Heater Blower Replacement 82 Rabbit

Our squirrel-cage heater blower under hood has worn out.
The question is how to install (expensive) replacement.
Can the unit be removed/replaced from the top side under
the hood, or do you have to drop heater assembly under
the dash? This car does NOT have A/C. Thanks Rich CT

Your best bet for answers is to buy a Bentley service manual. Also, the
VWvortex forum is a great resource for such questions.

Rich wrote:
> > Our squirrel-cage heater blower under hood has worn out.
> > The question is how to install (expensive) replacement.
> > Can the unit be removed/replaced from the top side under
> > the hood, or do you have to drop heater assembly under
> > the dash? This car does NOT have A/C. Thanks Rich CT

Papa wrote:
>
> Your best bet for answers is to buy a Bentley service manual.
> Also, the VWvortex forum is a great resource for such questions.

Everyone always says, get a Bentley manual, I have one here. But
in the case of the heater and blower, it doesn't say much at all.
But if you want to count the screws in auto transmission, great!

We found another manual series that said the early Rabbit series
with the propeller type fan could come off from the top, and the
later Golf series had a flange between the external motor and the
squirrel cage rotor, and came off easily, but the middle Rabbit
series up to 84 had to take the heater down inside the car.

So we are looking for somebody who has actually done it!

VWVortex website forum looks interesting. Will have to try it.
Tnx. rich

Rich, I have a 1988 VW Cabbie. My Bentley manual provides very specific "how
to" instructions, plus an exploded view, of the heater system for a Cabbie
without AC. There are also instructions and exploded views for Cabbies with
AC.

To quote from the instructions in my manual, page 12-11, for removing the
heater blower motor from a Cabbie without AC:

"The fresh air blower is located atop the heater box. The motor is reached
from the engine compartment by removing the plastic drip tray at the base of
the windshield, and then removing the plastic screen covering the fresh air
inlet. To remove the motor, unclip the series resistor from its bracket and
remove the screw under the resister. Tilt the motor up and out and unclip
the resistor wiring."

I hope this is a applicable to your car as well. Good luck.

I have pulled most of them out of the top, so you should be able to do this
too. A little tricky, but doable. ;-)
I think the heater blowers without a/c is easier to R&I. Let us know what
happens!

I also thought your heater blower is cheaper than the one with a/c? And
yours is easier to find too!

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)
http://vwdoc1.tripod.com/



"Rich" > wrote in message
...
> Rich wrote:
>> > Our squirrel-cage heater blower under hood has worn out.
>> > The question is how to install (expensive) replacement.
>> > Can the unit be removed/replaced from the top side under
>> > the hood, or do you have to drop heater assembly under
>> > the dash? This car does NOT have A/C. Thanks Rich CT

I hope you didn't buy a new one... stuff like this is what
junk/wrecking yards are for.

Well there weren't any used ones available locally,
they seem to have crunched all the Rabbits around here.

We got the last one from the warehouse, good price.
My friend helped install it, the Hayes book says you
have to lower the heater, but we knocked it loose and
took out the windshield wiper assembly.

It almost fit (dealer installed AC hoses in the way).
Just needed a 2x4 to bend the metal edge of the shelf.
New one installed OK, now need a permanent connector,
original motor had male and female pins, replacement
one had two male. Darn, that original blower only
lasted 290k. Least now we got heat again :-) rich

dave AKA vwdoc1 wrote:
>
> I have pulled most of them out of the top, so you should be able to do this
> too. A little tricky, but doable. ;-)
> I think the heater blowers without a/c is easier to R&I. Let us know what
> happens!
>
> I also thought your heater blower is cheaper than the one with a/c? And
> yours is easier to find too!
>
> later,
> dave
> (One out of many daves)
> http://vwdoc1.tripod.com/
>
> "Rich" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Rich wrote:
> >> > Our squirrel-cage heater blower under hood has worn out.
> >> > The question is how to install (expensive) replacement.
> >> > Can the unit be removed/replaced from the top side under
> >> > the hood, or do you have to drop heater assembly under
> >> > the dash? This car does NOT have A/C. Thanks Rich CT