HeaterTreater installation on a RHD
Vehicle.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to John
Rutter in the UK for providing the pictures and commentary. Hope UK customers already know what a
windscreen and grub screw are. I’m not
sure.
Just to set the scene -
Heater-Treater repair work is done behind the glove box, being on the left side
of my RHD Jeep
Glove box shape, on right-hand-drive
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Heater-treater guide recommends you
remove and dispose of this.
I don't agree, it gives some damping when opening the glove box, so I'm keeping
mine.
Still need to disconnect it to drop down the glove box for access though
With the glove box opened, this is
the motor that controls one of the blend doors for the heater/air-con mix.
Another one sits on the other side of the heater box, inaccessible unless you
remove the whole dash.
Wit the motor removed, this shows
the side of the heater air box, which needs to be cut away for access to the
blend doors within it.
Heater-Treater instructions have a
diagram showing where to cut out the panel on a left-hand-drive car; mine is
right-hand-drive, but the layout appears to be almost a mirror image.
Roughly-drawn lines on the plastic
panel should be enough in this case, as a reminder of where I am going to cut
into the heater air-box. Using the Dremel-type tool supplied with the
heater-treater kit, fitted to a borrowed Black & Decker 'Wizard' mini drill
(thanks Peter).
Had also used some wide masking tape to catch some of the swarf and rubbish
that will result from the cutting process.
Having cut half-way, made a check
before cutting closer to the air-con panel.
Messy, cutting/drilling the plastic
panels.
This is the part cut out from the
side of the heater air-box, on rhd Jeep.
No cutting needed on bottom as that is slotted over the lower piece.
Similar cutting required to remove
the inner dividing panel between the driver/passenger sections of the heater
air-box. Cuts made here, section ready to be removed. Air-con matrix is to the
left of the picture.
This is the smaller piece cut out
from the dividing panel, on rhd Jeep
Having cut out side and inner
sections, this shot shows the two heater blend doors (covered in plastic swarf)
in the 'down' position.
Removal of the black plastic drive
connector from this end of the blend door axle allows the doors to be lifted
out for replacement.
View inside of heater air-box, with
blend doors removed (heater below).
Compare the heater-treater blend
doors as reassembled here for RHD installation, with the instructions showing
LHD setup.
Straightforward swap-over of the doors, ensuring slot cutout is towards the
centre with the grub screws facing up and the control arm on the right.
Further view of the blend doors as
they will be installed for my RHD Jeep.
Inserting the front-most replacement
blend door, with allen key already in-place in the grub screw, to make it
easier to tighten up when aligned on the axle shaft.
Both doors laid in place in the
heater air-box, before inserting the spacer and driveshaft.
Spacer and axle now inserted through
the heater-treater blend doors, ready for tightening in the correct
position.
Driveshaft/axle positioned against
the plastic stop, maximum anti-clockwise travel, blend doors in downward
position.
Using the allen key to tighten the
grub screws on each blend door, with the axle in the correct position.
Just checking that the blend doors
move freely between up and down positions, verifying that the axle stop is in
the correct orientation.
Note that with this kit, both doors now move under the control of a single
motor. I chose not to pay extra for a two-motor, double-axle kit as that also
entails cutting the glove box a small amount; this kit works well enough in
single-control mode.
Not the tidiest result, with metal
tape covering the cuts in the air-box panel, but it all goes back nicely
enough, motor screw mounts onto the panel, metal clip replaced.
And it's all hidden behind the glovebox, so not visible otherwise.
Spent some time fitting the
heater-treater to repair the heat/aircon blend doors on my Jeep Grand Cherokee
today. That's me peering at the panel behind the glovebox before cutting into
it (hence the Uvex safety goggles).
Job completed; can now heat the car and defrost the screen nice and quick, like
it used to do.
