AirSpeed VW Community Forums
General Forums => Air Speed Lounge => Topic started by: owdlvr on September 13, 2014, 05:03:19 PM
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So it's that time of year where, if you have a gas heater, regardless of "how good" you think it is, some basic checks are in order:
1) Fuel lines
2) Exhaust Pipe and gaskets (checking for corrosion, cracks or other issues)
3) Intake and piping (again, checking for corrosion, tears, etc)
4) Wiring - Check fuses and condition of contacts.
Once you've done a check of the above, spend the time to fire the gas heater up in a controlled condition (as in when you can watch it carefully) and confirm everything runs correctly. Run the overheat test as per the Eberspacher repair manuals.
Unfortunately, without fully tearing down the gas heater you can't confirm the Stainless Steel combustion chamber hasn't cracked...but the above is a pretty safe start.
My BN2, which I rebuilt and check yearly, had a cracked exhaust pipe right at the silicone seal. It was minor enough I wouldn't have noticed it without a detailed check. Would have burnt through the brake lines coming from the reservoir if I hadn't noticed.
Check 'em!
-Dave
(cue Bruce posting about SS exhaust pipes)
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you drive your car past aug???? i dont think so!
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Hey Dave, this is timely. I'm just getting mine working for the first time and while it's a different beast (B2 and 6 volt, not 12v BN2 like yours) the lines were a freak show. Tried to get it to prime on its own and when the pump began to overheat alarmingly, force primed (after it cooled down) to find that the steel braid and disintegrated NBR fuel line inside made for a nice shower nozzle effect with the fuel. Love my fire extinguisher, that was a fun hour or two.
AN-3 braided stainless from Mopac (Aeroquip) works well for the small lines, and larger lines unfortunately only seem to fit AN-4 (which no-one carries locally) or the 1/4 inch SAE J30R7 Dayco hose from Lordco. The better rated J30R9 fuel injection hose (also sized 1/4 inch) is larger ID for some reason and does not have sufficient tension to seal properly. I imagine I'll need to check the large one (fuel return line to the tank) more frequently.
Any sources you can post up for the manual to check the overheat limit switch (and glow plug, and fuel pump indexing, and....)? I had a copy of a manual at one point years ago when I initially reconditioned the heater, lost it to a crashed drive and can't seem to locate it again online. Unfortunately when I reconditioned the heater it was still about 1995... needs another look now.
Unlike you and Bruce, at least I have heater boxes to rely on for now. The only thing I can think of that my stock 40hp has over both your engines, gotta take the wins where you find them. ;)
Steve
steve at dale-johnson dot ca
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Hi Steve,
Remind me on Monday (I'm away for a Classic Car Adventures event), i'll send you the manual for the heaters I have. (dropbox link).
-Dave
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On the Samba download the 1963 Eberspacher manual for your 6v.