heater drain

[nick]

There is a drain tube under the heater. Mine seems to be turning to dust. There is evidence of some leaking as well. Since I have the interior completely disassembled I thought I would pull the heater and replace the drain tube. Is that a part that needs to be manufactured or is it available? Can the heater hoses be disconnected to drain the core or does the radiator need to be drained?


nick
'79 TR7

[FI Spyder]

I can't say I've seen that (white) part available. You could probably make something up with ABS plumbing pipe. I only had to replace the black foam insulation which surrounds it which I made out of gluing two pieces of copper pipe insulation to gether.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[nick]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by FI Spyder</i>

I can't say I've seen that (white) part available. You could probably make something up with ABS plumbing pipe. I only had to replace the black foam insulation which surrounds it which I made out of gluing two pieces of copper pipe insulation to gether.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I didn't realize it's two pieces. I thought the outside piece was the drain tube. I have some evidence of minor leakage in the interior compartment down the side of the tunnel. I really wasn't interested in pulling out the heater. Maybe I'll pour some water down there and see how much leaks out and then make a decisions on weather or not it's worth the effort to take out the heater and repair it.


nick
'79 TR7

[Beans]

Still haven't got a clue what you're talking about [8)]
Is it th elittle tube on the RH bottom of this heater?



As far as i know there where only two types of heater used on the TR7;
1. Non A/C heater which had the water drain incorporated in the plastic moulding of the fresh air inlet chamber;
2. A/C heater which has a steel drain tube welded to the steel fresh air inlet chamber;
Which heater do you have in your car ?

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, currently being restored)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[busheytrader]

Me neither

Adam

[FI Spyder]

I was referring to A/C type. I haven't looked at my non A/C type yet to compare. Not a good picture but you can see the plastic extension inside the metal spout that take the water through to clear the transmission tunnel. I can see this getting brittle and braking/falling off many cars. Around this was a thick foam gasket to seal the hole in the transmission tunnel so water would not splash up or trickle back up. You can see where it was glued around the metal spout. While the translucent plastic hose was in good enough shape I replaced the foam sealing donut that surrounded it as it was deteriorating, getting a little crumbly. The sealing donut was cut at an angle on the lower side to conform to the angle of the transmission tunnel.

I would have thought the non A/C heater would have a similar way to get rid of water that could come through the fresh air vent/plenum both when traveling and at rest and sit in the bottom of the heater and rust it out.





TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[cozyheatdave]

Beans,
Do you have a step by step detail of your heater box rebuild?
Did you buy a lot of replacement parts?
Mine needs a total rebuild but I'm a little intimidated to tear it apart.
Does it make sense to buy a new unit (AC)? or just replace the cores and plastic parts?

[Beans]

See my weblog, summer last year [;)]

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, currently being restored)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[nick]

The insulation part on the floor fits between the heater drain and the tunnel. On my car the heater drain is not long enough to protrude through the tunnel. Additionally it does not center on the tunnel hole. Therefore, when water drains it contacts the insulation and leaks into the car. My solution to the leak is to extend the drain by adding a piece of PVC and installing a new piece of insulation. The insulation is thick and leads me to believe it may act as an additional support for the heater. Or at the least, prevent the heater from riding on the tunnel.





nick
'79 TR7

[FI Spyder]

You are correct. Although my original tube is flexible tubing and on the inside some plumbing pipe slipped over the metal tube would work just as well or better but length is critical as you don't want it so long it contacts the transmission.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[nick]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by FI Spyder</i>

You are correct. Although my original tube is flexible tubing and on the inside some plumbing pipe slipped over the metal tube would work just as well or better but length is critical as you don't want it so long it contacts the transmission.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I took a piece of pvc that had a flange. It was too big to go into the hole so I took a slice out of it. I inserted it with the flange on the inside so it can't drop out. It fits very tight in the hole. The heater drain is much smaller. It fits into the flanged pvc and drains onto it. I added pipe insulation around the pvc to replicate the orignial.


nick
'79 TR7