Chevy & GMC Vans

So my question is can I delete the rear heater?

I never use it. We don't live where it gets particularly cold, and it's only good for cooking rear passenger feet anyhow. Moreover, the number of rear vents is about to be cut down to just a couple because I'm building some cabinetry back there for my camper conversion. With all the trim stripped back, I can also see that removing the rear blower motor and radiator assembly would buy me some valuable volume I need in that area. Also, I have a crazy idea...

From what I can see, there's just the pair of water lines coming in from underneath, and the electrical connection for the fan. Does that sound right? So what I'm thinking is that phase 1 will be to just bypass the coolant lines by disconnecting them and putting in a union. Then I should be able to drain and remove the core, right?

Phase 2 will be to install a Helton heat exchanger in its place, since long-term I want to be able to have hot water for showers, etc. Plenty of room to install it there, plus the plumbing would be super convenient rather than mount it in the engine bay and then pump cold water up to the front of the van and back...

Thoughts?

Please make this happen, I have thought of ditching mine for the same reasons.

I have disconnected the rear heater lines in a few of my Stros.
Only b'cuz they had sprung leaks in the metal pipes. Seems pretty common.

Sounds like a good plan and as long as the existing metal plumbing is still good, I dont see why you couldnt use it for your plan.

I just changed the plumbing a bit where it splits out into either the front or rear heaters.
Thats on the firewall, passenger side , right where the hoses pass thru the firewall.
I took the diverter valve right out of the system
so just that the front heater core would get hot water.

Herbie

I pulled the rear heat and a/c out of mine a couple of years ago. I just bridged the in and out lines just under the floor with a loop of 1/2"??? heater hose and a few clamps. It's been working fine. The a/c was more involved

photo_van wrote:Herbie

I pulled the rear heat and a/c out of mine a couple of years ago. I just bridged the in and out lines just under the floor with a loop of 1/2"??? heater hose and a few clamps. It's been working fine. The a/c was more involved

Thanks. This is high on my list now. I did a test-run of my new interior layout and most things worked pretty well, but the fridge behind the driver's seat is about 3-4" too far inboard. Deleting the heater and the plastic panel with the cupholder will get me the space I need!

Yep, gives you a lot more room. But beware of the gas filler; it protrudes into the cabin space almost as much as the heater, If your fridge fits in the space between it and the back of the seat, you're in there.

photo_van wrote:Yep, gives you a lot more room. But beware of the gas filler; it protrudes into the cabin space almost as much as the heater, If your fridge fits in the space between it and the back of the seat, you're in there.

You got it! ;-) It's right in the space between. I've relocated my house battery into a custom box on the other side of the filler bulge, and the fridge will nestle up to it's forward edge nicely.

Looking forward to seeing the end result and like the heat exchanger idea too.

What about swapping out the bypass valve for non-rear unit? Probably easier and cheaper to just bypass though....

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OK, I think I'm going to attempt this over the weekend. Let me know if you see a problem with this plan.

I have these two hoses here:


which go up through the floor to meet the rear heater core here:


I have purchased a 1/2" barbed union, which I think will be correct. I'm hoping I can just release the clamp, yank each hose, then join them together without losing much coolant. Of course, I'm sure I'll find a way to muck it up. Can anyone make any recommendations on not loosing too much coolant? I was thinking about putting a c-clamp on each of the lines, but worried that since the soft lines are short there wouldn't be much room to maneuver things around to get the union in place...

Ideas?

EDIT: Re-reading photo_van's comment above, I'm thinking he removed the crimped part of the hose and just looped at the hard lines. Better to do that?

I've not done this so I don't know how difficult it would be. By looking at it I would try to separate the two clamps under the van, remove one hose entirely, then loop the remaining hose back to the now-opened pipe. You will likely end up needing to drain the system to keep from making a mess on yourself of getting the coolant all over your face.

At least, that it's what I would try first.

I like the HX idea! Did you see that somewhere our come up with it on your own? Any idea on what you would use?

Hey Herbie,
Did this go as planned? Any unexpected problems? I want to remove the rear heater and ac and have been considering this same thing.
Thanks for the info.

Joe

H2OJoe wrote:Hey Herbie,
Did this go as planned? Any unexpected problems? I want to remove the rear heater and ac and have been considering this same thing.
Thanks for the info.

Joe

I ended up not doing this yet. Have the parts, but ran out of time before a couple of trips, and it turns out it won't buy me much as much room as I'd hoped because I also have clearance issues with the driver's seatbelt reel.

I'll pull it when I get around to installing the heat exchanger for the got water system.