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Which heater do I have?


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Well, I got into the boat yesterday and discovered the heater core went kaput! In trying to locate replacement parts, I stumbled across this:

http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=74653F

Seeing as my boat is a 2004 LSV, can anyone tell me precisely if this will fit my boat? I'm pretty sure Malibu used Heatercrafts in the 2004s, but I have no idea if I have a 3-H/4-H unit. I can tell you I have a three outlet model. I'm assuming the 3-H is a three outlet?

Help!

Thanks!

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HeaterCraft website

Looks to me like the 3-H Series comes in both a 3 outlet or 4 outlet configuration, while the 4-H series is more of a general heat unit (one big grill instead of individual outlets). The 3-H and 4-H series both use the same case size (6.55"x15.94"x9.35"). My guess is that both series use the same heater core. But your best bet is to call HeaterCraft directly - they are great to work with.

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I'm sure it's a Heatercraft heater as their about the only boat heater around. They used at least a couple of different cores. You really should pull the box out (it's usually up under the driver's side dash) to see what you have. It's possible to use a Y adapter to split an air hose.

Open it up & pull the heater core out. Take it to your friendly neighborhood Napa & have them cross reference it with the car heater cores they have around. I believe it's from a late 90s Ford (Mustang?) & will probably cost like $20 to replace. Yea, done a couple of them myself.

Good luck.

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Well, I got into the boat yesterday and discovered the heater core went kaput! In trying to locate replacement parts, I stumbled across this:

http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=74653F

Seeing as my boat is a 2004 LSV, can anyone tell me precisely if this will fit my boat? I'm pretty sure Malibu used Heatercrafts in the 2004s, but I have no idea if I have a 3-H/4-H unit. I can tell you I have a three outlet model. I'm assuming the 3-H is a three outlet?

Did it not get winterized properly? I always blow mine out so there's no water sitting in it. The previous owner forgot to blow it out one year and ended up having to replace the core as well. Good for me since the core is now only a couple years old. :thumbup:

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I'm sure it's a Heatercraft heater as their about the only boat heater around. They used at least a couple of different cores. You really should pull the box out (it's usually up under the driver's side dash) to see what you have. It's possible to use a Y adapter to split an air hose.

Open it up & pull the heater core out. Take it to your friendly neighborhood Napa & have them cross reference it with the car heater cores they have around. I believe it's from a late 90s Ford (Mustang?) & will probably cost like $20 to replace. Yea, done a couple of them myself.

Good luck.

Holy cow...seriously? That's great news!

Did it not get winterized properly? I always blow mine out so there's no water sitting in it. The previous owner forgot to blow it out one year and ended up having to replace the core as well. Good for me since the core is now only a couple years old. :thumbup:

I'll start by saying, this was the first year I owned the boat...;) I couldn't figure out which lines were the heater lines and never got around to blowing them out. I did, however, winterize the rest of the boat/motor. So, everything else is good....save for the heater. And a couple other failed items...:(

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Do a little diggin in this forum & you'll find threads on how to setup your heater so you can winterize it easier. Some of the guys are installing quick change fittings from garden hoses. Personally, I have a pair of Prestone radiator flush Ts in the lines at their lowest point in the bilge. I reach down there & pull those caps off after every day on the lake this time of year (50s during the day, 20s at night). Gravity does the rest.

flushts.jpg

0907cct_03_z+prestone+flush_n_fill_kit.jpg

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I'll start by saying, this was the first year I owned the boat...;) I couldn't figure out which lines were the heater lines and never got around to blowing them out. I did, however, winterize the rest of the boat/motor. So, everything else is good....save for the heater. And a couple other failed items...:(

Cheaper than an engine block I suppose. And just for future reference on my boat, there is one hose going to the top of the motor and the other one goes to a Y fitting before the raw water pump(yours might be after the raw water pump or going to your circulating pump). I remove the one on my Y fitting and blow through it. That sends all the water out of the heater and into the engine block and then out the block's drain holes.

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Cheaper than an engine block I suppose. And just for future reference on my boat, there is one hose going to the top of the motor and the other one goes to a Y fitting before the raw water pump(yours might be after the raw water pump or going to your circulating pump). I remove the one on my Y fitting and blow through it. That sends all the water out of the heater and into the engine block and then out the block's drain holes.

This definitely works. Unfortunately, that Y is not standard equipment on Malibus yet, and it's not as easy to get to in a v-drive. You will have to pull all the stuff out of the storage compartment on the passenger side, remove the wall divider & it will be down in the bilge near the motor mount....... if it's even in your boat at all. Probably is not considering it's an 04.

