TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Oct 08, 2006 8:20 pm

I've only had my van since last Feb, but the one trip to VT last winter left my feet mighty cold in the front, while my rear passengers were just fine.
i got the thinking (and then the weather got warm) that the coolant must be a little cool by the time it makes it to the radiator and front heater core when it's 10deg out.

Today I was at Lowe's and looking at some water pipe insulation, and thought. hmmm. maybe I could zip-tie some of that onto my coolant pipes and keep some heat in for the winter.

Anyone ever tried this? good or bad results?

Sun Oct 08, 2006 11:04 pm

Never tried it because my van's aircooled, but I am a plumber and I can tell you it works awesome for keeping water lines from freezing in underground parking lots. Get the 1" thick stuff of the correct diameter for the hoses and it should keep a bit more warmth in there. Certainly can't hurt.

Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:23 am

Are your fresh air ducts closed ?? If they don't close totally, you will get colder air up front.

Mon Oct 09, 2006 6:52 am

You need to make sure that coolent is going through the front heater core, sometimes people block them off because of the Vanagon "hot foot syndrome".
Common home repair for this:

Valve turns off coolent to heater core, but the flaps in the heater are the real cause of the "Hot foot"
You're coolent isn't cooling that much on the way to the radiator, you have a problem with your front heater, could be clogged from someones lame attempt at fixing a leak, not uncommon.

Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:36 pm

I'm sure the heater works.
when it's above 30 deg out i can be nice and toasty up front.
when driving around town in lower temps I'm fine too.
but when on the highway in winter it never blows warm, and my temp gauge drops way down.
might be the vents stuck open, as there was a mouse nest in one whole side that I removed in the spring, so that could have been part of the trouble.

Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:38 pm

Sounds like your thermostat is not sealing well. You can get thermostats with a plastic seal that should seal better than metal on metal type. Partially closing the valve on the rear heater will also force more coolant to the front one.

Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:51 am

heated seat kits are about $100/seat for the DIY, it's on my winter TODO list. DS 1st then the PS can have one..

do a google on heated seat kits. theres a few differant vendors.

Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:05 am

Block off the front air intake grill.

The foam seals on the heater box door's are more than likely leaking, allowing cold air past them.
Pretty common.

I made a maroon sunbrella winter cover for the fresh ar intake behind the upper grill , and it stopped the cold air passing through the heater box door's and helps keep the front end of the Van toasty.

In the spring it ges removed.

Simple Fix---: )

Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:28 pm

Good call Terry.
I'll give that a shot.

Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:03 pm

Hey Brooklyn why don't we just migrate with the birds :lol:

Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:12 pm

That's a great idea. I'd love to be nomadic. and we could drive in formation....
too bad I don't think the wife would go for it.
as much as she loves camping in the van, Brooklyn is home.

Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:15 pm

brooklynvan wrote: That's a great idea. I'd love to be nomadic. and we could drive in formation....
too bad I don't think the wife would go for it.
as much as she loves camping in the van, Brooklyn is home.

Yea mine either :roll: A guy can dream :wink:

Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:47 pm

Once you get most of the air shut down coming from the fron air intake--check this out just for grins--and it has to be pretty cold out to get the full effect---

At 60--70 mph, ust drop your left hand down towards the step in the wheel well.

Just because of the age of the weather striping arond the door's you'll actually be able to feel cold air leaking in the Van--
and for some reason especially down towards the botttom.
( not to say it isin't going to leak air anywhere else--it will.)

The only cure for this is to replace the door seals.
Phooey--a time consuming crummy job---

The best you can do for right now that's easy is the air dam up front.

Anyway---

I wanna migrate for the winter to Tahiti / Bora Bora---where's the road west?---: )