heater cables on a 63 bug

[Snort]

Well, assuming the ends of the cable at the motor side are not caught on the edge of the tube they run through, then you have little recourse but to push and pull until something gives.

If I had knowledge of the tubes having rust inside (good chance), I would clip off the ends of the cable (the part that hooks up to the heat exchanger assuming they are still there), and pull the cable out. Doing that means you shall not get the cables trapped inside the tube by jamming rust and debris as you pull the cable.

If you end up with broken wire, rust and such inside the tube, Welcome to the Monkey House, most VW owners face that at some point, and we just have to deal with it and clean it out one way or another.

[fluxcap]

sometimes the big ends of the cable (the part that connects to the heaterbox) hangs up on the end of the tubing when you pull from inside the car. May need to get under the car and push the fat end of the wire inside the tube. Then finish pulling it out from inside the car.
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Eric - 1966 camper bus

"It's like, how much more black could this be, and the answer is none.......none more black."

[Eric&Barb]

Make sure the ends of the cables are not hanging up on the tubes below.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[silvertonguedevil]

See, but this is where I feel so stupid. I can't see where they exit underneath or anywhere else for that matter. Does anyone have a picture or something?
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-Greg

[dirtpittt]

Check out this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDD2r2P-oJQ

Might help

[fluxcap]

[silvertonguedevil]

AWESOME!!! That's exactly what I needed. Thank you so much. I'll let you know how it goes.
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-Greg

[Snort]

I watched that video, and not too surprisingly it gives misinformation. With all due respect, I am sure that guy does a great job with bodywork and such, but do not take everything he says as correct. The video talks about removing the knob by hammering the pin out and then "some sort of mechanism" etc. There is no reason to remove the knob, in fact if you have never removed one of these things there is actually a good chance you will crack your knob by beating on the pin with a hammer inside the car.

And what's with that ridiculous 36hp fan shroud on the 62, with tin cans welded onto it for fresh air ducts?

edit: the photos actually show the 55 and earlier style location, but the control mechanism is the same on 56 and later.

[silvertonguedevil]

I'm sorta embarrased but I've been so busy that today was the first chance I've had at getting back to the car. The video was priceless. I was able to get the cables out today in less than a minute. Thank you so much!!
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-Greg

[gybemaster]

Can some explain how I attach the cable to the knob/control shaft. There was no heater system in my bug upon purchase so I am unable to simply reverse the removal procedure as there was nothing to remove.

I just have a look of cable at the control knob end and I can't figure how to attach it or how the winding function pulls the cable in and out.

[Snort]

Here is... the rest of the story:

edit: Number 5 there, slides up and down in the hole, is kept from spinning by a pin in the hole that fits into the vertical slot. The knob and screw fit into the middle of #5, so when you turn the knob, it moves the screw which pulls and pushes #5 up and down. The cable is secured to #5 by fitting a horizontal pin (#6) through the holes in #5 and the loop in the cable.

[Jim Douglas Jr.]

Weird.
You'd think the long end would need to go to the left, but I did it that way and I have not enough on the right, and too much on the left!
Maybe that heater box lever is further forward.

Hi Greg!
_________________
Kyle, Buddy, and Herbie the Love Bug ll53
Visit Herbie the Love Bug at LoveBugFans.com

[Snort]

That had me fooled for years! I finally figured out that it had more to do with the head/heat exchanger being further forward on the left than it is on the right. The heater control being on the right side is minor compared to the asymmetry of the engine.

[Jim Douglas Jr.]

Update.
Yup, put it in the way the book says and both lined up well with the connectors.
I guess the assumption is that the heater boxes are symmetrical, but they're obviously not.

Heater cables should last decades, but putting the last one in long side to the left only lasted like 6-8 months. It seemed stressed at the knob putting it in long to the left, also, and the last one was also a poor fit put in that way.

Try it the long side left first.
_________________
Kyle, Buddy, and Herbie the Love Bug ll53
Visit Herbie the Love Bug at LoveBugFans.com

[Jim Douglas Jr.]

Confirmed. The driver's side (left) heater box is FURTHER FORWARD because the cylinders are FURTHER FORWARD! DA! Now it makes perfect sense.

Also, the natural bend of the cable when it's manufactured will allow easy installation at the knob when installed this way. If you try to install it with the longer end of the cable on the left, the knob mechanism will resist you when reinstalling it.

I hope this is helpful in the future.
_________________
Kyle, Buddy, and Herbie the Love Bug ll53
Visit Herbie the Love Bug at LoveBugFans.com

[scottyrocks]

There is much here about installing the cables, but how, exactly, is that done?

My car is a '63 with stale air boxes and the heat knob beside the shift lever.

After refurbing my stale air boxes so that everything functions properly and easily, I discovered, upon unscrewing part #3, above, and then lifting everything else out, that my cables were so badly twisted that attempting to untwist them simply resulted in breakage, necessitating a new set of cables.

Where exactly do they go once down into the hole? Is it obvious, once I pull the old cables out, where the new cables go? Will I see two tubes sticking up that I don't see now?
_________________
“If you care for a thing long enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it? Mending old things, preserving them, looking after them – on some level there's no rational grounds for it.”
– D. Tartt, 'The Goldfinch'

[rcooled]

[Eric&Barb]

[scottyrocks]

Thank you, rc and E&B. I'll order the cable and get right on it.
_________________
“If you care for a thing long enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it? Mending old things, preserving them, looking after them – on some level there's no rational grounds for it.”
– D. Tartt, 'The Goldfinch'

[scottyrocks]