Hot Cabin

[sleeptalker]

Hi all,

Well Austec have done a great job of fixing the dodgy wiring that seemed to be stopping my car's fuel pump from firing and now it's all rewired, dyno'd, retuned and a new security system has been fitted i'm turning my attention to a pesky problem that's a real pain in the summer - the fact that the cabin seems to get hotter and hotter the longer I drive.

Engine temp and cooling system work fine but I think the issue is that despite setting the internal blower to 'cold' the air coming through the vents gets warmer and warmer as the car's engine does.

I'm guessing the little valve near to where the water pipe goes into the bulkhead under the bonnet is broken and as i'm planning a trip to France soon I don't have time to replace it.

My question is:

Is there any issue with me clamping off the pipe that feeds this valve so that at least for now I can be sure no hot water enters the blower system in the cabin?

I just want to check I won't throw the whole cooling system off balance in some daft way by doing this?

What are the rest of your S's like for cabin temp in the summer? Are there any other tricks that can be employed to keep things cool - the footwell is like a greenhouse after an hours driving!

Cheers,

A

[Gerald-TVR]

Take the roof off

Seroiusly though the heater is a re-circulatory type ie if you have the fan on it draws air from the cabin through the heater matrix and back into the cabin so if there is any heat in the matrix the air will just get hotter and hotter. Thats also why the instruments mist up. Blanking off the flow and return to the heater should not effect the cooling system (dont forget thats what happen in effect when the heater valve is closed) BUT if by chance you were getting any engine heating issues sometimes putting the heater on and with blower operating there might just be sufficient additional cooling to avoid overheating.

Your best bet would be to replace the heater valve and it has been reported on here that the valve from a VW (Polo or Golf (?)) is suitable

Edited by Gerald-TVR on Thursday 5th August 11:38

[Barkychoc]

I'd get a brake pipe clamp to close the pipe off then if there are issues you can remove it easily.

Have you checked the eyeball vents in the footwell are open - though if they are blowing hot air that may make you warmer!

A lot of hot air blows down the transmission tunnel too - I get loads of heat coming in around the handbrake.

[ketvrin]

Are you getting any air coming in from the "Fresh-Fly" vents either side of your radio ? they take the air direct from the front of the bonnet and into the cab... the only restriction being the ball valve at the vent and any blockage in the pipe. Air moving slowly past the exhaust will heat up nicely so you need to ensure the pipe is not blocked and keep it as far away as possible from the zorst. It could be that the duct has become detatched at either end or is so full of holes it leaks out before getting to the cab ?

the other thing to look at is the heatshield on the engine bay bulkhead... if its not there or goosed then it will not be reflecting heat away from the bodywork

K

[sleeptalker]

Hiya

Thanks for the feedback chaps - ordered 2 new brake hose clamps off fleabay to get us through the trip (not sure there will be room in the boot to remove the hood during the trip!)

I know from having removed the centre console in the past the hoses that connect to the eye-vents are non existent and need replacing - any ideas what gauge is needed as I hear these guys are able to supply?

http://www.revotecdirect.co.uk/

Also as they've snapped part way along inside the dash what's the best method of joining old to new hoses - do they sell couplers of some kind?

Cheers,

A

[Bobhon]

The vent stubs on my S2 look to be about either 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 inch diameter. If so then a bit of standard plumbing sink waste pipe should do it.

When I took my heater out the distribution manifold down to the footwells looked just like a bit of waste pipe.

HTH, Bob