99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Topic: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga (Read 810 times) previous topic - next topic

99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

August 22, 2016, 08:41:14 pm

I hope this project post, which I originally thought would be a simple replacement of a failed heater core, but turned out to be much more, might help someone else faced with this seemingly inevitable issue. It is quite a long and wordy post, but I have made it as concise as I can while still trying to be clear. Of course, you can skip ahead and look at the pictures and come back to the text to seek clarification if desired. I haven't developed the facility with placing the relevant pictures inline with the text, as when I have tried, the page format can look very garbled. I have the idea in mind to one day take my project write ups and pictures and use a more page layout friendly application to make PDF's, but not sure I will live long enough to get around to it.
A few weeks back I finished a series of projects that were larger in scope than I anticipated. The project was complicated by replacing the heater core in the dash. Making lemons into lemon aid, having the dash apart made the flooring project easier in many respects, but the heater core replacement was in itself exponentially complicated by the fact that Foretravel had originally sent me the wrong part and no longer has access to the correct ones. Following is the heater core replacement project segment...
Rant Alert!
Since it was about a year after I bought the heater core, they wouldn't take it back, even though Mike Grimes admitted that they had screwed up (after I sent him the pictures withe the old heater core side by side with the new one). At first he was telling me that the one I had was the one they used, but that the plenum box had to be modified to accommodate the replacement, When he saw the picture, he apologized profusely but he still would not let me return it. To this date, Mike hasn't told me what the one they sent goes to so I could possibly sell it to someone who could use it. To add insult to injury, the wrong one cost almost twice as much as the right one, even not taking into account the substantial discount he gave me on the one I ultimately installed. I was able to make the second one he sent me fit, however, it was necessary to modify the plenum box because the replacement was about an inch longer than the OEM one. This added time and complexity to the job, in addition to the plenum modification, the new heater core used ⅝" tubing for the hose connection instead of the ¾" the original one had. Regarding getting soaked on the wrong part ($325 I paid for the really wrong one VS the $170 list price on one that I was able to make work), I don't hold a grudge against Mike, I think he treated me as well as he could considering the managements policies. Personally I think that if it was their mistake, and it most assuredly was, they should have taken it back and given me a refund or at least a parts credit regardless of the passage of time as long as the wrong part was in the same condition as when they sent it to me.
Okay, rant over.

To deal with the plenum, I had to cut out a spot welded in bracket that cradled the end of the original heater core and make an opening so that the copper tubing array would protrude past the side of the plenum box. I used an 1 ¼" hole saw to make two holes that overlapped in the center and then bent the edges where they joined to create straight lines for the sides of the opening. The original heater core also had the exit tubing offset about 2" toward the front of the coach, whereas the new one exit tubes are inline with the heater core necessitating a tighter radius bend in the heater hose than is optimal. The pictures should make that clear. I took a piece of galvanized steel shingle (roofing materials section of Home Depot) and bent the edges of it to create a bump-out to cover the end of the heater core. I drilled a couple of holes for the tubing to exit the bump out.
Finding preformed hoses that would work was a challenge as they needed to be between 2 and 3 feet total straight length with about 6" after the 90º. Fortunately, a local O'Reilly's allowed me in the back to peruse their selection of preformed heater & radiator hoses. The heater valve on our coach is a cable operated valve that is in just one of the lines, as opposed to a bypass valve, so I decided to add two ball valves to be able to isolate the heater core by accessing the valves through the open generator compartment. Since the OEM hoses are ¾" and the new heater core connections are ⅝", one the preformed hoses needed to be ¾" one one end and ⅝" at the end with a short 90* to clear the dash framing. Since I was adding the two ball valves, I used a ⅝" heater hose fitting on one side and a ¾" on the other side of the ball valve which is not in the hose with the OEM heater valve. This was the simpler hose to choose since it just needed to have a short 90º one one end and ⅝" ID on both ends.

Another stumbling block that was that all the foam rubber on the flappers and elsewhere in the plenum was completely deteriorated. The one flapper in the back which recirculates, mixes, or admits outside air I couldn't do anything about except remove as much of the foam residue as I was able to reach. I wasn't about to add to the project by opening the A/C evaporator connections and completely remove the whole plenum and blower assembly. Not replacing the foam sealing on the mix flapper (the one which recirculates interior air or allows exterior air), may reduce the effectiveness of the max cooling potential, but it will be no worse than it was already due to the deteriorated foam. Anyway, I replaced the foam on both sides of the flapper which selects between dash and floor and on one side (the only side that matters) of the flapper which directs air to the defrost vents.
The other issue with having a new heater core that is not an exact match to the old one, besides the tubing size difference and having to modify the plenum to accept a longer heater core, is that I had to make new linkage for the dash/floor flapper actuator. The bump out to accommodate the longer heater core interfered with the original linkage so I made a new piece that had offset bends on both ends to go around the bump out. I didn't like the serrated spring washer retainers on the flapper shafts (a few of them broke trying to get them off), so I drilled the shafts and used washers and cotter keys to locate the flapper shafts.