BTW, I rode in a buddies 07 Vride yesterday. He drilled the little hole in that Y fitting out to increase water flow thru the core. The heater was damn hot! I asked him if he was watching his engine temp at all. He owns a big European auto shop & has all kinds of mechanics certs so he's very aware of any possible consequences & has not seen any change. :rockon:

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This definitely works. Unfortunately, that Y is not standard equipment on Malibus yet, and it's not as easy to get to in a v-drive. You will have to pull all the stuff out of the storage compartment on the passenger side, remove the wall divider & it will be down in the bilge near the motor mount....... if it's even in your boat at all. Probably is not considering it's an 04.

BTW, I rode in a buddies 07 Vride yesterday. He drilled the little hole in that Y fitting out to increase water flow thru the core. The heater was damn hot! I asked him if he was watching his engine temp at all. He owns a big European auto shop & has all kinds of mechanics certs so he's very aware of any possible consequences & has not seen any change. :rockon:

I was pretty sure he does not have the Y-fitting and his hose is going to the circulating pump instead. And yeah, adding that Y fitting to mine made all the difference with my heater at idle speeds. Stays warm all the time now. I too was wondering about engine temp and if the Y fitting before the raw pump would have an effect because technically the addition of the Y causes the raw pump to suck both cold water from the lake and warm/hot water through./from the heater into the engine. However, I've seen no effect at all on my temps.

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Cheaper than an engine block I suppose. And just for future reference on my boat, there is one hose going to the top of the motor and the other one goes to a Y fitting before the raw water pump(yours might be after the raw water pump or going to your circulating pump). I remove the one on my Y fitting and blow through it. That sends all the water out of the heater and into the engine block and then out the block's drain holes.

This definitely works. Unfortunately, that Y is not standard equipment on Malibus yet, and it's not as easy to get to in a v-drive. You will have to pull all the stuff out of the storage compartment on the passenger side, remove the wall divider & it will be down in the bilge near the motor mount....... if it's even in your boat at all. Probably is not considering it's an 04.

BTW, I rode in a buddies 07 Vride yesterday. He drilled the little hole in that Y fitting out to increase water flow thru the core. The heater was damn hot! I asked him if he was watching his engine temp at all. He owns a big European auto shop & has all kinds of mechanics certs so he's very aware of any possible consequences & has not seen any change. :rockon:

I don't have the Y-fitting...yet. I was digging around a boat with one at the dealership the other day and I think I understand where it goes. But the hose I saw was down in the bilge on the drivers side (for a boat). Maybe I should go look again. Although, I'm not quite sure which hose I connect to the the other side of the Y.

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To answer my own questions:

Heater model-

6PPkECtDmEzG.jpg

Heater core...can you stop the problem?

EUg9W0WXuGXc.jpg

Gonna drag it to NAPA tomorrow and see if I can match it to the Ford heater core as mentioned above. wish me luck....I'll report back what I find

Edited by Intense
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I don't have the Y-fitting...yet. I was digging around a boat with one at the dealership the other day and I think I understand where it goes. But the hose I saw was down in the bilge on the drivers side (for a boat). Maybe I should go look again. Although, I'm not quite sure which hose I connect to the the other side of the Y.

If you do the Y fitting mod. It basically goes on your raw water intake line(1 1/4") before the raw water pump(where your impeller lives). Then the hose from your heater that goes to your circulating pump needs relocated to the 5/8" side of the Y fitting. You'll need a brass plug to plug the hole once removed from the circulating pump.

Here's the fitting:

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=H424

The top of the Y points away from your raw water pump. You simply take off your 1 1/4" hard wall water hose and cut it at the point you want to install the Y and viola. I went half way. I'll try to take pics of mine when I get my boat out later this week.

It's actually one of the best things I think I have done to my boat. We like to take cruises in the evenings when it's idle only and having the heater warm at idle makes all the difference in the world.

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No dice at NAPA. Went through their entire catalog and couldn't find anything that remotely fit the dimensions of the heater core. Guess I'll suck it up and order one online. Cheapest I've found it $85.....$96 shipped to me.

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Well that sucks. I've never had them strike out before. I wish I'd written it down now.

I used the search tool & found this thread where Addictedto6 says he used Napa p/n 660-3100

I'm not sure how accurate this is, but heres a pic of an 89 Mustang core. It may or may not be the one. I found a thread where I said something about that year/model though.

FoxHeaterCore102.jpg

BTW, one other thing. The last time we did this, in a neighbor's Vride a year ago, his core was mounted with the tubes on the top. This made it tough to drain & probably accounted for the freeze damage. When we reinstalled it, we rotated the core so the tubes were on the bottom side so it would drain more completely in the future. So far, so good.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Well that sucks. I've never had them strike out before. I wish I'd written it down now.

I used the search tool & found this thread where Addictedto6 says he used Napa p/n 660-3100

I'm not sure how accurate this is, but heres a pic of an 89 Mustang core. It may or may not be the one. I found a thread where I said something about that year/model though.

