A/C blower conversion

[Dieselfuture]

12 minutes ago, dripley said:

All I saw on their site was a 300 dollar kit. Did I miss something?

Maybe that's what I was thinking of too, I knew I seen one recently. Didn't I post something earlier quoting you with 2 links, one for 35 and other for 250 or something 

Edit 

It does look like blend door usa kit for 300 comes with the $35 pice that heater treater offers. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Dieselfuture

[dripley]

2 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

Maybe that's what I was thinking of too, I knew I seen one recently. Didn't I post something earlier quoting you with 2 links, one for 35 and other for 250 or something 

I dont know. I cant remember back more than 4 posts.

[Celtic Clamper]

It should be $35 for 2nd Gens. It is worth every penny. Because after I installed mine while building my box, I found out what it would have been like to need to go back and do it. I pressed mine down too far. The door would hang up. I had to use special punches to knock the door up, hoping that nothing broke. 

I tested my OE coupler before I took it all apart. Then replaced it with H.T. just because I was in there already. My OE coupler appeared fine. After I got it all back together I realized that I originally was only getting about 60% of the blender door capacity.

All my doors were in great shape. All the foam was good also. It looked like my truck was garage kept and never used the a/c, or someone had already gone in there. 

[Stanley]

Maybe I should get it lol... 

 

Been trying to read up on the foam deal, couple of guys had issues with the lowes stuff being to big, and closed cell vs open cell etc, It didnt stick, etc. All kinds of neg comments. 

I think I could make it work with sizing and all that, cause theres a couple of different options to go with. I am concerned about the sticking issue... maybe just add some extra glue underneath lol... 

 

Why cant Amazon just sell a roll of this magical hvac foam? 

[Celtic Clamper]

I have done quite a bit of weatherstripping. I used the stuff from Lowe's, but used low density. I sprayed the area a little at a time with 3M spray adhesive. Just remember that a lot of people have problems with foam because they do not consider the pounds per square inch idea. Think of it like this, use the foam that you think is a little too soft, and just a hair bigger than you need. Because if you took a foam knee pad and used them as a sleeping pad that what you will find is that the foam is way too stiff to sleep on. You are trying to seal a plastic box, not a steel head gasket.

If you get some low density 3/8" x 3/8", that should work for your box and your vents.

I used medium density 1/4" around my heater core.

[Stanley]

I like it @Celtic Clamper 

Gonna try lowes and some craft/fabric stores tomorrow or sat! Gonna get my sew on...

[Celtic Clamper]

And if you have anyone there to help you, make sure that you reconnect your evaporator lines before closing up the dash. Its much easier on your lines if you can have someone in the cab backing them up while you are cussing and throwing tools trying to hook them up from the engine compartment.

[Stanley]

The foam or what ever it used to be around the heater core and evap, what would you suggest for that stuff? 

The new ones dont have any foam on them... 

Oh one more thing would you suggest heater valves on the engine side to turn off for summer use? 

[Celtic Clamper]

I used new foam around my parts. Kind of copied the Mopar setup. The heater core needed a little encouragement to fit all the way down with the foam on. Remember that the foam is really used to block the air flow, and second as a cushion to keep the rattles down. So if the foam you get around the heater core is too tight, just line both sides of the heater core so that the air cannot bypass it. 

 

We use shutoff valves on heavy equipment all the time. It would greatly help the a/c in the hot months. But you will lose a little of your tempering ability. I will be installing inline bypasses later. I ran out of time and needed it back on the road. 

I am a fan of bypasses. But put them on the block. That way if you rupture a hose or core, its an easy repair and back on the road.

[Mopar1973Man]

9 hours ago, Celtic Clamper said:

We use shutoff valves on heavy equipment all the time. It would greatly help the a/c in the hot months. But you will lose a little of your tempering ability. I will be installing inline bypasses later. I ran out of time and needed it back on the road. 

I am a fan of bypasses. But put them on the block. That way if you rupture a hose or core, its an easy repair and back on the road.

