Anyone done a heater mod/upgrade

I am about to embark on a heater upgrade/modification project. It will start by pulling the old heater out lock stock and barrel and possibly using a whole new heater unit made from scratch. I will mock it up and have a local fabrication shop punch and bend all the components, I was thinking of taking the heater unit out a Volvo and seeing what I can do with it - also interested in the Toyota heater booster unit fitted to the Hilux - pretty sure it's a block with a bunch of glowplugs.

Has anyone done anything like this? Just doing my research for now, build starts when the warmer weather comes and I can just take the heater out and bypass the heater hoses to give me mock-up room.

Would it not work out cheaper to fit something like a Webasto diesel heater ? The heater in my 110, 200tdi is rubbish. I have tried everything. This year I have fitted a new Rad and heater matrix, I don't think it has made any difference. I have tried a rad muff, Made sure all the door seals work and no draft come in, three different thermostats, flushing and bleeding the system. Stripping the whole heater unit and cleaning it out and resealing it. Insulated the roof and parts of the front. Checking all the cables work correctly.Fitted a 300W ceramic electric heater; And bought myself a new coat. I haven't been able to test it out in cold conditions since fitting the new Heater Matrix, It's in the paint shop at the moment getting a respray.I'm not holding out much hope though.

Lots of dervs have the block with the glow plus style heaters in, Im sure Ive seen one on ldv vans with the vm diesel engine.
The thing is with the 200 and 300 they take so long to warm up any heater is going to be crap unless you are on a decent run.

Have you checked the water temperature with an IR thermometer before you start modifying it? You should get about 90 degrees at the sender unit (hold it close). my thermostat was stuck open and only giving about 70ish. Replaced it and now have a heater that works well (300 tdi CSW). If you don't have the hot water to start with you are on to a loser unless you go with a fuel burner or electric heater Well worth going around looking for drafts as it all adds up.

I've been working on a heater upgrade, but as mentioned you should make sure that your coolant system is working properly first. I too replaced my stat' and it made a huge difference. The other one is of course to make sure there are no draughts and insulating your cab. Mine does get pretty warm now.

mikescuba said:

Would it not work out cheaper to fit something like a Webasto diesel heater ? The heater in my 110, 200tdi is rubbish. I have tried everything. This year I have fitted a new Rad and heater matrix, I don't think it has made any difference. I have tried a rad muff, Made sure all the door seals work and no draft come in, three different thermostats, flushing and bleeding the system. Stripping the whole heater unit and cleaning it out and resealing it. Insulated the roof and parts of the front. Checking all the cables work correctly.Fitted a 300W ceramic electric heater; And bought myself a new coat. I haven't been able to test it out in cold conditions since fitting the new Heater Matrix, It's in the paint shop at the moment getting a respray.I'm not holding out much hope though.

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The biggest difference I found when sorting mine was fitting a genuine Land Rover thermostat as opposed to a britpart or aftermarket one.

fume curtain if your in a van back.

best mod i did to mine was making it a truck cab.

engine heats up plenty quickly on my 200tdi - within about 4 miles im getting good heat into the cab and i certainly wouldbe be using my car for a journey under 4 miles... not good for the car or the enviroment...

top drive said:

fume curtain if your in a van back.

best mod i did to mine was making it a truck cab.

engine heats up plenty quickly on my 200tdi - within about 4 miles im getting good heat into the cab and i certainly wouldbe be using my car for a journey under 4 miles... not good for the car or the enviroment...

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After 15 kilometers mine is just about lukewarm coming through the heaters.

id suggest somethings wrong then.

even in -15 my heaters always got warm fairly quickly.

is your heaterbox and matrix in good shape ? what about seals between the bulkhead and the box , dash and bulkhead , all tubes in the right places and cables adjusted correctly ?

you dont have one of them stupid snow cowls on ? they fairly limit air - not needed unless your at risk of heavy snow entering and flooding your heater box.

Whats your temp gauge showing at the point when your heaters luke warm ?

Fit a Webasto Mate brilliant!!

I've just fit a new heater matrix and fan, not sure the fan was right as u had to modify it slightly and the plug was different. But I've put it all together and only did a quick test on my drive, the fan is very powerful sent a lot of crap out of the dash,

You need to make sure everything is 100% like sealing around the matrix in the box. And make sure everything is moving through 100% of its travel on the adjusters,


What's up with yours? Is the air hot but there's not much of it flowing or is it blowing lots and just cold?

Mine was full of mud but then mines a challenge truck that only see's the mud.

mikescuba said:

After 15 kilometers mine is just about lukewarm coming through the heaters.

