Heater question

[schliske]

I have a '72 '02. I pulled the heater, did the refurb as per the faq posts. I went through this once before on my '70 '02 with excellent results.

This time it blows lots of warm air, but not hot. I was very careful about all the steps, new foam, caulk, cable adjustment, etc. I flushed the 320 radiator, the heater core, and everything else. It has the larger valve and it's wide open- I can slide a dowel right up through it. The water pump seems to churn away and I parked it on a steep incline and bled all of the air out. The thermostat seems to work the way it should. The '70 had a 32-36 but this car has dual Weber 45s. The metal bypass tube seems kind of small diameter, could this be a bottleneck? Does anyone else get the kind of heat that can properly melt your tennis shoes? I'm in Steamboat Springs Colorado and it's my daily driver, so I need it. Thanks up front, Michael

[PSloan]

What degree of thermostat do you have?

[schliske]

I believe it says 80, but whatever it is it's the same as the one I had in my '70. Thanks for your consideration.

[PSloan]

Is the bypass pipe stock? Like the one from the 318i?

[c.d.iesel]

your engine thermostat dictates

your heater max temp output

install a NEW 'hotter' thermostat

your motor vapor, oil, coolent, carburetion,

MPG's will thank you. a properly running motor

is happy at 180*F - and your heater will be toasty.

[schliske]

Thank you sirs, I will try the hotter thermostat, and the bypass tube is about 5/8" diameter, I believe. I'll look into that next but it is certainly larger than the heater valve. Thanks again, Michael, '72'02

[Guest Anonymous]

One last thing. Shoulda done this while heater core was out of the car. Make sure your heater core is not blocked. With a garden hose and coupling heater hose, flow water in from one sied and measure the output on the other. Then reverse. Flow water from outlet to inlet and look at the flow. It should be the same and it should not indicate blockage. If so, you need to clear the debris or blockage. Even in a replacement core!

[DUDONLY]

Michael...... it's your heater core ! I have built quite a few heater boxes now with the melt your tennis shoe results you are talking about. For real heat a great heater core is a must and then a super fan to finish your build. It was just in the teens here in D.C. with the wind chill factor and my 71 was Africa hott !!!

hth,

Dudley

[02hobiedave]

I had the same problem when I rebuilt mine this year. the large flap door was not closing all the way and causing the air to stay cool because one adjuster controls two cables. My adjustment had moved during the new cable install. Once it was adjusted correctly my car was warm and toasty. http://www.bmw2002faq.com/images/stories/faqs/heater_refurb/functional_cutaway_640.jpg a few pics from my rebuild http://s335.photobucket.com/albums/m461/hobiedave02/02%20Referb/Heater%20rebuild/ I took my core to a radiator shop and they charged me 20 buck to clean it out in acid bath.