Thread: Heater improvement ideas on Series III wanted

Yes thats all the military ones have as well When I lived in canberra I had to crack the ice of my motor bike to ride to work but I was very young and stupid now I am just older I still ride in the winter and go camping in my series

Hi guys being a new series owner living about as far south in Aus as you can get (2750 miles from the pole) thought it would be a good idea to get the heater working.

Started off this morning with no air flow at all, so I pulled the old smiths out hooked it up direct to the battery, nothing but a small puff of smoke. So I jumped on the Internet to see if I could purchase a new unit. Being different to what they have in the UK it wasn't looking good. So I thought what the hell re hooked it to the battery and gave it a little push start and away she went but not real impressed with the speed and still felt quiet stiff.

So it was onto the operating table with a novice holding the scalpel. First I removed the fan thing, pulled the mounting bracket off and separated the two halves of the case. Before I remove the shaft gave it a light sand with some 800 grit, a wipe and some wd40, turned it upside down and a light tap and it was out and clear why it wasn't spinning well.

Years of sucking dust and grit had worked its way into the little bush at the fan end. So another light sand of the shaft a good clean all over some sewing machine oil on both bushes and back together (twice don't forget there is 2 little washes at either end).

Hooked it up to the battery again for a quick test and I'd say 4 times the rpm. So back in the heater unit and job done. 2 hours from start to fin, result I'd say as good as the puma on fan setting three.

Ps noticed someone's previous post mentioning to divert air intake so it draws from cab that's where mine sucks from passenger footwell.

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I just connected a missing heater switch and now have air blown into the cab and on the windows. The heater matrix is disconnected - no tap, blending cable disconnected, no pipes with the current pipe going from rear to front of engine.

I am wondering what it mean if I reconnected the hoses to the matrix without the tap/control/blender? Would this mean water is going through the matrix so if the fan is on warm air would be drawn...?

Yes if you reconnect the hoses then warm air will be blown in but just be careful they are often disconnected because the matrix is leaking

Thanks TB...that would make sense...the heater controls on the RHS are there but the inner most lever is the choke (or is that normal?). Would the water leak be obvious eg puddle on the LHS cab floor?

The thermostat that should be used on a S3 is a skirted thermostat which are available in two opening temperatures (74deg and 82 deg). They are still available in Oz or Paddocks. The skirt partially closes the bypass when it is closed causing the engine to get to operating temperature quicker. In fact the thermostat sometimes does not open at all if the air is cold.
It will also ensure that the water in the heater is hotter (it operates on the head side of the bypass) even when the thermostat is closed. Suggest you get an 82 deg thermostat to increase the temp of the water going to the heater. If you use a normal un skirted thermostat the engine (and the heater) will run too cold.
The fan belt driven fan should not be removed unless you replace it with an electrical on and a fan controller.

Regards,

Phil

Originally Posted by Tikka7mm08

Thanks TB...that would make sense...the heater controls on the RHS are there but the inner most lever is the choke (or is that normal?). Would the water leak be obvious eg puddle on the LHS cab floor?

One should be for temp and one to switch from floor to demist. Once it's running you can improve it further by rigging a curtain between the cab and the load area ( unless it's a ute cab of course)

Looks like someone coverted it from a diesel to petrol amd cleverly used one lever for choke... It is a truck cab.