Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2004 06:34:11 EST
Reply-To: RAlanen@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Frank Condelli <RAlanen@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Heater Fan Quit 83.5 westy
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 19/11/2004 12:41:18 PM Eastern Standard Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:
Anything else that should be looked at while I have the dash out?
Many thanks for the wisdom
Don, I just did one this week and have a few more coming in for the same.
Seems to be a never ending problem with the Vanagon. It's a long tedious job
but not complicated. Recommendations: glue some kind of plastic cap over the
exposed end bearing of the new fan motor unit. This will extend its life.
VW thought it was "cool" to leave it in the dirty incoming air path ! More
"German" engineering. Look at all the flaps in the heater unit. More than
likely the foam seals on them are toast. Replace them with peel & stick foam
insulation stripping found at your local hardware store. The plastic foam
seal retainers on some of the flaps can be discarded as more than likely the
foam you procure will be too thick to allow them to be reinstalled. Not needed
as long as the new foam sticks well and that's gonna depend on YOU cleaning
the flaps well ! Clean both halves of the heater assembly as best you can.
I found a large laundry tub filled with hot water and all purpose household
cleaned and a plastic bristle brush worked quite well for this. Look at the
heater core for signs of leaking. If you find any corrosion spots the core is
leaking and needs to be changed NOW ! After you have cut or broken open the
heater housing to get at the fan & motor assembly you will need to glue it
back together, use black silicone RTV for this. There are clips available
somewhere to clip on the tabs around the circumference. I do not know where to
get them. I use small flat head sheet metal screws on each tab, pre-drilling
a small hole before threading in the screw. Test the unit for operation
before gluing the two halves back together. You want to know if the step
resistor is working before you reinstall the unit ! The one I worked on this week
had the step resistor in the heater assembly. Test all the heater cable
controls before reinstalling to make sure they open and close the flaps in the
heater assembly properly. The cable that operates the heater control valve in
the coolant line can only be tested and adjusted after you reinstall the
heater assembly, don't forget to check its operation both at the lever controls
and under the spare tire where the valve is. If the valve is leaking as many
do now is the time to change that also. Before reinstalling the heater
assembly clean up the fire wall area where it attaches. Any flaking paint or
rusting here should be dealt with NOW ! Now is also a good time to clean up and
repair any wiring, instrument lights, ducts or anything else that needs
attention. Good luck and have fun getting heat your heat back !
Cheers,
Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm) a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2005
'87 Westy, '90 Carat & Lionel Trains
Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/) & _CCVWC_
(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_STEBRO/Vanagon Stainless Steel Mufflers_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_Frank Condelli & Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
or http://frankcondelli.com
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