While I had the dash apart, I added an 8 gage wire to the relay panel in front of the passenger side and positive and negative bus bars that I had on hand to that pull out plywood panel which houses the wiper controller, my VMSPC dash computer power supply and and some associated accessories like the HDMI switcher, SDI to HDMI converter for the backup camera, etc.
It was a long row to hoe, especially when you had to the fact that I also ripped out the front carpeting (all that was left of the original floor covering) and changed out the pilot and co-pilot chair pedestals... but that is a topic for another post...

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #1 – August 22, 2016, 08:46:04 pm

Here are a few more pictures...

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #2 – August 22, 2016, 08:51:08 pm

Is the picture of the one Foetravel sent the first or the one you used? We both have the same year coach but u320 uses vacuum instead of mechanical on the heater valve.

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #3 – August 22, 2016, 08:57:46 pm

The top one in the comparison picture is the $330 useless white elephant... unless someone can tell me what it goes to. Here is a picture of the second one that I installed that shows it a bit clearer. The one I used is about the same height as the one that came with the coach, but about an inch longer overall.
Don

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #4 – August 22, 2016, 10:12:49 pm

Why is it small projects always turn into BIG projects?

It is pretty crappy that FOT "couldn't" correct their mistake. FOT does read this forum. Maybe someone will step in on your behalf.

I have to admit I've fallen into that trap before where I buy the part and don't get the project ~~done~~ started for a year or more only to find that there was an issue with the part.

see ya
ken

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #5 – August 22, 2016, 11:31:05 pm

Quote from: kenhat – August 22, 2016, 10:12:49 pm

It is pretty crappy that FOT "couldn't" correct their mistake.

And pretty weird that they can't tell Don what model the "white elephant" is supposed to fit! Not up to the usual service standards of the Parts department. I have always found them to be pretty sharp.

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #6 – August 22, 2016, 11:40:42 pm

Don, were there any numbers on the original invoice? If it is for a 1999 U320 instead of U270 I might help you out. I am a spare parts freak.

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #7 – August 22, 2016, 11:45:00 pm

Chuck and Ken,
Thanks for the commiseration! I certainly don't want to have this go off on a FOT bashing thread. I have pretty much made my peace with it. My rant actually helped me let go of it. I still love our coach and the company that made it. But everybody has some blind spots and we can all point to someone else's much easier than see our own. So I will simply file this away, and I won't buy any parts (from Foretravel or anyone else for that matter...) that I don't absolutely feel certain that I will be able to discern whether or not the one I receive is the one I want. Only exceptions will be things I am willing to gamble on. Perhaps my pain can save someone else from experiencing the same disappointment.
Don

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #8 – August 23, 2016, 03:20:15 pm

Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) – August 22, 2016, 11:45:00 pm

Chuck and Ken,
Thanks for the commiseration! I certainly don't want to have this go off on a FOT bashing thread. I have pretty much made my piece with it. My rant actually helped me let go of it. I still love our coach and the company that made it. But everybody has some blind spots and we can all point to someone else's much easier than see our own. So I will simply file this away, and I won't buy any parts (from Foretravel or anyone else for that matter...) that I don't absolutely feel certain that I will be able to discern whether or not the one I receive is the one I want. Only exceptions will be things I am willing to gamble on. Perhaps my pain can save someone else from experiencing the same disappointment.
Don

You're right about that. Sometimes you have to pick you battles.

That's pretty much my motto.

see ya
ken

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99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

August 22, 2016, 08:41:14 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #1 – August 22, 2016, 08:46:04 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #2 – August 22, 2016, 08:51:08 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #3 – August 22, 2016, 08:57:46 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #4 – August 22, 2016, 10:12:49 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #5 – August 22, 2016, 11:31:05 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #6 – August 22, 2016, 11:40:42 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #7 – August 22, 2016, 11:45:00 pm

Re: 99' U270 Heater core replacement Saga

Reply #8 – August 23, 2016, 03:20:15 pm

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