heater prob

Hi

I have a 2.3 TD LWB Frontera ( K reg)

Ever since I've had it I have noticed how poor the heater is, its
had a new thermostat but that made no difference.

Is there some bleed screw I'm missing to ensure there is no air
in the heater matrix or is a poor heater a "feature" of this
model?



--
Steve Parry

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

http://wrexhamseals.tripod.com

Steve,
Cant vouch for your model, but the '98 2.5TDS has a really good heater
system...could be just an airlock in the system. I had that on a 340 series
Volvo, after the thermostat was changed !!....

Have you bled the main expansion/header tank ?? That will allow air to
escape and might possibly cure your fault...

Also, take a peek at the Frontera Owners Group on the Web...You may find
useful info there too..

Rgds

Paul

--
All our E-mail is scanned by Norton Anti Virus before being sent....
"Steve Parry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi
>
> I have a 2.3 TD LWB Frontera ( K reg)
>
> Ever since I've had it I have noticed how poor the heater is, its
> had a new thermostat but that made no difference.
>
> Is there some bleed screw I'm missing to ensure there is no air
> in the heater matrix or is a poor heater a "feature" of this
> model?
>
>
>
> --
> Steve Parry
>
> http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk
>
> http://wrexhamseals.tripod.com
>
>

tracy wrote:
> Steve,
> Cant vouch for your model, but the '98 2.5TDS has a really good heater
> system...could be just an airlock in the system. I had that on a 340
> series Volvo, after the thermostat was changed !!....
>
> Have you bled the main expansion/header tank ?? That will allow air to
> escape and might possibly cure your fault...
>
> Also, take a peek at the Frontera Owners Group on the Web...You may
> find useful info there too..
>
> Rgds
>
> Paul
>
>> Hi
>>
>> I have a 2.3 TD LWB Frontera ( K reg)
>>
>> Ever since I've had it I have noticed how poor the heater is, its
>> had a new thermostat but that made no difference.
>>
>> Is there some bleed screw I'm missing to ensure there is no air
>> in the heater matrix or is a poor heater a "feature" of this
>> model?
>>
>>

thanks Paul


--
Steve Parry

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

http://wrexhamseals.tripod.com

> I have a 2.3 TD LWB Frontera ( K reg)
>
> Ever since I've had it I have noticed how poor the heater is, its
> had a new thermostat but that made no difference.
>
> Is there some bleed screw I'm missing to ensure there is no air
> in the heater matrix or is a poor heater a "feature" of this
> model?

No, the heater should be good. There's no bleed screw
unless the diesel is different to my petrol.

Fronteras of that age are quite likely to have a leaky
heater matrix - changing this is a dashboard-out job
and it's possible that the person who sold it to you
bypassed the matrix to hide the problem! Look under
the bonnet, on the passenger side of the engine there
should be two rubber hoses going through the bulkhead.
If these are looped together instead, and you can see
the copper pipe stubs of the matrix sticking out of
the bulkhead, then it's been bypassed.

If not then check whether the hoses both get hot.
If they do then there's nothing much wrong with the
water flow (though I suppose it's possible that
the matrix is partially blocked).

Check that the air-door is still attached to the cable
that operates it. When you move the hot-cold lever
from hot to cold and back there should be quite a meaty
"thunk" as the door opens and closes. A Frontera owner
on another forum had exactly your problem and it turned
out that the cable had fallen off.

If all that checks out then drain the cooling system
and carefully flush out (with a hose, gently) the engine
and the radiator and, separately, the matrix.

(By the way these vehicles do not have a water valve,
so that's one less thing to suspect).

-- Steve

Steve Hunt wrote:
> Check that the air-door is still attached to the cable
> that operates it. When you move the hot-cold lever
> from hot to cold and back there should be quite a meaty
> "thunk" as the door opens and closes.

Sorry, that's a bit misleading. The hot/cold control
doesn't make a meaty thunk. I was thinking of the
control that changes where the heat goes. And
the fresh/recirculate control.

The hot-cold control won't make a thunk, but you should
feel significant resistance when you move it.

-- Steve

Steve Hunt wrote:
>> I have a 2.3 TD LWB Frontera ( K reg)
>>
>> Ever since I've had it I have noticed how poor the heater is, its
>> had a new thermostat but that made no difference.
>>
>> Is there some bleed screw I'm missing to ensure there is no air
>> in the heater matrix or is a poor heater a "feature" of this
>> model?
>
> No, the heater should be good. There's no bleed screw
> unless the diesel is different to my petrol.
>
> Fronteras of that age are quite likely to have a leaky
> heater matrix - changing this is a dashboard-out job
> and it's possible that the person who sold it to you
> bypassed the matrix to hide the problem! Look under
> the bonnet, on the passenger side of the engine there
> should be two rubber hoses going through the bulkhead.
> If these are looped together instead, and you can see
> the copper pipe stubs of the matrix sticking out of
> the bulkhead, then it's been bypassed.
>
> If not then check whether the hoses both get hot.
> If they do then there's nothing much wrong with the
> water flow (though I suppose it's possible that
> the matrix is partially blocked).
>
> Check that the air-door is still attached to the cable
> that operates it. When you move the hot-cold lever
> from hot to cold and back there should be quite a meaty
> "thunk" as the door opens and closes. A Frontera owner
> on another forum had exactly your problem and it turned
> out that the cable had fallen off.
>
> If all that checks out then drain the cooling system
> and carefully flush out (with a hose, gently) the engine
> and the radiator and, separately, the matrix.
>
> (By the way these vehicles do not have a water valve,
> so that's one less thing to suspect).
>
> -- Steve

