Fender-mounted heater THAT pathetic?

[MO MV man]

Hello all!

I'm going into the first winter with my Deuce.

• I tested the damper controls and they are working properly.
• The blower motor is working fine.
• The engine was up to full operating temp. during these checks.
• I opened the housing out on the fender to check for blockages on the core and found nothing.
• I checked every hose and made sure all clamps were tight.

The amount of actual heat making it to the cab? VERY little.
Truth be told, I get more heat coming up through the trans. shifter hole!
When the thermometer needle starts going south here in the coming months, I'm gonna need all the heat I can get......and an arctic heater purchase ($$$!) just can't happen.

Are there any tricks to help improve the heat generated by these heaters?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pinz25086]

Are there water valves installed on the block and if so are they open?

Wayne

 

[Wildchild467]

• i just put a heater in my deuce about 2 weeks ago, but i shortened my fender mounted heater and put it under the dash, about how the M35A3 are set up and it works great...it'll about sweat me out of the cab with a t-shirt on. i flushed my core out with a hose before i put it on and it seemed fine. i also blew air through the fins of the core even though it looked clean and quite a bit of stuff came out... i was supprised. make sure your heater lines are hooked up properly...the inlet line should come PRE-thermostat. i heard someone on here say their truck was hooked up Post-thermostat and there wasnt much heat comming from their heater either. just as a reference, if i put my hand infront of my heater as it blows the hot air out on full blast, its almost uncomfortable like its cooking my hand. i wish i had some actual temperatures to give you though.

• Make sure your heater core is bled....bleed the air off with the falve mounted right on the heater core.
• take the top off the heater box and blow air through the fins out of the heater core
• make absolute sure your inlet hose of the heater core is hooked up PRE-thermostat
• line pinz said, be sure of your valves
• check coolant in engine and make sure its full (a void wont let it pump that good)
• if you can measure temps right at the heater line comming in and comming out of the core with an IR thermometer

thats some of the things i would look for. let us know how you make out....we'll get it fixed!

 

[dittle]

They would be located on the passenger side of the engine. One right above the alternator and the other above it near the top of the block. Follow the hoses from the heater and you will find them.

 

[mikew]

Also make sure the heater is plumbed into the correct places, many are not.

The "pressure" line is on the intake manifold right next to the temperature gauge sensor (it's got a wire plugged into it) and the return line is on the side of the water pump above the alternator.

Many times the return line is connected to the thermostat housing (3 or 4 inches in front of the temperature sensor), because it's easier to do, but it's incorrect and the water won't flow properly.

 

[Bill W]

Heres how it should be plumbed
My (capped off) heater valve stems are painted red in picture

 

[goldneagle]

Heres how it should be plumbed
My (capped off) heater valve stems are painted red in picture

Man that is a beautiful paint job and great illustration of the proper locations of the heater hookups. I have seen other pictures but your's is perfection!

 

[MO MV man]

MANY thanks for all the responses!

• I bled the core over the summer and it flowed great, no bubbles to report.....did it again this morning.
• Attached is a picture of my arrangement....my hose routing appears to be correct.
• The only valves I have are the little draincock type. No actual shut-offs.

"Pressure" and "Return" lines? Which pipes on the core itself are the pressure and return? I noticed one goes to the top of the core, the other to the bottom.

Thanks again,
Bill

P.S. Bill W., that engine is museum quality. Beautiful!

 

[Wildchild467]

Bill,

very nice looking engine! where are all the oil leaks? oil leaks give a truck pitina! haha!

MV Man,

I think we have the same shut offs for our heaters. when mine is open, there is about a inch of threads sticking out from the valve. i do not see that on yours right now. was that an old picture or taken recently? As you know, both valves need to be opened. That is just something that catches my eye off the bat.

 

[Bill W]

As already mentioned
I also don't think those are drain cocks, they look like the valves that are on my deuce also ( see pic )., make sure they are both open ( one in pic is closed tight)

P.S. thanks for the compliments my engine is pretty clean but pic's are deceiving

 

[MO MV man]

Wildchild, I'm in the same boat as you....."oil leaks give it patina!".
But OH to have what Bill W. has......

You guys are kidding me......those little draincock clones are the shut-offs?
Holy smokes. By the looks of mine, they haven't been opened in eons.
Wish me luck getting those beauties open without breaking that puny little handle off.
When I think of shut-offs, I think of some sort of globe or gate valve; something more substantial than the wee-handled things we have.
No kidding, I figured someone in the past rigged up those little valves just to plug a hole or something.

The picture I posted was taken moments before I posted it.

I'll check it out asap.

I'll post my results later.