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Is your engine hot? If so its the mixer flap inside the heater box, cables might need adjusting.
http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=33481
Or your matrix will have to come out and get cleaned.

Is the fan working correctly?

If the engine struggles to get up to temperature you need a winter stat.

nobber said:

Is your engine hot? If so its the mixer flap inside the heater box, cables might need adjusting.
http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=33481
Or your matrix will have to come out and get cleaned.

Is the fan working correctly?

If the engine struggles to get up to temperature you need a winter stat.

Click to expand...

New heat matrix fitted, new Rad fitted, 88 degree stat fitted. Rad muff fitted. Heater stripped, cleaned and checked, Fan working. correctly assembled the heater unit with a rivet gun. Door seals replaced and checked. No gaps. And it still takes 15 kilometers before the engine reaches running temperature and lukewarm air starts to filter through. I have fitted a 300w ceramic electric heater which helps. I think my 110 is definitely designed for desert use.

Is your fuelling good? Your engine shouldn't be running that cool. Is your viscous fan stuck on? My 90 (19j TD) is up to full operating temperature in 3 miles.
I have noticed things run a little cooler if I run it on veg oil.

nobber said:

Is your fuelling good? Your engine shouldn't be running that cool. Is your viscous fan stuck on? My 90 (19j TD) is up to full operating temperature in 3 miles.
I have noticed things run a little cooler if I run it on veg oil.

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Forgot to mention; I had removed the Viscos fan and fitted a Kenlowe electric fan. The Kenlowe would trip in about once or twice a year. I have since gone back to a Viscos fan. I run it on normal fuel out of the pumps. I once drove down to the South of France in 35 C without a fan. it went up towards the red on a long steep hill but otherwise it was fine.

Im wondering if the fan is cooling the engine, but the stat would be closed anyway, whats the outside temperature like?

discomania said:

I am about to embark on a heater upgrade/modification project. It will start by pulling the old heater out lock stock and barrel and possibly using a whole new heater unit made from scratch. I will mock it up and have a local fabrication shop punch and bend all the components, I was thinking of taking the heater unit out a Volvo and seeing what I can do with it - also interested in the Toyota heater booster unit fitted to the Hilux - pretty sure it's a block with a bunch of glowplugs.

Has anyone done anything like this? Just doing my research for now, build starts when the warmer weather comes and I can just take the heater out and bypass the heater hoses to give me mock-up room.

Click to expand...

Yes. I've just put a T7design in my 90. Left original heater in and just T'd off the original pipes. Toasty as now. Good investment

mikescuba said:

Would it not work out cheaper to fit something like a Webasto diesel heater ? The heater in my 110, 200tdi is rubbish. I have tried everything. This year I have fitted a new Rad and heater matrix, I don't think it has made any difference. I have tried a rad muff, Made sure all the door seals work and no draft come in, three different thermostats, flushing and bleeding the system. Stripping the whole heater unit and cleaning it out and resealing it. Insulated the roof and parts of the front. Checking all the cables work correctly.Fitted a 300W ceramic electric heater; And bought myself a new coat. I haven't been able to test it out in cold conditions since fitting the new Heater Matrix, It's in the paint shop at the moment getting a respray.I'm not holding out much hope though.

Click to expand...

Possibly but then that's not who I am, I can probably build something that looks more stock and behaves like an ordinary but behaves like an epic heater myself. I bought an Eberspasher hydronic off eBay, not cheap, second hand, fully working and ended up selling it on as I couldn't decide on a place I was happy to install it and make it look neat. I also didn't have much time at the time - maybe I need to look into these again.

A good rad is only going to make the situation worse technically, but I do happen to have a good few year old aluminium core rad.
The heater matrix in these, new or not is just not efficient enough at heat transfer to the air.

My heater is actually considered good, it does warm up and the cab is acceptable after a longish run but I am going to try and harness more heat and get it quicker. My Disco with the same engine used to get bloody hot, so it's possible.

Kwakerman said:

Have you checked the water temperature with an IR thermometer before you start modifying it? You should get about 90 degrees at the sender unit (hold it close). my thermostat was stuck open and only giving about 70ish. Replaced it and now have a heater that works well (300 tdi CSW). If you don't have the hot water to start with you are on to a loser unless you go with a fuel burner or electric heater Well worth going around looking for drafts as it all adds up.

Click to expand...

I have a proper temperature gauge fitted and the engine sits at around 88° when it gets there! My heater as said above is actually good, I am just not happy with it as it could be better.

flat said:

The biggest difference I found when sorting mine was fitting a genuine Land Rover thermostat as opposed to a britpart or aftermarket one.

Click to expand...

LR stat in it now, only buy OEM or LR parts, coolant system working as it should and it sits bang on as it should.