Hi Steve

Been and probed further and looks like you're right .... discovered a
damp passenger footwell so it looks like the heater matrix is leaking
.... damn ... don't relish the dahsboard out I guess thats more than a
one day job?

Thanks

--
Steve Parry

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

http://wrexhamseals.tripod.com

> Been and probed further and looks like you're right .... discovered a
> damp passenger footwell so it looks like the heater matrix is leaking
> ... damn ... don't relish the dahsboard out I guess thats more than a
> one day job?

Steve

Check the wet carpet smells of antifreeze
because it's not uncommon to get rainwater down
there if the windscreen seal is faulty.

Taking the dash out is a big job but not
really hard. I reckon that having done it
once I could do it all in a day - but I
was squeezing in the odd hour before and
after work, in freezing cold weather,
outdoors :-( So I did the job over several
days. The Haynes manual gives it a 4 out
of 5 difficulty rating, but they also tell you
to do things that I found unnecessary
(removing the steering column) and omit
things that were necessary (disconnecting
the dashboard sub-loom). I have some notes
that I made when I was doing this job and
I'll dig them out and email them to you...
is a Word document OK?

By the way before you embark on this it's
worth trying Bars Leaks or similar product
in case it's just a pinhole that can
be plugged. Didn't work for me, but maybe
it will for you.

-- Steve

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 11:39:59 +0000, Steve Hunt wrote
(in message <[email protected]>):

>> Been and probed further and looks like you're right .... discovered a
>> damp passenger footwell so it looks like the heater matrix is leaking
>> ... damn ... don't relish the dahsboard out I guess thats more than a
>> one day job?
>
> Steve
>
> Check the wet carpet smells of antifreeze
> because it's not uncommon to get rainwater down
> there if the windscreen seal is faulty.
>
> Taking the dash out is a big job but not
> really hard. I reckon that having done it
> once I could do it all in a day - but I
> was squeezing in the odd hour before and
> after work, in freezing cold weather,
> outdoors :-( So I did the job over several
> days. The Haynes manual gives it a 4 out
> of 5 difficulty rating, but they also tell you
> to do things that I found unnecessary
> (removing the steering column) and omit
> things that were necessary (disconnecting
> the dashboard sub-loom). I have some notes
> that I made when I was doing this job and
> I'll dig them out and email them to you...
> is a Word document OK?
>
> By the way before you embark on this it's
> worth trying Bars Leaks or similar product
> in case it's just a pinhole that can
> be plugged. Didn't work for me, but maybe
> it will for you.
>
> -- Steve

I've just caught up on this thread and not had a chance to fully investigate.
However, because of condensation I did check the carpet under the rubber mat
on the driver's side and it IS WET. Before starting to 'rip things appart',
any ideas to point me in the correct direction.

"K" reg. 1993 LWB 2.3 turbo diesel.

--
Tips

Steve Hunt wrote:
>> Been and probed further and looks like you're right .... discovered a
>> damp passenger footwell so it looks like the heater matrix is leaking
>> ... damn ... don't relish the dahsboard out I guess thats more than a
>> one day job?
>
> Steve
>
> Check the wet carpet smells of antifreeze
> because it's not uncommon to get rainwater down
> there if the windscreen seal is faulty.
>
> Taking the dash out is a big job but not
> really hard. I reckon that having done it
> once I could do it all in a day - but I
> was squeezing in the odd hour before and
> after work, in freezing cold weather,
> outdoors :-( So I did the job over several
> days. The Haynes manual gives it a 4 out
> of 5 difficulty rating, but they also tell you
> to do things that I found unnecessary
> (removing the steering column) and omit
> things that were necessary (disconnecting
> the dashboard sub-loom). I have some notes
> that I made when I was doing this job and
> I'll dig them out and email them to you...
> is a Word document OK?
>
> By the way before you embark on this it's
> worth trying Bars Leaks or similar product
> in case it's just a pinhole that can
> be plugged. Didn't work for me, but maybe
> it will for you.
>
> -- Steve

Cheers Steve ... I've tried some "radweld" not hopeful but I'll see what
its like over the course of a week. Word docs are fine ... thanks for
the help!


--
Steve Parry

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

http://wrexhamseals.tripod.com