Thanks again, folks.
Bill

 

[Wildchild467]

you can spray them with penetrating oil, but i dont think they would break off. i'd use a pair of pliers and SLOWLY try to open then and look to see if the threads turn. turning them slow will allow you to get a better feel if they were going to break off. plus the threads would be soaking in antifreeze anyway then the seal/packing is out the outermost part of the valve. if the valves leak you can tighten up the packing on the valve (which threads are left and thread i believe to tighten the packing).

 

[Kohburn]

I think it's time to upgrade to a cable or air operated shutoff valve.

 

[MO MV man]

I think it's time to upgrade to a cable or air operated shutoff valve.

Never heard of such choices.
What application did they come from?

They both sound impressive, though!

 

[Barrman]

I didn't see it mentioned in the thread yet. Engine heat is needed. That is why the artic cover for the front end blocks off the radiator just about all the way. A M35 has a great cooling system for summer use. It is too good for winter time. Unless you are on the throttle on the road at speed, you really won't get much heat out of the heater because the engine just isn't staying warm.

Artic cover, cardboard and as some members have done. Plywood in front of the radiator all help get heat to the heater.

Of course, with all the leaks around the cab. Once you have the truck driving at speed down the road for 30 minutes or so. Stop and let it idle for a minute or two. The radiant heat from the drive train will warm the cab up real good since the wind isn't pushing it away. I basically only use my heater as a way to get air on the windshield for defogging use. It is useless as a heater pretty much on short drives.

 

[MO MV man]

I didn't see it mentioned in the thread yet. Engine heat is needed. That is why the artic cover for the front end blocks off the radiator just about all the way. A M35 has a great cooling system for summer use. It is too good for winter time. Unless you are on the throttle on the road at speed, you really won't get much heat out of the heater because the engine just isn't staying warm.

Artic cover, cardboard and as some members have done. Plywood in front of the radiator all help get heat to the heater.

Of course, with all the leaks around the cab. Once you have the truck driving at speed down the road for 30 minutes or so. Stop and let it idle for a minute or two. The radiant heat from the drive train will warm the cab up real good since the wind isn't pushing it away. I basically only use my heater as a way to get air on the windshield for defogging use. It is useless as a heater pretty much on short drives.

Great point.

My truck is dead-on consistent temp-wise in the summer.

This is the first winter with my truck so I'm assuming I can expect a noticable decrease in operating temp without some sort of radiator block due to the obscenely low ambient temps that we'll get sooner than later.

You are most certainly correct about the amazing amount of heat that comes up through the floor!
The heat coming up from the tranny shifter hole is enough to keep me warm on cool evenings but it would probably go the other way on VERY cold days.....unless you were sitting still.

MANY thanks for the input!

 

[Wildchild467]

it would be neat if the radiator had shutters that we could open and close. I saw a Studebaker 96BBC tractor that had shutters. i also believed they opened up when it got up to temperature. the engine was a 4-53 Detroit.

 

[goldneagle]

Never heard of such choices.
What application did they come from?

They both sound impressive, though!

Those choke cable operated valves are used on older vehicles to shut of the hot coolant gong to the heater core. You should be able to find some on ebay. Here is a link to one on Ebay:

H38 CABLE CONTOLLED HEATER VALVE 5/8 X 3/4 UNIVERSAL: eBay Motors (item 360293165797 end time Nov-21-10 13:22:32 PST)

 

[MO MV man]

Those choke cable operated valves are used on older vehicles to shut of the hot coolant gong to the heater core. You should be able to find some on ebay. Here is a link to one on Ebay:

H38 CABLE CONTOLLED HEATER VALVE 5/8 X 3/4 UNIVERSAL: eBay Motors (item 360293165797 end time Nov-21-10 13:22:32 PST)

AHA! I remember those.
I had one on the Willys Jeep truck I drove back in high school.
Simple, effective.

Heck, I have a vacuum operated one on my '79 Malibu.

Since I mangled the lower valve (the head was already broken) to get it open, I'll be in the market for either a replacement valve or one of these cable-operated gems.

Thanks!

 

[MO MV man]

Success!

I managed (mangled!) to get the two valves open.
The top one was tight but I gently opened it with success.
The lower valve? Oh man.....it's handle was already broken.
So I ended up flattening the portion where the handle was to make a "handle" for the pliers to grab. I SLOWLY opened it all the way.

Took 'er for a spin and OH MAN! No wonder they had those valves shut. That thing makes abundant heat even with the dampers shut!
It'd be an oven in that cab in the summertime so addressing those valves will be paramount come springtime.
The defrosters aren't TOO bad, either.
My brother (the soft top CJ5 driver) went with me on this little test run and commented that my heat and defrost blow his 5's performance away!

Thanks to all who responded to my thread.
I definitely feel stupid for assuming those little draincock handles were merely draincocks and not the actual shut-offs they are.

Come springtime, I'll pursue either REAL shut-off valves, like we have at work on the Cat dozers (not the puny draincock-headed ones I have) OR some sort of cable-operated apparatus.

Bring on the snow, baby!