Heater Delete Properly (1 Viewer)

[MatthewMcD]

I have set aside this wonderful 4 day weekend to finish the overhaul of the coolant system. I restored the rear heater and got the fan working. I removed the front heater today and began thinking about all the wasps nests that we, as FJ40 aficionados, have discovered and removed from the many vehicles we have collectively restored. After washing out the mud and flushing the coil I looked at all the space I gained under the dash and (considering it's 105F in my garage) thought about boxing up the heaters and enjoy the extra space. I don't see the point if I can easily delete them.

My question is can I just run a bypass hose from the lower heater port to the top of the block? From a coolant flow perspective it would be like the heater is always on, but is this in some way "bad" for the engine?

Second question is "should I" am I breaking an unwritten rule by removing the heaters?

 

[MDH33]

No issue bypassing it. It will just look like every other South American FJ40 that gets imported.

 

[Green Bean]

105 in the garage here too. It is a great way to loose weight. I get the temptation to delete the heaters, I really do, but just wondering out loud how many well intentioned PO's started down the same path...

 

[MatthewMcD]

Good points, maybe I'll temporarily delete them while I wrap up the coolant system. Then add them back when the paint dries....oh, it's dry...did I mention it's hot here.

 

[cruisermatt]

a long bypass hose will work but for a permanaet delete a threaded plug in the head and a cap on the lower pipe - or the port-less pipe all together- would be best. The comment above is right- General Market trucks are set up that way from the factory. There are OEM parts to do this as well if you want to go that way.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I have seen 105 on my porch many times. Also seen -35 in my house for weeks at a time. When I was a kid in Az my dad would never turn on the heater in the car - I put a killer rear heater in mine, folks beg me to turn it off.

So one time I was cruising the tank trails after the spring thaw and rain. I was pushing greasy mud with the bottom of the hubs. I usually run an apron covering the bottom half of the radiator during winter. Any way it started to heat up, so I found a little down slope section, stopped, climbed out the window, down the hood and lowered the curtain to 1/4 of the bottom covered. Took back off and once again it was starting to run hot, this time I removed the curtain. It was better, but when I opened the back door and put the rear heater on full, then she ran right in the normal spot. This was all done in low range low and second. About 35 miles later when we came back out to the perimeter road I got a standing ovation from the National Guard boys for braving that mud bog.

Long story short, sometimes it pays to have heaters to help cool your engine - beats blowing a head gasket and then walking.

 

[MatthewMcD]

I have seen 105 on my porch many times. Also seen -35 in my house for weeks at a time. When I was a kid in Az my dad would never turn on the heater in the car - I put a killer rear heater in mine, folks beg me to turn it off.

So one time I was cruising the tank trails after the spring thaw and rain. I was pushing greasy mud with the bottom of the hubs. I usually run an apron covering the bottom half of the radiator during winter. Any way it started to heat up, so I found a little down slope section, stopped, climbed out the window, down the hood and lowered the curtain to 1/4 of the bottom covered. Took back off and once again it was starting to run hot, this time I removed the curtain. It was better, but when I opened the back door and put the rear heater on full, then she ran right in the normal spot. This was all done in low range low and second. About 35 miles later when we came back out to the perimeter road I got a standing ovation from the National Guard boys for braving that mud bog.

Long story short, sometimes it pays to have heaters to help cool your engine - beats blowing a head gasket and the walking.

So funny you should tell this story. I saved a head gasket, under much less perilous circumstances, when I was much younger. When I talked about removing the heater my wife reminded me of the story I had told her.

OK, I'll put it back in. If anyone asks me why I'll remind them that it got down to 5F in Austin...once...

 

[igotta40]

I had a 1980 Corolla and a bitch of a wife. One Houston afternoon she stopped at a pay phone to call and tell me the car was running hot. I convinced her to turn off the A/C and run the heater to cool down the motor. I smile now because I hated that woman.