Things are (not) hotting up !

[geoff edinburgh]

Hi all. When I bought my ROVER MAESTRO VAN M REG 1994 with the Perkins prima 2L DISEL engine I knew the interior fan/heater/demister did not work. I managed to get one from dw classic spares and set about taking the whole dash out and then the faulty heater. I now have the new unit in place. The matrix pipes are hot and the fan is spinning great but the HEAT DISPERSAL IS VERY POOR, just a wee bit heat coming out at the top blowing on to the windscreen !. Note I have not replaced the dash yet. So.....are they known for poor heat dispersal ? Will it get better once the dash is back on ? My temp gauge doesn't work either but it didn't before heater replacement anyway. And lastly...what is an otterstat, where is it and what does it do lol ?. as always your help and advice will be greatly appreciated. geoff Edinburgh.

[Andy]

I know all maestros only blow heat onto the windscreen. Should be sufficient to keep the windscreen clear during the winter months. Another Austin Rover perk Does me fine. Never been a fan of hot air blowing on my face.

[Sussex Pete]

Not knowing the internal construction of the heater and its direction control flaps, its a bit difficult to provide pointers here. When you say that there is a wee bit of heat coing out of the top, is this with the engine at correct operating temperature, fan on full speed and heater control on full hot? If so, then firstly I would check the specific coolant temperature (80 or above), fan motor working correctly and then look at the controls for the heater - both temperature (is it turning throught the full range from cold to hot) and distribution (are the flaps closing off the areas that air is not required for). If they are all good, then as Andy wrote, it looks like an AR perk for us Maestro owners!

[Doctordiesel77]

When they are working right they are very good, I'd check the various seals on the flaps, and check that the two air blend flaps are actually diverting the air through the heater, you may find that without the dashboard in, there is nothing to stop the cold air from blowing out of the cold air vent holes, unless you have blocked these off for test purposes...the face level vents are connected to the cold air blowing out of the fan, before it goes to the footwell outlets & screen (via the matrix if set to hot, or bypassing the matrix if set to cold) I had problems with cold air leaking past the seals on the vents, they had disintegrated and were channelling the cold air onto my knees...

[Doctordiesel77]

http://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/t...working?t=2074 and http://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/t...-hotter?t=2886 might have a few more clues for you as well...My first solution was a donkey jacket & a wooly hat, because I was too lazy to take the dash out Now is the time to get it to work when you are in there already

[E_T_V]

The diesel heater is never great unless the engine is under load. At idle with the heater on hot you can often see the temperature gauge drop!.

Heat should only come out of the windscreen and foot vents. Cold air only to the face level vents.

Are you sure the temp gauge doesn't work? If the thermostat is removed or stuck open then chances are it'll never get off of the bottom of the scale at idle. The Prima doesn't produce a lot of heat.