242 heater pipes - what am I looking at

maxthedog

With the 244 facing some transmission troubles, I thought it was time to start cleaning up the 242 in case a few parts can come across if the 244 doesn’t want to play nice with the budget.

I’ve avoiding looking behind the radio and nest of wires for a long time. There was always a coolant/heater leak. I bypassed the heater inlet in the engine bay as I rarely needed heat and added a fix to the todo list.

Today I had a look and pulled off a heap of black silicon that was covering the passenger side of the heater box. There’s lots of copper and some wires / a thermostat and plenty of silicon everywhere.

Am I looking at a standard part or some sort of DIY solution?

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jamesinc

That's part of the AC system, the copper wire/coil is part of the Tx valve

maxthedog

Thanks James,

And the liberally silicon is an after market addition rather than factory I’m assuming? 😛

jamesinc

maxthedog the black stuff wrapped around the pipes? It's butyl tape. It is factory! Its purpose is to prevent condensation forming on the refrigerant pipes (which would then drip onto the passenger's feet).

maxthedog

Thanks! I think as you can see in the top right of the second photo there’s been a bit extra goop applied on mine.

Any tips on clean up/jobs to do while I’m in this area? I’m reluctant to pull the dash and fan. It still works, could be better but it’s functional.

Noticed a fair bit of corrosion on the sliding valve and copper pipes through the firewall. So may have to revisit that plan!