winter is coming aux heater in a MK1

[madrogers]

I thought of ruuning coolant thu the a/c core but the littel tubes at the inlet side seem like they would not flow to much but if you add them up it would  probly = a 3\8 inch pipe , a person would just have to flush the oil out of the core. 
 I had flushed the heater core out and it seemed clean and flowed , I will take a closer look at the heater doors to see if  it may be mixing cold air in with the hot in the heater box, I have a spare heater box out of the car so I can see how it all works .
I havent heard of this electric coolant pump the passats have , what years and where is it located ??
I have removed the a/c vent ducts from the box and taped them closed so no leak there.
 Thanks for everyones input.

[maxfax]

Never even though about those aux water pumps..   I have on on my rabbit to help with heat output..  Although the reason my heat sucked was because I also have the coolant circulating though heat exchangers for WVO...

If you looking to score one at the bone yard, Mercedes used the electric pumps too starting in the late 70's/early 80's...   as well as Chevrolet/Pontiac/Olds Minivans from about '98 up....  Not sure where they are on the Passat, but on Mercedes they are mounted on the fire wall near the center, on the GM products they are mounted on the left fender brace...   

[rabbitman]

I have a passat electric water pump on mine, it helped only a little bit. Then I installed a auxilery heater, the kind that you pipe water through and it has its own fan, strangly it blows smoking hot air , so hot it almost burns me. It will get the interior up to 80F @ -40F outside. (I have a inside/outside thermometer)

[madrogers]

thats what i was looking to hear about , there did you take your coolant from?? Did you just y-bone into the other heater lines or run off some where else. I was thinking of running lines off the oil cooler in series with it, what did you us as a heater?? Thanks.

[rabbitman]

thats what i was looking to hear about , there did you take your coolant from?? Did you just y-bone into the other heater lines or run off some where else. I was thinking of running lines off the oil cooler in series with it, what did you us as a heater?? Thanks.

Yup, I y'd into the heater inlet hose and after the coolant goes through both stock and aux heaters (parallel paths) it y's back together. The weird thing is even after new heater cores, sealing the heater box and making sure the flaps seal, the stock heater only gets warm. The aux heater has no reason to be any hotter yet it is very hot. The passat pump pushes the water through both heaters.

[madrogers]

thanks for the info Rabbitman.

[Pat Dolan]

You are missing some of the basics, because a MkI is about the toastiest thing on earth in the winter (outside of a Mk II)!

First of all, the thermostat makes a big difference.  Check around for the highest value you can find (note, it might exceed the rad switch, so you may have to put a disable switch on the fans).

Second, the water pump is probably the single biggest suspect.  If an old Mk1 has had it's pump replaced, and you end up with some mickey mouse (sorry Walt) stamped steel impeller, it will cool the engine, but it won't circulate through the heater core.  You need to be certain you have a European, QUALITY water pump with a decent impeller.

Make sure your water valve is fully open (no joke, the cable can slip).

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT mix anti-freeze other than exactly 50/50.  Higher viscosity from too much glycol changes viscosity a lot and again, won't circulate to heater core.

Block the cold air from the grille, AND the areas below.  While it is true that the thermostat DOES do all of the water temp regulation, the blast of cold air on the highway cools off the rest of the engine and the firewall something awful.

There IS the possibility that over the years, your heater core is fouled from cooling system junk.  I am not so sure that flushing will work, but it is worth a try (that is, a chemical flush).  After that, your option is only to replace the core (they do not have infinite life, so not a waste of time and money).

Forget adding a few glow plugs to the circuit.  While it won't hurt anything, I doubt you will find any actual benefit (except keeping more load on the engine idling).  You don't have nearly enough alternator to run a 1,500W resistance heater.

Which brings us to the next point:  bump up the idle speed so it can warm up when parked, and keep the headlights on high beam, heater full one, rear defrost, all electrical loads full on to load the engine.

There are some TINY Webasto (second choice) or Espar (Ebserpacher, first choice) heaters for both air and water, but man, are they pricey.  I have one (water) in my pickup (7.3 Ford/IHC) and it will warm the engine AND CAB from -40 in less than an hour.  Kiss a grand goodbye for these, though.  I would make the car work right before getting silly.

[truckoSaurus08]

Maybe you can try some insulation on the floors and other areas. I don't know to much about it but it makes sense to me
http://www.lobucrod.com/index.html

[madrogers]

 Well its done ,I flushed out the heater core and got some more bad stuff out and used a heater fan/box/core to build a aux heater what fits under the dash behind/under the glove box. it has the 3 speed switch and fits nicely.I have looked into and checked some of the other comments and I belive i'am readly for winter, so bring it on.
Thanks for everyones input, Mark.   

[maxfax]

Keep us posted on how it works!

[macka]

Mark,

  They need to put a bubble over Winterpeg. Every time I've been there in the winter I've had to run my truck on full idle and blast the heater in my sleeper to keep warm enough to sleep. I also have to add methyl hydrate to keep the fuel from gelling. Also the hydraulics on the trailer can't be used half the time without busting a fitting, what a dose.

[Pat Dolan]

Ah, you guys are wimps.  Winnipeg is the BANANNA BELT. Head to Thompson for a winter or two and get a taste of actual winter.

[monomer]

aux water pump from a mercedes help me out last winter.


You'll also get more heat at stops, when coolant flow is normally low.

[macka]

Ah, you guys are wimps.  Winnipeg is the BANANNA BELT. Head to Thompson for a winter or two and get a taste of actual winter.

You guys from Thompson always flapping yer gums about cold like you have a market on it.

[Pat Dolan]

Hell, Thompson was the SOUTH end of my territory when I lived up there.  We'd come home to warm up in January.

Now, let me see: Thunder Bay - that's so far South it's almost in another COUNTRY!