"Placebo" heater upgrade

Have you checked to see if your original core is plugged up? This is a common issue and will result in only limited warm air. Remove the hoses and hold a garden hose by hand over one hose. There should be a full flow with very little restriction coming through the other hose.

 

UPDATE-
Last weekend I did the Chevy blower motor upgrade, this weekend I put a 195 thermostat in it. I would say results are mixed. The blower motor works great-much more airflow than the stock unit. However, even with the hotter thermostat, the air temp is just not that hot (both heater hoses are hot so I think the flow is OK). But, I have achieved what I was looking for-it's a noticable improvement for little investment.

 

It is very difficult to Identify a plugged core by feeling hose temp.

 

For the amount of time it takes to pull a couple hoses, I'll pull both and back flush the core....

 

dirty fins will effect the output also they are essential for good heat transfer

 

UPDATE (again)
I think the 195 t-stat I got is defective-I drove the Jeep to work yesterday, and the engine temp was all over the place. I have an Auto Meter temp gauge, and I could watch the temp swinging between 180 and 210. Looks like I'll have to re-do that job
Oh, well-if I have to drain the cooling system again, I'll flush the heater core just to be sure.

 

"I think the 195 t-stat I got is defective-I drove the Jeep to work yesterday, and the engine temp was all over the place."


From page one of this thread...

["I might throw a 195 stat in it & see what happens"]

"Your milage may vary, but the 195 thermostat didn't work when I tried it for the same reason,years ago.
Here in NH, the engine would boil over in severe cold weather, oddly enough.
I believe the thermostat was not opening, since it was relatively exposed to the cold air stream and never got up to temp."

 

Joel, Joel, Joel...just when this thread was going so good, you had to use the 4 letter word! J/k! It would be nice to know how to do this mod with even less trouble.

 

Which application would this ford blower motor be?

I bought both PM102 and PM105 for the blazer application (part's house was closing and I had shop time for the night from the very pregnant wife), built a spacer, ran upgraded power for 20 amp, re-clocked and installed PM102, but the fan cage rubs on the motor case at times... my next step will be to pull it back apart and tack weld a small bead on the motor shaft to keep the cage off of the motor's case.

Also my toes hang up on the spacer at times when I press the clutch, so I would like to get rid of the spacer and get back to the stock look.

 

Update (again)
I took out the 195 stat yesterday, and tested it in a pot of boiling water. Now, water boils at around 200 degrees at my elevation, but I had it at a rolling boil for 3 minutes and it had barely cracked open-seems like a defective tstat (sigh). I'm tired of messing with it, so I just stuck the 180 back in & I'll run the "farmer thermostat" (cardboard in front of radiator).
While I had the system drained I flushed out the core-it has good flow so no worries there.

 

when looking for fuel economy it was suggested to use the HD style thermostat, used in heavy trucks. i wish i had the PN but it was much better than the stock at controlling temp, I had a temp gauge just below the t-stat on the head, it would fluctuate +/- 5* on the highway each time it opened but the stock gauge on the rear of the block would not fluctuate.

 

Honestly, the best bet is to make it air tight, my jeep is comfortable with the stock heater. I don't need a lot of heat, I have winter cloths on to start with, so if you keep the heat you have inside it is not that bad. I built a CJ 5 because it is the first one with heater and defrosters. Just my two cents.

 

Getting rid of the cold air suction side, and somehow route it to pickup air inside the jeep.

 

Look at what jeep2003 did to his heater. His modification does reroute the airflow to pickup air inside the jeep.

Make Your Stock Heater Work

 

Here is my write up to make the fresh air door recirculate.

My Heater Mod

 

Yes, it's MUCH better! Link has changed though: Heater Motor