Heating and tin parts identification please.

Cheers, S.K yes i've got the links to pictures of how it "should" look but they are hard to follow when relating to if the pieces i have are complete or damaged, don't forget i'm trying to re-fit heating that i've never seen on a van that has had everything removed by someone i don't know....the pic's for example don't give detail on which way up certain pipes go or indeed if they are complete.....

 

I've just been looking through ratwells pages and it looks like i need these flaps http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Heating.html section 2, am i right in thinking they fit on the end of the engine fan?, i've deffo not got these if anyone knows of any supplier or has any let me know.

 

my heater cables are siezed. in the open position. so i connected them to the pods with a bit of thick wire bent to go thru the linkage and held to the cable with a electrical wire connection block...
when i brought some heater tubes for the beetle off ebay they came with silicn inserts, i dont have these on the camper. maybe zed could throw some light on this as he does em for a living...

 

my cables are there and free working, the basis of how the system works is becoming easier to understand, the problem i'm getting is nothing to compare to having never seen a complete system, and also the little bits i find that are missing (or different spec' for different year) such as the flaps i mentioned that go on the end of the engine driven fan.

 

Most people have lost the tiny aluminium flaps Mate - fit if you can find some but don't worry. As far as I can see they'll always be open except in the unlikely event that the electric fan's running and the engine has stopped. Then they shut off so the elec fan air goes through the heat exchangers rather than into the fan housing.
You still have wierd heat exchangers BTW.

 

Thanks zed, yep i've been reading up in mags/bentley and the net most of the day the flaps are not critical, as you say as soon as the engine fan runs they are open, the main aim i can see of the flaps is to stop residual hot air in the exchangers feeding back into the cool zone via the fan once the engine has stopped, i'm more concerned in how much tinware is missing under the van above the exchangers to protect the heads and push rod tubes, it also looks like some has rotted off the one riser tube. question is how much hotter would it have been under the engine running j tubes as it is now versus exchangers i wonder?

 

There should be tinware under, joining the case to the HX to push the hot air out the back rather than straight down. A bit like this:

These are some of the harder bits to find as thet rot first.

 

yep, thems the ones matey, that's the 1st "real" pic i've seen.....i was thinking of making some if i can't get any, although i've not had any on since i've owned it and god knows how long they were off in the usa...you would think they would encourage the heat from the exhaust to be trapped upwards to the heads rather than help

 

Not with the fan blasting it all out the back.

 

i'm wondering if that's why someone fastened that big piece of ducting under the van to the front of the Y piece - was this their attempt to push heat out by forcing more cold air back......it never fails to amaze me how these vans get butchered/adapted over the years.

 

Maybe they were using the heat exchangers in reverse and trying to keep the exhaust system cooler? Don't ask me why...

 

it's obvious now seeing the pictures and an engine with the correct exchangers on that when the previous owner fitted j-tubes this tin was removed because it wouldn't have anywhere to fasten to on the j tube like it does on the exchanger casing.
also there is no no doubt that all my cobbled together parts i've been collecting are not compatible with each other, looks like i need to source the correct parts somehow or put the j's back on....

 

It does look like you have a mish-mash of parts, but if you can manage to cobble them together it would be worth it to keep those original heat exchangers. The uk system is simpler, but to go this route you'd no doubt end up with aftermarket heat exchangers which aren't as good.
The riser tubes to the control pods are round on uk buses. But this joint is sometimes difficult to make even when the parts are supposed to fit. I've seen then welded to the heat exchangers with a few tacks to stop them slipping apart. If you do this please tack where you'll be able to get a grinder in later. I'd try and make the heat exchanger outlets round rather than the riser tubes oval.
Then I'd block everything for the aux fan for now and forget it. Nearly there then.
Where the HX's fit to the fan housing they wrap round from below. This is where those little flaps are. There should also be two small pieces of tin above that wrap round from above clamping the HX to the fan housing.
... and that rusty control pod is toast.

 

cheers zed, before anything the job now turns to sourcing tin as you know, grrr i hate finding new jobs when i start one i know people have a lot bigger problems than me but it's annoyed me now

 

im at work today the van is there ill double check but i see nothing in my pictures above pushrod tubes and as i say, i can see the piston pots (i refer to them as that cos these engines look like 4 single motorbike engines to me) i don't really know what i'm looking for but i presume i shouldn't be seeing the pots?

 

Here is a video which should show categorically what is missing, it was simpler than taking more pictures.
Missing tin.MOV

 

Hi mate, yes it looks like you are missing the 2 small tins that fit up the other side of the push rod tubes and direct the cooling air around the cylinders. In addition on the last shot of the video showing the L/H side of the engine (looking back) I couldn't see the Thermostat and the associated pulley wheel etc. ( these were often removed to max the cooling to the engine) In the UK with the more temperate climate this should really be re-fitted (better start up and less wear on the engine as oil gets up to temperature quicker)
On a good note, it looks like the rubber hose feeding the cooling air to the alternator is there! Mine wasn't and cost me a new alternator!

 

martin, i'm sorry i have no idea on the thermostat, i've always wondered what people are on about with that, it's looking more like someone has butchered the system when they fitted j-tubes and removed tinware all over and now this thermostat...... i'm wondering if this is why it starts crap in the cold? i'm thinking it may be wise trying to get someone to come out to help me (i'll pay) and maybe dropping the engine and doing it properly and renewing parts while it's out? what do you guys reckon?