewall. Spray some lubricant before you try this at home. Depending on the year of your van there could be 2 long #2 philips accessible from the outside firewall by the headlights. You will have to remove the front upper grill to get to these. Once
you remove the grill you will see against the firewall just the Phillips head holding a felt or
soft washer. These should be the upper supporting screws for the heater unit. They may
be rusted to where you cannot get your screwdriver into it. Just work it and don’t strip it or
rush this part. On the inside the screws should be easier. You may need a long Phillips
#3 screwdriver.
David Beierl adds: The big M6 screws holding the heater box in are Phillips #3. What I've
actually done is use the longest #3 I could get, and clamp one of the special Vise-grips
made for hex nuts on the plastic handle to turn it with, then lean into the end with as
much body weight as I can manage to keep the driver from coming out. With that combination I could get enough force in there to either remove the screw or twist the head off -- not as good obviously but far better than buggering the head of the screw.
There are two additional #3 philips screws up in the frame support of the heater holding a
small L shaped bracket. Remove either the screws or the 10mm nut off the brackets.
c. Coolant hose removal: You will also need to remove the coolant hoses coming up
from the housing to the heater core. Be neat and try to capture any coolant drips before
they get to the rug. I used lots of newspaper rags and paper towels. Not too much came
out when I did this, but the heater core is full of coolant so be careful when you take the
actual heater unit out be aware that some coolant may drip. I put a couple of corks
in the pipes to keep them as sealed as I could.
Removal out of the van: Ok the disassembly is complete you are ready to take the
heater unit out of the van for the service. Again plug the coolant pipes from the heater
core and also the hoses to not loose too much coolant on the front rug in the van.
Servicing the Heater Unit:
a. Separate the two halves: with the heater unit in your work area (or garage floor) you
can now separate the shells and get to the resistor, fan motor or heater core . See the
seam between the two shells and try to run a knife or a blade along that seam. Be
patient and work it slowly to not damage anything internal and yourself. Refer to the
Bentley instructions if need be. Again make sure that you have the VW engineered clips
to buckle these two halves once you are ready to re install.
b. Replacing the Heater Fan: With the two halves split you can now service the fan motor. I recall that it easily comes out and is held in with rubber bushings. You will
probably have to remove the squirrel cages from you old motor and insert
them on the new motor. It may take a very small Allen wrench for that…
don’t know? Forgot? Mark the orientation of all the parts to fit back in
place properly and in the right direction. Refit the new fan motor and
test it out with a 12-volt source. Make sure it works and spins in the
correct direction.
c. Wiring the Heater Fan: The wires are connected/soldered to the big resistor.
This is what provides the 3 fan speeds. You will also note the three or four wires coming
from the switch to the big resistor. Do you soldering tricks and remember where the
yellow, brown, black wires go. If the big resistor is cracked or blackened it may need
to be replaced as well. Test it out on all three speeds.
d. Heater core servicing: You may choose to service other components of the heater
unit such as the heater radiator core of the vent flaps. You can check the heater core for
any leakage, which you could have smelled as sweet maple syrup prior to taking this job
on. There should be signs of corrosion if the core is leaking. You can remove the heater
core and flush it out or look for any signs of leaks. In which case it would be very very
wise to change the heater core as well since you have it all out and can do it right. List
vendors sell this unit for around $100.
e. Vent Flaps Servicing: While you are at it, check the foam seals around all the flaps.
These are usually burned out after 10 + years in service, and may need to be replaced. I
made all the replacement seal from foam pieces that I had laying around from old
packaging. Go to a hardware store and check out the foam material in the heating and
air conditioning section. They usually will have some material that will work.
You cannot get this from VW so you have to custom make this. The important flaps to
check are the lower flaps. This seal is what stops the outside from coming into the cab
and warming up the Van in the summer time.
Reinstallation: OK you are done. I'm done, I can’t think of anything else at the moment.
Refit the heater flaps, the heater core, the fan motor and cage, the resistor and
reassemble the two halves using the 11 clips and maybe a little silicone glue.
Refit the heater unit in the van, refit the coolant hoses on the heater core.
Check the vent cabling to ensure that all works well inside the box.
Refit and remount everything in reverse order and you should be golden.
Fill the coolant and bleed the circuit as described on the list or in Bentley.
Flush the air out and you are set.
Hope this helps,
Joel Cort Joel.cort@usa.xerox.com or Joel_Cort@yahoo.com
89 Syncro Westy
Rochester NY.
LiMBO representative for the Western New York region.
Jeff Oxroad <Oxroad@AOL.COM> wrote:
My Bentley has no info on replacing the front heater/defroster electric fan.
I picked up a replacement from a wrecking yard and had to split open the "box"
that holds the fan and the heater core making a mess of the box to get to the
fan. I couldn't find any way to get at the fan without busting up the box.
Naturally I can't do this on my bus. How do I get the old squeeking fan out
and the "new" fan in. I realise the dash has to come off, then what?
Also if anyone's bought a fan recently please send along a heads up on the
price and or availability. I'm fearing it's a dealer only part if I want to go
brand new.
The winter is coming here in SoCal and with temperatures down in the 60s I'm
going to need to replace that squeeky defroster fan.
Thanks
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA
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