 

Make you think. A/C performance I can hold a fairly constant 35*F out of the vents on a +100*F day. Heater performance 160 and better on 0*F day. As for heater core failures never happened yet in 366k miles. I replaced my OEM heater core when I found the solder joint of the brass weeping. I upgraded to aluminum heater core years ago at the same time replaced the evaporator that was leaking. As for heater core failure typically is because coolant is not changed often enough. Do NOT rely on the label of coolant stating some guarantee of 5 years or 100k miles. There is a problem with Cummins and the heavy current draw during cold start which is what causes the coolant to turn acidic over time because at 500-700 amp draw on the ground side through the block eventually you state to charge the coolant. This is why they say you can check with DVM for voltage in the coolant. As it start to drift in pH then the electrical charge starts. Now as the pH continues to drift now the coolant starts to eat everything. 

 

This is the thermostat housing on the 1996 Dodge 1500 which was factory filled coolant with distilled water which looked fine but the coolant was very low in pH and had a fairly good electrical charge on it. Yep it was eating everything including the intake gasket which eventually ruptured and need to be changed!

[Stanley]

In other words change your coolant every year or every other year...I can get coolant for free so this wont be an issue for me... 

[Mopar1973Man]

1 minute ago, Stanley said:

In other words change your coolant every year or every other year...I can get coolant for free so this wont be an issue for me... 

 

With my average distance per year at 60k miles about every year or 1.5 years I'm changing coolant. Full block flushing with clear water and reload with fresh coolant. Basically, either test with pH strips or use a DVM and check for charge state in the coolant. 

[dripley]

One other thing that bit me was the drain to the hvac box. It comes with a 90* fitting on the fire wall side. When you reinstall the box be sure to put it back on. If its lost put something else on it or when driving the wind will stop the condensation from going out the drain and it will all drain into the cab. Mine was lost and I just put a piece of clear vinyl hose on it. Anything that will point the flow down will work.

Edited January 25, 2019 by dripley

[Celtic Clamper]

15 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Make you think. A/C performance I can hold a fairly constant 35*F out of the vents on a +100*F day. Heater performance 160 and better on 0*F day. As for heater core failures never happened yet in 366k miles. I replaced my OEM heater core when I found the solder joint of the brass weeping. I upgraded to aluminum heater core years ago at the same time replaced the evaporator that was leaking. As for heater core failure typically is because coolant is not changed often enough. Do NOT rely on the label of coolant stating some guarantee of 5 years or 100k miles. There is a problem with Cummins and the heavy current draw during cold start which is what causes the coolant to turn acidic over time because at 500-700 amp draw on the ground side through the block eventually you state to charge the coolant. This is why they say you can check with DVM for voltage in the coolant. As it start to drift in pH then the electrical charge starts. Now as the pH continues to drift now the coolant starts to eat everything. 

 

This is the thermostat housing on the 1996 Dodge 1500 which was factory filled coolant with distilled water which looked fine but the coolant was very low in pH and had a fairly good electrical charge on it. Yep it was eating everything including the intake gasket which eventually ruptured and need to be changed!

Makes me wonder if the system could be protected by cathodic protection placed in one of the block ports.

[Mopar1973Man]

Simpler to just change the coolant and flush the block. 

[Celtic Clamper]

Probably. At the rate I am going It probably wont matter. I did the heater core and thought "man that coolant looks great." Looked over my records, water pump changed 10k miles ago. 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Don't base it strictly on miles. Remember time as well. Like the 96 Dodge might only get 3k to 7k a year. If I based on miles alone the 96 would never need coolant change for many many years. Like 20 years.

[Celtic Clamper]

I dont have that problem, but agree. My little farm town has me pushing 50 miles round trip to work. Let alone pulling the trailer, going 20 miles to the hardware store, etc. I push about 15k/year.

[Stanley]

Was this anything close to what you were wanting for measurements? 

Disclaimer:

these are approximate measurements... please dont bring these numbers to a machine shop...

[Celtic Clamper]

Thats way more than I expected. Thank you Stanley. I can machine and fabricate fairly well. You have gone far above and beyond. I owe you one.