FoxHeaterCore102.jpg

BTW, one other thing. The last time we did this, in a neighbor's Vride a year ago, his core was mounted with the tubes on the top. This made it tough to drain & probably accounted for the freeze damage. When we reinstalled it, we rotated the core so the tubes were on the bottom side so it would drain more completely in the future. So far, so good.

Huh, my heater core looks nothing like the ones in your picture. Mine is more rectangular shaped and the pipe make a 90 degree turn as they come out of the tanks. It's a 14"x6"x2" AQp0cZIIAO3x.jpg

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Yea, it might be a bust. Sorry. If we figure out what p/n I'll keep it around.

I did a search for that part number & came up with a few threads where people said it was the core in their boat heater.

Wakeboarder.com

Planet Nautique

Yeah, it looks like everyone has been replacing the heater core from an older design. I must be the first bozo to have broken a core from the newer design. Ah well, for the record, it doesn't seem like NAPA has a comparable automotive core. I'd be anxious to see if anyone else has better luck.

Side note, in my boat, the tube openings are oriented such that they're pointed down.

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The car cores tend to not hold up to long is marine environments anyway, the heatercore units are more robust and designed to have raw water vs antifreeze running through them.

-Chris

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Can anyone point me to a thread on how to get to it/replace it? Mine went last year even after blowing it out (apparently not well enough) - so this year, I got a bilge heater... today I fired it up and found that the bilge heater didn't do the job well enough - the block was fine, but the heater core is shot again. I don't mind even paying the $85 for a 'real' one - but don't want to pay the 4-500 to have the shop do it.

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Can anyone point me to a thread on how to get to it/replace it? Mine went last year even after blowing it out (apparently not well enough) - so this year, I got a bilge heater... today I fired it up and found that the bilge heater didn't do the job well enough - the block was fine, but the heater core is shot again. I don't mind even paying the $85 for a 'real' one - but don't want to pay the 4-500 to have the shop do it.

First, lemme say that the bilge heater won't do you any good with respect to the 'cabin heater'. As it's not in the bilge.

You have an 06, so I'me guessing you have a similar heater design and configuration to mine. I'll explain as best I can...but pics would be really be helpful. Unfortunately, it's night out right now. Also, I think the newer Wakesetters had the sub right at the drivers feet. So, your heater might be buried behind that. If so, remove the sub first.

Tools you'll need:

- No. 2 phillip head screw driver

- Flat head screw driver

- Diagonal wire cutters

- Zip lock baggie (to keep track of the hardware)

- Painters tape

- 5/8" male-2-male hose connector

To start, the heater unit in my boat is under the dash on the drivers side.

1) There were two tubes running down from the heater unit pointed at the drivers feet. These tubes are held on with a wide L-shaped bracket. The bracket is held in with two phillips head screws. Remove these screws. Put them in the zip lock baggie.

2) The other end of these tubes run into the heater unit. You'll need the wire cutters to snip the zip ties holding the tubes to the heater unit. Once the zip ties are cut, pull the two tubes off the heater unit and out of the way.

3) You should now see the heater unit, in all it's glory, mounted to the wall.

4) On the left side of the heater unit, there should be two water hoses connected. Remove these hoses by loosening the hose clamps with a flat head screwdriver. *Note: I had to REALLY twist one of the hoses to get it to come off, 4-5x around. Pay attention to which hoses was connected to the front and back tubes of the heater core. I used the painters tape on the front one to remind myself. Not sure if the order matters, but I'm guessing it does.

5) Use the 5/8" hose connector to join the two hoses together. *Note, this step only needs to be done if you're bypassing the heater core. I did because I didn't have a replacement heater core readily available. Tighten the hose clamps

6) If you've got a 3 outlet heater, like me. You'll have one more tube to remove. This is for the heater extension hose....I call it the elephant trunk. Snip the zip tie to this tube and remove the tube from the heater unit.

7) You should now see 4 screws (two on each side of the heater unit) holding the heater unit to the wall. Remove these screws with a phillips screwdriver. Put these screws in the zip lock baggie. Voila! You've removed the heater unit.

8) To remove the heater core, flip the heater unit to the side with 8 screws. 4 screws will be holding the mounting bracket to the heater box and 4 more will be holding the end plate to the box. You'll need to remove all 8 with a phillips screwdriver.

9) With the end plate removed, the heater core should slide right out.

The link I post in my original post is where I'll be ordering my core from. There are a few other places out there, but that's the cheapest I've found.

Good luck!

Edited by Intense
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Glad I went in there before ordering the part! I pulled it out yesterday and just closed the loop so I can use the boat until I get around to replacing the heater core. I have the 2-outlet version.. seems to be the H-202, not the H-301 in my boat, so glad I looked first.

..at least I can use her now - just without the semi-useless heater (rarely use it anyway).

Thanks for all the help!

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