That metal piece makes sure the air flows through the heater core at an angle so that it has time for the heat to transfer. It is needed. For what it is worth, the front heater heats outside air. The heater is actually more effective at lower fan speeds. Note that even the legend on the fan switch indicates that max defrost uses fan speed 2. More air will be cooler air. Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Kevin Dawson Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 11:25 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Front Heater question Hi All, I've taken my front heater box apart to clean and oil the blower motor bushings on my 87' camper. I was surprised to find a piece of sheet metal that VW installed right along side of the heater core, blocking at least 80% of the air flow/heat. Why did VW do this? Was this installed in all vans? Did VW omitt this in vans sold in colder markets? The Bentley manual 80.12 shows that an earlier model van had a vent that diverted heat to the rear passenger area via a passage under the floor. Did that set up have greater air flow /heat requirements where VW would have omitted this sheet metal piece? Was that set up instead of the rear heater box? If so, did it supply enough heat for mild weather area? I've removed my leaking rear heater so I could have more storage. I would like to retrofit this under floor vent to provide heat for rear passengers. Is it worth the effort? Would I need to remove the sheet metal from the front heater box to make it work? Thanks, Kevin Dawson |
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