FSJ Heater Blower Upgrade

[razorgrill]

Ok, so I have decided to go with #chrism's approach to this heater upgrade. Seams like it will be super quick, blow heat, be cost effective, and less invasive to the Jeep.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=151479

I will be posting pictures of the How-To on this project.

Blower Motor:
VDO #35588 (Made in China)
$16.99 Orielly Auto Parts
For: 1985 Chevy K10 w/350

Blower Motor Wheel:
Compressor Works #35603 (Made in America)
$13.99 Auto Zone
For: 1989 Buick Skylark

Thermostat 180 Degree:
Fail-Safe #7200-180 (Made in Israel)
$17.99 Auto Zone
For: 1978 Jeep Cherokee

[Mike D]

love to see it .. do you have factory A/C too ?

[razorgrill]

I do have factory AC. Doesn't work right now. That'll change come April/May.

Still trying to upload pics. Site is refusing my pics for some reason.

May just have to do a video, post the sucker on YouTube, and pop the link in here.

[Mike D]

lol ... sounds common for old A/C's .... mine dosen't work either .... have no idea what to do with it... cant get the old freon to charge it with (1977 A/C)...

only way i could insert photos is with photobucket .....


i posted a few of my leaky radiator ....

[razorgrill]

One day itll have working AC. LOL

[razorgrill]

So, maybe there is a difference in the fiberglass blower shroud between 78 and 79, but I wound up have to drill 3 new holes. Chrism drilled two holes, I needed 3. No biggy. Moved the metal clips from old holes to the new holes, and lined the blower up the best I could and anchored it. Connected the Positive wire, only one wire from this #35588 blower motor, VS two on the old unit. Ran new ground wire from the blow motor casing, to the original ground point from the old setup, and presto. 3 Speed blower. Whole process took me like 25 minutes.

Ok. Now. As far as it blowing harder than the stock fan, I have no idea! Remember, I was coming from absolutley no heat, and a 767 sound with no air, to now having a fan that is actually turning. And its nice and quiet! This is t!tty sprinkles for me. Have something else that works now!

Next problem, I cant figure out how to make it switch from heat to defrost. I push the buttons, and I cant really tell if its blowing through the defrost vents, or floor vents.

Ill give it a whirl tonight on my way home when its cooler, and try to figure it out again and see if shes pushing heat.

Still waiting on the HEAT/COOL temp cable to come in. Mine just plain doesnt work. Siezed up.

The squirrel cage on the old unit was absolutley fine. No cracks. No broken paddles. #35603 fan wheel is noticably smaller than the stock wheel, so I imagine it produces less air flow, again it could depend on the blower motor speed I imagine.

I have pics, but it wont accept my uploads. Ill keep trying to figure it out.

[Mike D]

if you cant hear the diaphragms working .. they probably have lost their seal ... leaking air.

Iv never have taken one apart before ... i usaly got lucky and found a good one at pull and save ...

[razorgrill]

I shall look into that. Might be time to bust out those AMC factory repair manuals.

[razorgrill]

Apparently I have bigger fish to fry.

I can feel heat! A little air is blowing through the ducts under the dash. Ride home wasn't so chilly.

It just doesn't seam like its the amount of air that should be coming out. More tinkering...

[razorgrill]

Heater cable came in today. Ill crack into that install tmrw.

CAUTION!!!
I noticed after I swapped my thermostat to the 180 degree, from 160, the Jeep ran like Great Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley. Curbed the idle to make up for low RPM, and basically just wound up flooding the carb while driving. Got home tonight, lightly tweaked the timing, backed the carb out by 1/8th, and re curbed the idle. She runs a HELL of a lot better now.

How did this happen? Im assuming that the tune I had for 160 degrees was effecting the performance at 180 degrees? I dunno?

The blower feedback. It works! I was warm on my way home tonight. It doesn't pump out a lot of air, but you can feel it when you place your hand by the floor vent. I still have to track down why I cant flip flop the heater/defrost. It may be a culprit. I don't think this set up will ever make it too hot in the cab to take it off three. Full blast only made it warm. Again, I cant say if its the setup, or if it's another problem that im still tracking down.

Hope this helps if anyone is having heating issues. More to come!

[okjeep]

The vac loss at the heater controls could affect the engine/timing operation. Make sure you have the vac reservoir and the one way check valve.

[razorgrill]

Alrighty. I installed the cable. My recommendation is to use the string method when removing it, to make for easier install. I didnt even think about doing that until I yanked it out. I touched off a couple power wires installing the new one, when I was shoving it through the firewall under the dash. Made the butthole pucker a couple times.

EXCERCISE EXTREME CAUTION!!! When pulling the gauge bezel, I dropped the steering column. 4 bolts on the upper collar, 2 supporting the collar to the dash, 2 at the base collar. Now, if the steering column rotates while being unsupported, it WILL pop into neutral... and cause your butthole to pucker, if you're on an incline! KEEP CENTERED AT ALL TIMES.

EXCERCISE EXTREME CAUTION!!! Check your brake lights after bolting column back into place! I managed to upset the switch, causing them to stay illuminated. Minor adjustment, twisting in, to press the switch, and it was good to go.

Also, there are two retaining clips if you will one both ends. I had to remove one and crimp it back down after the install. The 35 year old grommet wasnt having it when it came to removal.

By God though, I have a working heat/cool lever now. Oh, the screws that hold the tabs in place at both ends were not installed. Makes me believe this Jeep could of had a history of having the bezel removed and possibly heat problems going back a decade or two.

Two things I noticed. One was when I yanked out the gauge bezel for access, there were two vacuum lines disco'd from the heat/defrost/off buttons. I reconnected them, hopefully they stayed on when I put it back in.

There other thing to note, and I cant find this in my diagrams, there were two vacuum lines coming up from behind the engine, that were broken off from heat fatigue. I reconnected them by matching the breaks patterns. I didnt have time to trace them. Anyone know what they are for??

I think I still have problems with the heat/defrost selection. I cant hear any switching from the two. May be interfering with the fan, or maybe the fan just doesnt put out that much air. But its warming the cab for now! Probably going to try a different set up if the cold defeats this setup in the future.

[razorgrill]

The vac loss at the heater controls could affect the engine/timing operation. Make sure you have the vac reservoir and the one way check valve.

Woah woah woah!! Please tell me more! Would you happen to have a diagram for me to trace out? Is there suppose to be check valves behind the dash off the heater controls?

Ill have to find out where my vacuum reservoir is, and possibly just start swapping out these 35 year old lines. If you have a diagram or pics, I would greatly appreciate any information you can provide.

[rstep]

The 2 vac lines behind the engine most likely are to the TC . There is no check valve to the heat controls that I know of.Do you have a round ball center of the fire wall in the engine bay? that is the reservoir

[razorgrill]

I can't recall ever seeing a round ball in the center of the firewall. Ill have to take another look. It seams that I have seen these before. About the size of a softball?