Heater Core for 86 X1/9 with A/C
- Thread starter MikeTDI1986
- Start date
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
Honestly I'm not sure how it happened. I wonder if when I was driving like a maniac when I was a kid if my knee hit it and broke it. Very good chance that happened.Wow, that's pretty beat up. I wonder if a prior owner did the damage trying to remove it without taking other things out first? Sometimes I'm amazed what people will do to avoid a little work, usually creating even more work in the process.
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
No I didn't take it that way at all lol! It is very possible I broke it years ago.Sorry Mike, in no way did I mean to imply it had anything to do with you....hope I didn't come off sounding that way. My comment was very general in nature.
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
I started switching stuff to the new upper piece and was able to get the fresh air door freed up. Going to get some foam for it. Lowes has it I guess? For once we are actually getting snow here and it's been great spending some time in my garage with the woodstove cranked up. In for the night now. Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing this to this rusty old car. I really like the car because it's sentimental being my first car, but I'm not sure I'd spend what a really nice one would cost.
lookforjoe
True Classic
Don't throw the mid section out anyway, since the diaphragm needs to be transferred (if you want to buy my mid section)
I bought adhesive backed neoprene foam sheet off Amazon for the housing seal - the factory stuff is generic - not closed cell, so if you can't wait to buy a sheet, I would think there would be something in the sealing foam Dept that would suffice.
I bought adhesive backed neoprene foam sheet off Amazon for the housing seal - the factory stuff is generic - not closed cell, so if you can't wait to buy a sheet, I would think there would be something in the sealing foam Dept that would suffice.
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
Definitely not throwing it away. I do want to buy yours. I'm planning on going skiing next Wednesday. So maybe we could do something after that? My blower motor seems to sound ok when not installed in the car. Would be nice if all I heard was air flowing when it was on. I wondering if the noise I was hearing is because of the box being broken. Brushes seem to have about half their life left if not more.
lookforjoe
True Classic
Sure, I'm not going anywhere. Depending on the day, I'm either teaching from home or in the high school building, either way, I'm home by around 2pm
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Could be. I've had old cars with similar issues; noisy blower when in the box, but perfect otherwise. In some cases it was the "blower fan" rubbing against the wall of the broken/distorted box. In other cases the damaged box was putting a physical strain on the blower unit, bogging it down. It could also have something to do with too much air resistance elsewhere in the box/system, causing added load on the blower motor. Or you might have a better electrical current going to the motor when testing it on the bench compared to the factory wire harness in the car. Not enough current supply might cause a slow motor, which might be noisier.
lookforjoe
True Classic
Pleasure meeting Mike today - he came up & I got him hooked up with the center section & removable valve setup like mine, and a heater core, and then the pair of taillights off my 87.
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
It was definitely a great experience meeting you Hussein. I am glad I picked up that heater core because I am not happy with the one I had made. The guy somehow bent the part of the tanks where the elbows mount. I got some gasket material and some "Right Stuff" gasket maker and it is sealed for now but I don't trust it. Something tells me I should order another set of gaskets from Midwest because of the way the elbows are shaped. The rubber on the factory gaskets kind of goes up into the elbows and makes a better seal than using flat piece of gasket material. I saved the ones I ordered to put on the core I got from you. I may just end up putting that core in. Now to pressure test both of them. I thought about taking the hoses off the rear heater core on my Suburban and just hooking them to these cores and trying it out but I know there's an easier way. On the way home I was thinking of how I should have asked if you had any nice door cards you wanted to part with. I hate how mine have speaker holes in them. I need to find a better way to put speakers in. Thanks again.Pleasure meeting Mike today - he came up & I got him hooked up with the center section & removable valve setup like mine, and a heater core, and then the pair of taillights off my 87.
lookforjoe
True Classic
Get new gaskets from MWB - it will be safer. Sorry, I don't have any extra door cards, so I couldn't have helped with that anyway. Come to Carlisle Import Show, you'll probably find someone who does there
I put a short piece of garden hose (attached to sink faucet) on one of the elbows & cover the other with my thumb. don't need to run the water hard. You will feel the pressure build under your thumb, and if the core is going to leak, it will leak. When I tested mine out the car, it leaked around the gaskets.
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
Get new gaskets from MWB - it will be safer. Sorry, I don't have any extra door cards, so I couldn't have helped with that anyway. Come to Carlisle Import Show, you'll probably find someone who does there
I put a short piece of garden hose (attached to sink faucet) on one of the elbows & cover the other with my thumb. don't need to run the water hard. You will feel the pressure build under your thumb, and if the core is going to leak, it will leak. When I tested mine out the car, it leaked around the gaskets.
MikeTDI1986
Daily Driver
I like the faucet idea. I'm going to try that out here shortly. Going to order more gaskets even if the new one doesn't leak at the elbows.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
I assume the gaskets being discussed are for the attachment of the hose fittings / elbows to the core body?
I haven't began the rebuild of my AC heater box yet, and off hand I don't recall. Is the same gasket used for the AC version as the non-AC version? Therefore Fiat # 4176872 (is there a superseded number for that?).
I haven't began the rebuild of my AC heater box yet, and off hand I don't recall. Is the same gasket used for the AC version as the non-AC version? Therefore Fiat # 4176872 (is there a superseded number for that?).
dllubin
Don
Last time I checked mine, it was about 75 psi. Great for installing sprinklers but might be a bit much for pressurizing an X cooling system.
ng_randolph
Bjorn H
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
It may depend on where you live. There are communities out here where the water pressure going into the hose supply is limited by a regulator. This is a legal requirement as a means of reducing water consumption. But those regulators are adjustable
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
For flushing radiators and other heat exchanger cores I connect a valve onto the outlet (similar method as connecting the water hose to the inlet). Then you get full pressure, and can open and close the valve to "pulse" the water flow through the core. Also makes it easier to check for leaks.