heater blower vent tube

[panteramatt]

Well after owning our bronco for a long time we drove it last weekend and the heat and blower sucks. Gonna upgrade the fan motor and cage. It hardly blew anything and only got warm. Should I replace the heater core too and I notice the vent tube going to the passenger fender from the box is missing. Does this have to be there for it to perform correctly?

 

[langester]

If it was me, I would pull the heater assembly out clean it up, buy a seal kit, heater core and upgraded fan and motor. They are not a lot of fun to do more than you have to. Might as well get it all in one shot. They sell an updated version of the hose from the firewall to the heater assembly. It comes with a new piece that mounts to the heater and makes the hose connection round on both ends.
Just my opinion of course. Good luck with it!

 

[panteramatt]

where do I get a seal kit?

 

[langester]

Here are a couple to check out.

https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Heater_Seal_Kit/Bronco_Heater_Parts


https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Air_Inlet_Duct/early_bronco_vents_ducts

 

[garberz]

Did you “pull for heat”? Is that cable still connected to the heater box?

Mark

 

[panteramatt]

yes and yes

 

[DirtDonk]

And while you're in there... As we like to say.
Insulate as much as you can for sound. Of course keeping the heat in the plenum is a good thing too, but keeping the sound of the fan down is a big improvement over the old fifties technology in these rigs.
As long as it does not get in the way of the squirrel age/fan and between the box and the firewall, you can really go to town on insulating.

A side benefit (well, an actual benefit!) of keeping more heat inside until it comes out the vents is that during the summer months you don't have heated air wafting out there even with the damper doors closed and the control valve shut.
Seems like most of the Bronco heaters still put out some heat even when off. Partly due to hot coolant still making it into the core, but to a certain extent also from the hot firewall metal baking the heater plenum too. Depends on the condition of the factory insulation and what type of exhaust.

Paul

 

[panteramatt]

Would dynomat work? And do I need that hose that goes to the sidewall?

 

[Juiceman]

I noticed a huge difference with the new motor and squirrel cage. I also installed the hose to the sidewall. Now my high heat blows so much that I have to turn it to low even in the cold months. I did not insulate the box as Paul mentions, so my heater is very loud - the one drawback of the upgrade

 

[68Broncoz]

Has anyone found a better solution for the "pull for heat" the cable that operates the heater control valve? I was considering to convert it to an electrical valve vs a cable.

 

[Crush]

If you run without that tube, the heater will just circulate the interior air. It will make the heater warmer only if you plug the hole in the kick panel so outside air will not cool off the inside. Theonly drawback to this is that the defroster needs outside air to and be able to clear the windshild. I have heard of members on here that have plugged the hole that when the need defrost they crack a window or wing glass. Hope this helps and maybe one of them will chime in too

 

[la hi]

I installed the heater air inlet duct kit this past weekend. The kit comes with the the flange, gasket, hose to heater and two clamps. It is a real bitch to put in! A tip for you is to glue the gasket onto the flange before installing, get an angle drill, and patience. I am clumsy so it took me more time than the average person. It looks like a 30 minute job that took me two hours.

Remember, the air from the hood vent comes in all the time, hot or cold. You want all of that air to go into the heater so you can control what air flow comes out into the bronco.

 

[jckkys]

I hear complaints that the original blower motor and squirrel cage didn't move much air. I have to wonder if this is with old worn out motors. My originals all moved plenty of hot air. In a sub zero Chicago winter with no carpet it heated as well as I could want. More motor would only mean more noise in my EBs. Those were all new trucks. Since moving to Tucson the heater doesn't get used very often. So that motor still works fine.

 

[DirtDonk]

I would have to agree that this is at least part of the problem. I think it was you that brought this up in another thread recently and I was going to comment there too (if I didn't) about the stock fans.
But I'm not sure how the originals were, or what circumstances led to their perhaps early demise. Mine was only five years old and for the next 25 years pretty much worked the same. Only after that did I notice a steady decline.
The close friend's '72 that was only 3 years old and had just over 20k miles on it felt about the same. But then in about '80 or so, I met a guy with a '66 who's heater blew like a jet engine! I was shocked to say the least.
Because he was not the original owner and we could not know without closer inspection if it was modified (never thought to do it right then and there unfortunately) I always wondered if it was just a really good original, or if the '66's were better like that (different squirrel cage maybe?) or if it had been swapped out for a larger one.

But if it was stock, then it beat the dickens out of most, if not all of the others that I've experienced.
Still, I bought a new stock motor for mine just to see. Too bad it's still on the shelf with so many other parts!

But the idea is legit. I'd love to find someone that could test them. Air velocity and volume and pressure and all that. How would that be accomplished?

Paul

 

[sprdv1]

Torally... refurb

If it was me, I would pull the heater assembly out clean it up, buy a seal kit, heater core and upgraded fan and motor. They are not a lot of fun to do more than you have to. Might as well get it all in one shot. They sell an updated version of the hose from the firewall to the heater assembly. It comes with a new piece that mounts to the heater and makes the hose connection round on both ends.
Just my opinion of course. Good luck with it!

 

[sprdv1]

I.

Remember, the air from the hood vent comes in all the time, hot or cold. You want all of that air to go into the heater so you can control what air flow comes out into the bronco.

True statement....