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Removing Heater.....I did it!

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I heard all the horror stories about how tough it was to remove the heater from a TR6. Well, I did it in about two hours, all without removing the dash or any instruments. I did have to remove the cubby box, which I will just pop-rivet back in. The only challenge was the top left bolt which I removed from the ashtray hole. I took a cheap 7/16" box wrench and heated it with a torch, hammered it at a 90 degree angle, dropped it in water and, voila!, instant heater-bolt-removing-tool. I had to loosen the choke cable a bit, other than that it really wasn't that hard. The problem will be rebuilding the unit. The housing wasn't rusted badly but will need repainting. There are a number of foam strips and door insulation which I will have to find at Home Depot. The motor and heater core I purchased new from TRF some time ago. Not sure where I can get the large rubber gasket on top of the unit, looks like a toilet ring. Will see if TRF or others have it. Not sure what condition the resistor strip is in, don't really know if this can burn out. Only Rimmer lists it. They sell the rubber gasket in an install kit but list the price as "inquire". That worries me. Does anyone know anything about the resistor, and should it be replaced? I just intend to clean the unit up, rattle can it black, put in some new foam and reinstall. Buy two new short heater hoses (again) and will cruise in style in the winter. Too, the wiring inside the heater looks a little crispy so I may have to sub some new wiring inside. Bottom line, removing the heater isn't that scary. It is rebuilding it that seems to be a bit daunting.

Bill
 
Congrats Bill, I pulled my unit but only after dismantling the complete dash during my rebuild. As I recall TRF carries the doughnut shaped foam gasket that goes on top. If not there is always the wax toilet ring as you suggest.
 
The TRF gasket is an inexpensive self adhesive foam gasket that must be cut to size. The Moss one must be an original style as thet ask for the first 2 born from you. My heater is out and is available to take measurements of the TRF gasket to compare it against a similiar one at the local HD.
 
Bill, there is no concern over the resistor, as it is not a wear item. Easy enough to test resistance across each wire, but you already know whether or not all the motor speeds work.
 
I'm glad to hear that you were able to pull it off so well. Now I'm not as concerned about doing mine over the winter. I only need to replace the motor as the resistor and core seem to be fine.
 
My suggestion is to upgrade the wires and wire them directly. Contact Dan Masters as to how. You can get more fan speed. I am doing some research into changing to a squirrel cage fan unit. Have a supply of different sizes locally. In the UK they used to do this and sell it as an upgrade kit.
 
Where or exactly how do I get in contact with Dan Masters to get the wiring info? While it's out I might as well do the squirrel cage gig if you can give me any info on that also.

Thanks,
 
Still in its infancy on the fan replacement. Contact Dan Masters @ danmas at aol dot com. Ask him about any info on upgrading the heater wiring for TR6.
 
Hi,

The rubber gasket at the top of the unit might be something you can fabricate pretty easily from gasket materials that can be bought at most *good* hardware stores (read that as "other than HD", even tho my neice is a VP at HD!).

Locally we have a chain called Orchard Supply Hardware (or more effectionately - OSH, still pretty good even though Sears bought them a few years ago and is doing their best to Craftsmanify the stores). They carry all types of rubber gasket materials: different thicknesses, both reinforced and non-reinforced. I've made many an odd gasket with an Xacto knife. I'm sure you can find a similar store in your area that sells the same type of rubber sheet material.

Think twice about using the foam stuff for this purpose. There are "closed cell" and "open cell" foams. I used some of one or the other - actually intended to seal a camper shell on a pickup truck bed ISTR - under the polished cockpit trim on my TR4. Thought I was being clever. I wasn't.

The result some years later is just about the only *new* rust on the entire car, right through 20 coats of hand-rubbed lacquer, sealer coat and several coats of primer! That foam traps moisture like a sponge, wicks dampness into itself, and doesn't dry out easily especially when compressed between two flat surfaces. Anywhere on my car that was in contact with the foam had surface rust ranging from just getting started to seriously etched.

The scuttle-to-heater flange is a place I'd definitely avoid using a foam seal. It sees plenty of moisture in there, especially on TR6 that have the open-grilled intake vent. I think I'd use just about anything else to seal that joint, even just goop on some RTV/silicone gasket maker instead, although a rubber seal might be better.

BTW, when I rebuilt my TR4's heater, I sandblasted all the parts that were originally painted, then had them powdercoated inside and out with a black satin finish. Looks great, almost too good to hide under the dash! Powdercoat does a great job filling in any surface cratering from corrosion spots, etc. The PCed finish should be about as rustproof as steel can get. ]
 
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