TR6 Removing heater from my TR6......

[Guest]

I finally got all the components in (6 months) to overhaul my heater. The last thing to redo on the car before (before I start all over.) The Bentley manual says to remove the veneered fascia as a first step. What am I missing here? That seems insane. I know getting the heater out is tough but I didn't think that I would have to go through the anus to extract a tooth. Anybody got any pointers on this? I may just do without a heater.

Bill

 

[trboost]

Bill,
The Bentley is correct. There is so much in front of the heater box & the space is tight. You will need to remove the center dash suport right on back. The bolts holding it up to the plenum are high up under the dash.
What's wrong with the heater that you have to remove it. There's not much that can go wrong other then a bad fan motor or a leaking heater core. The foam gasket on the door flap does powder and crumble but the unit should still work.
I redid mine when I had the dash out to do some gauge and cleanup work. I figured I was pretty much there & my fan motor was blown. Even though I was almost there, there was still plenty of stuff to take off.
Do it , you'll be happy when it's done.

 

[Banjo]

It's involved, just like trboost said. but it's still 100% easier than most modern cars.
Take rest in that.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, its not to bad of a job. I had my dash completely out, bare to the firewall, when I redid my interior. You need to get just about everything out of there in the center section to get the heater core and blower fan out, so taking off the wood panel is a must. Then you will have acces through the center hole in the underlying steel dash board, which is the main dash support.

Ditto what was said about this being far easier than a more modern car. I had to change out a heater core in my 280ZX once, what a nightmare, took me most of a weekend!

 

[Geo Hahn]

[ QUOTE ]
...I may just do without a heater.

[/ QUOTE ]

Like many TRs originally sold in the 'tropics', my TR4 has no heater (that's one of the signs to look for when someone is selling an 'original rust-free Arizona car'). The build certificate shows it left Coventry with a heater but it was SOP for the dealer to remove it once the car arrived in a hot climate.

My point -- I wonder whether the dealer would have gone to the trouble of doing that if it involved so much removal of the dash, electrics, etc. I expect Bentley is right but also suspect there are other ways (may be different on a TR6 but not by much).

 

[Webb Sledge]

You do not have to take the dash out. You can take the center console and tranny tunnel out and get the heater box out, which I did. Whichever looks easiest.

 

[AltaKnight]

Hi TR6Bill......
I just did exactly this job a couple months ago because my heater motor wasn't working, problem with the motor brush connections.
You do need to remove the dash to access the bolts securing the heater up underneath the air intake grille.
It's not as difficult a task as you might imagine also it is an excellent opportunity to replace all the dash bulbs, about 40% of mine were out.
You do NOT need to remove the centre dash support for this job, my biggest challenge was getting the glove box out and back in again.
Good Luck.

 

[Guest]

Assuming that I do indeed take the trouble to redo my heater, I have been informed from TRF that the squirrel cage fan is not available. I got the new motor and heater core but no fan. The problem is they say that getting the fan off the shaft without breaking it is virtually impossible. Any ideas here? Hate to tear everything out and be stopped by a glitch.

Bill

 

[trrdster2000]

TR6BILL, there must be a bunch of these around that are good and they are in the most protected area of the car. Wayne

 

[AltaKnight]

TR6Bill.....
When I had mine apart a couple of months ago, I had the squirel cage off the motor shaft no problem.
I gave it a good squirt of penetrating fluid first.
I doubt you will have any problem as long as you don't get ham-fisted with it.

 

[Banjo]

AltaKnight, Your TR has a glove box!? Some of us don't have to worry about that, as they fell apart years ago along with the stupid cardboard tranny tunnel! I use the glove box door to hide my modern stereo. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[AltaKnight]

Banjo.....
I use my glove box, or what's left of it to house all those screws that keep falling out and those dead light bulbs that seem to collect, where do you keep yours? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Banjo]

Eh... they just rattle around on the floor until they find a hole to fall through. I ough'ta throw an old speaker magnet in each of the foot wells to attract all those screws before I pick one up in the rear tire. HaHa! Kinda like the magnets in auto tranny pans. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif

 

[trrdster2000]

TR6Bill, saw this and it could be your answer. Wayne
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...021173&rd=1

 

[ALLAN]

I have read posts that people have removed the heater by accessing the top bolt (which is the one you normally cant get to without taking the dash out) from the ashtray hole. they used a box ratchet wrench going through the hole. Allan