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C50 grain truck heater?

D

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
Forgive me. If I had the slightest idea what I was talking about I would not be asking about it. The water pump is a leaking on the truck. I was looking at it today and it looks like one friggin headache if you ask me. Pully on the front of the pump is attached to the fan. If you grab the fan the whole pulley wobbles pretty good so I think it needs work. But that is another.........

The picture is something I saw whilst in there wobbling the pulley. It's connected to the blower motor, aka the mouse nest housing, and has two hose connectors on it. The upper hose is not there. The lower hose is attached at the unit but the end hangs free. Just kind of wondering where these hoses are supposed to be attached? If I was a betting man I would guess there was some type of heat sink in there that coolant runs thru providing heat for the blower, aka mouse nest housing, to blow into the truck complete with mouse nest aromatics...but I never placed a bet in my life.

cvphoto20621.jpg
 
There is a small radiator in the mouse nest housing.....I like that term, never heard it before.....hot coolant from the engine flows through the upper hose into the rad and the blower fan directs this heat into the cab, and the coolant returns to the engine via the lower hose. They are likely disconnected for a reason, most likely the heater rad or heater core leaks. If you like to learn some new swear words, go ahead and change it...
Ben
 
See if there is another hose, the same size, that is hooked up to 2 ports on the engine. I would bet, from your pic, that the heater core leaked, and someone unhooked the hoses and bypassed the core with the other hose. Also if the is a 350 small block chevy engine, only 4 bolts hold the pump on- remove the fan, loosen the belt and remove pump .Mark.
 
Tat is a smallblock Chevy engine. Probably a 327. The door code should be a clear identifier. The Water pump is for sure failed. Removing the fan can be made easier some times by removing /moving the fan shroud. Then using a box end wrench, removing the bolts. I have seen it necessary to un screw all bolts, then lift the fan with them still in the spacer. (they often won't come out each because of the radiator getting in the road. The heater core attachment is often made to an outlet on the water pump, and the intake manifold. They are probably capped/plugged to keep the coolant in the engine. Why they are disconnected is probably because the heater core is leaking. Jim
 
I wish all vehicles were a piece of cake to work on like that one. nothing hard there one bit. very easy to change water pumps on that 350? engine. and heater blower fan and core. nothing to it. all in the wide open. about 1 hr. job to change water pumps.
 
That water pump is a very easy one to change. Should be available new at any auto supply, just take the old one with you to compare the shaft height. The engine may have been changed, could be a different pump than the truck originally had.

Chances are the heater core is bad, that's usually why one gets bypassed that way. There should be a hose barb screwed into the water pump, and another up by the thermostat. That is where the heater hoses were originally attached. They may have been plugged, if so remove the plugs and replace with hose barb fittings.

If you want to get the heater working, you will need to find a new heater core. That may be difficult for something that old, but I'm sure someone out there has one. May have to go to a truck restoration specialty supplier.

The core is easy to replace, looks like everything is done from under the hood.
 
Well...maybe Tom O will come on and tell me what was wrong with the heater core. It was his truck and a very good one I will tell you. I am thinking it is unlikely I will drive this truck much in cold weather in the future. I am semi-retired from grain as of this year. The local elevator closed and I am thinking I will just bin my grain and have it hauled for me. But for right now I am growing Nada. Just hay for the near future.

Scares me I bought this truck and never noticed those hoses. I'll bet he told me about it too, but I remember that day and I wasn't in a mood for listening.
 
Hi Dave,

If I remember correctly there was a heater hose leak in that truck and for a quick fix I just bypassed the heater and reconnected the good hose back to the water pump. Should be quite self explanatory. I remember having a small core repaired at one time but I don't remember if it was out of that truck or not. This all happened many years ago and that truck was never used in cold weather so the repair must have slipped through the cracks or I would have fixed it. I would take the heater housing all apart and clean out all the old fines and chaff that it has to be full of in the cowling. You should check the movement of the damper, switch and temperature control wires under the dash and be sure to lubricate them also.
 
Dave, I also changed a water pump on one of my daughters cars that had that same engine in it and don't remember it being anything difficult. I would take that whole heater housing off at the firewall and the heater core and blower motor should be in the unit. A good cleaning will work wonders and you should be able to pressurize the core and tell if there is a leak. Tom
 
I'm going to tell you things you now know, but get the water pump fixed before you drive it. My neighbor had a '71 Chevy with a 6-71 Detroit that had a fan go through the radiator because he didn't get the "wobble" fixed. That was not a cheap repair. The heater core isn't too hard of a fix on that model. Plenty of space to work on things, unlike newer models where the whole dash has to come out. It's nice to have a working heater when you need it.
 
Thanks for responding Tom! I will get to the heater at some point. Going to give the water pump a shot. It looks easy enough after you work thru getting the fan off. I figured that may be the hardest part as there is very little clearance between that and the rad. I'll let you know how it goes. May take me a week or two to get to it.
 
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