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Heater pipes on transmission tunnel

Richard Turner

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Should these heater pipes be secured somehow? They seem fixed at the top but flap around at the bottom. I wonder if the mounting has rusted away or fallen off as I can't see any mounting for them.

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Mine look the same, if its any consolation.

Many remove them altogether and remove the rear heater fan & matrix. I like mine, its cold here in the winter and the wife and kid like it warm in the back, well at least warmer than I like it in the front. It gives some options...

I’m considering replacing mine with ‘rubber’ hose, or more likely a composite plastic these days, because mine look rustier than yours, and a major leak could be a disaster.
 
I like the rear heater. I want to tap into it for the LPG evaporator as I don't think it has a tap in it so the hot water always flows through it. And I can have the evaporator down on the chassis out of the way instead of in the engine bay.
 
The pipes are notorious for failing, this made worse by the difficulty in replacing them. Great idea for using with the evaporator however, I would replace the steel with rubber as per @clivehorridge advice, sooner rather than later.

Mine have been completely removed, over the last few days I have removed the metal pipes along the bulkhead and generally tidied up that area.

Regards

Dave
 
Hi Dave, they are looking rather crusty, I didn't realise before that the rear heater is controlled by the main heater tap so I will have to do some re plumbing in that area so the rear heater is fed constantly. I think I will take yours and Clive's advice and replace them. Do you have any pictures of what you have done with the upper pipework? Cheers
 
I can get pics Saturday no problem. Looking at it you should be able to bypass the heater valve.

Get pics uploaded Sat pm, if not here nudge me in case I forget.

Regards

Dave
 
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Pics as per earlier post, keep in mind I have removed the rear pipes.

First picture is direct front of heater valve, hose comes up from the lower half of the block near the starter, then to the heater valve, through valve into 180 bend and into the heater pipe in the bulkhead.

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Picture below, the rubber hose to the left of the rocker cover goes from the other bulkhead heater connector straight down to the lower half of the block under the exhaust.

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Straightforward, neat and tidy, and as mentioned earlier a single piece of 19mm pipe can connect the two block connections, this would completley isolate both front and rear heaters in the event of a leak, a quick get you home fix.


Regards

Dave
 
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That looks good. You have much more access to that area than with the petrol engine, the EGR valve is right in front of that on mine. My setup will be similar but with a T piece before the heater tap for the rear heater. I found the inlet for the heater was very soft metal and I squished it slightly getting the pipe off but straightened it ok. The funny band clamps with the split pin in looked hard to undo but actually they undid very easily with the hook tool.
 
If the inlets on the heater are damaged they can give rise to slow and mysterious water loss, the leak drips on the bellhousing and down the gearbox, eventually evaporating and becoming a RPITA to locate.

It is difficult to get the tubes perfectly round again once damged, so before assembling it is best to smear some silicone sealer around the tube, and a little inside the rubber hose, this should keep leaks at bay.

Regards

Dave
 
I’m tempted to try to replace my rusty rear heater pipes with soldered copper. Can anyone see a reason why this wouldn’t be viable? I have 1/2” (15mm) tubing a selection of bends, tees, and a pipe bending tool...
 
Clive, copper work hardens, and with the vibration & heat MAY crack eventually, although it will take a long time, it would probably outlast rubber pipes though.
Also modern lead free solder is harder than the normal lead solder (& has a higher melting point, although that wouldn't be an issue here), and the joints soldered with lead free stuff would be prone to fail first due to the work hardening
 
I think the copper would be fine in a static situation like this assuming the pipes were well supported, if I had any reservations it would be about access, damn tight under there mate!

Regards

Dave
 
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You could keep the ones actually on the transmission tunnel and do the ones that go back towards the heater? On mine they are the most rusty ones.

All my house plumbing I have used the plastic pipes except for near the wood burner and Rayburn. I don't know what plastic pipes would be like on a car? Perhaps difficult to connect a rubber hose to.
 
I don’t see why the plastic pipes wouldn’t do the job. The system runs at a reasonably low pressure and it’s not super-heated steam or anything like, so as long as the connecting clips have a good tight purchase and the pipe cant collapse, then it should be good.

Mine are most rusty where they bend from the tunnel to go under the floor-pan. Maybe just replacing that bend in both pipes would be enough to avert a disaster.
 
I fitted taps on the rear heater flow and return . This means I can isolate the heater and pipes in the event of a very hot summer or in the event of a leak. I had corroded pipes as far as the sill but then the
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y were/are OK.
 
It is one of those jobs you wished you had done when the gearbox was out for a clutch change. :eusa-doh:

Regards

Dave

Yep, one of the downsides of “having the clutch done at a garage” ... :icon-wink:
 
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Yes Jon told me to do it whilst we had box out !! He later had to come and cut them out with his air saw.
 
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