Morris Minor Owners Club

i am going to take out my heater this afternoon. The heating to the screen is non exixtant and i have heard tell that the flaps in the heater perish.
Can anyone point me to a good dummies guide to removal and renovation?

i have heard tell that the flaps in the heater perish.

I think you mean the foam not the actual flap.

Yes thats right. I am sure i have seen threads from people that had done the work and discribed the process but i cant find it.

It's very simple - and it will be the foam strips that have disintegrated - but check it's not simply dis-connected (or broken) hoses running up to the screen vents. Also - check the vents - over the years the thin exit strip can become blocked.

The screen vents are also very dependant on accurate alignment as they do not fit flush to the underside of the dash and air leaks away if poorly positioned. When I feel the need I will be fitting some high density foam around the nozzles to close the gap.

As an aside, the quarterlights, when swung right open, provide good demisting (unless it's pouring down ) Not ideal but could get you out of a fix.

The heater works and puts a goodly amount of heat into the car but , as i have said not to the screen. I think taking it out , giving it a good flush out would be a good thing to do anyway before putting it back and checking everything lines up.Any suggestions as the best ' flusher'?
As you said, peetee, the open quarter lights does clear the screen but its the icicle on the end of my nose i have a problem with

One thing to look at is the rubber hoses which connect the heater to the metal nozzle that direct the air towards the screen may have become disconnected at either end, or folded in the middle ... you will need to take the cardboard liners out of the dash to check, but it might be worth a go before you pull the heater itself.

I am interested in this post - my heater has a great output into the car but not so good onto the screen, when I select 'screen' with the lever, I still get some hot air blowing out of the 'car' outlet, the rest does blow onto the screen.

I had assumed it was probably worn foam seals but never looked into it further.

also make sure the demister under the dash is pointed to the slit in the dash, movinig this to and a fro a little can help in directing the air up through the demister slot

Since no one's come up with anything better then I'll flog the dead horse of my old videos.

With a bit of effort (far too much, really, given the quality of the video) I've uploaded it to google video, and here is a link (it's just as bad as I remembered).

If that doesn't work for you here's a link to it. It's ancient, poorly edited, and the sound quality's attrocious. Still, that's what you get from a 50 quid digital camera with 'VHS quality video' in 2003 (and a Kate editing).

[Edited to add link to googlevideo and make the rest of it make sense, because the upload was sorted]

Good video there Kate, I must give the heater a go soon.

Kate.........what an excellent video, just what i wanted. Its great to see what i might be up against when i crack open the heater.
Does anyone have any other 'this is me doing such and such a job on my morris minor?.'
By the bye, did the gearbox suit you ok, we met when you picked it up from polo2k's

Any suggestions as the best ' flusher'?

Kettle descaler

Rob - I sent it to a local engineer who reckons he can recon it for 'less than 200 quid' including labour. Much cheaper than a new box, but hopefully as good

Also helps me keep my local engineering firms in business. Need to give him a ring, actually, and check how it's going.

A demister pad or cloth stuffed in the heater opening when its set to screen works wonders! This should also tell you if the pipes are connected up properly as it forces nearly all the air to the screen.

Drained my coolant and flushed the system this afternoon, suprisingly good flow through the heater using a hosepipe so put it all together again, filled with antifreeze mix left top hose of heater off till fluid issued and then fitted to tap. Opened tap and went for a ride only to find the heater was a bad as when I started. the heater hoses were only lukewarm whereas the rad hoses were nice and hot. I must be missing something obvious but dunno what. Anyone got any ideas, its the round type with the return pipe straight into the bottom of the radiator.

Is there definitely a thermostat in the engine ? Could be cylinder head and/or heater tap choked with gunge - or erroded water pump vanes - or just stuck open thermostat, although that would make the engine run cold.

Are you getting a decent flow through the heater valve off the block?