tr7triumph.com

Hello,

I have a leaking heater core and the real problem are the seals but these are NLA.

I assume the original seals are there due to vibration cracking any welds or brazing..... would this be true?

My mod would be to weld in a stub on each or the inlet/outlet holes in the heater and then join to original pipes with a short section of heater hose. What do you think of this idea? Has anyone else modified a heater core?

Jolyon

God knows why they placed those seals there.

you shouldn't have any problems with vibrations if the hoses are properly mounted to the chassis(heater core) ( it wouldn't be bad to secure those rigid pipes just so they don't wiggle around)

I ran around with a bypassed heater for many years until a few months ago. Luckily Robsport persuaded me to buy the seals a couple of years ago before they went NLA as they reckoned a leaky matrix was unlikely.

I fixed it last summer. Robsport were right. The seals had hardened after 12 years of use (back in 1992) but had let go due to the rusted mild steel heater pipes inside them breaking out the seal. By the way, replacing them is not a simple job. Pipes out = Heater out = Dashboard out.

If your original pipes are like mine, they'll be unuseable as nothing will seal against a rusty surface. I bought the Stainless Steel replacements from Robsport which fitted quite well, but will be totally useless without the rubber seals. A pair went for £20+ on ebay last year in the UK.



I believe other BL creations, SD1 and possibly Jaguar, also used the same heater system so other classics should be in the same boat.

The heater matrix appears to be made from some sort of softish alloy, brazing or soldering will only accept a limited amount of vibration so an extension stub sounds like a good experiment. An old school plumber with plenty of solder might be helpful. I'd offer you a scrap matrix to practice on but the carriage is a bit steep to the other side of the world...............

Adam



TR7 V8 DHC Jaguar Solent Blue. 9.35cr Range Rover V8, Holley 390cfm, JWR Dual Port, 214 Cam, Lumention, Tubular Manifolds, S/S Single Pipe Exh, 3.08 Rear, 200lb Spax & PolyBushes all round, Anti- Dive, Strut-Top Roller Bearings, Capri Vented Discs & Calipers, Braided Hoses, 4 Speed Rear Cylinders, Uprated Master Cylinder & Servo, AT 5 Spokes and Cruise Lights, S/S Heater Pipes, Replacement Fuel Tank. No Door Stickers. Mine since July 1986, V8 from 1991

The guy who owns the shop where I have been donating the TR7 bits that I won't be using in my rally car project has been looking into having a run of these seals made. Don't know the status of this.

Mine still work so I am afraid to disconnect the pipes from the heater core.

alan

I had nipples soldered into my original TR8 non-AC core and then used short sections of heater hose to connect them to the trimmed down original pipes. So far so good.

Edward Hamer
Petaluma CA

Last stop would be the new updated heater core which is available with no seals. Might be more cost efficient with time and money in the long run.

Who has this new core with no seals? (Not Rimmers nor Robsport.)

Jolyon

I looked into the Victoria British "Uprated" heater core. It looks like it would fit width wise but is a lot smaller that the stock unit so you would need to fabricate some sort of blanking plate.

I am not sure how the smaller core area would effect heater output.

Edward Hamer
Petlauma CA

Just popped up on ebay in the UK

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROVER-SD1-TRIUMPH ... arParts_SM