This is one of the best mods I have done on my XJ an it means no more cold starts! Its a simple and expandable mod to turn my Diesel Heater into a diesel engine block coolant heater for cold winter startups. It will also heat inside my Jeep cab and the roof top tent making it a much more useful and versatile unit for winter overland camping. I've got a little way to go with it before its complete, like an EGR Exchanger and ducting, but the project has legs. When I wake up in the morning at camp, with the intention of moving on, I fire up the diesel heater to begin removing frozen condensation from inside the tent. Normally the heater runs for about 2 to 2.5 hours over this process of me getting up, making breakfast and packing down the tent. Then after this I like to pre heat the engine with my Defa heating element, and the maximum I can run this for is an hour, because it drawers 600w an hour. My engine is barely warm by this time, but its the best I could do with what I had. So now with this new stand alone system, I'm heating my engine up at the same time as my camp pack down, meaning I have saved a lot of time, power and hassle. Plus my diesel engine is actually warm! The advantage of this system is its taking diesel from the Jeeps 100 litre fule tank, and only using about 30w an hour from my 1500wh battery, so it can be run for great lengths of time to ensure proper engine preheat in sub zero temperatures. I should note that this is something I really only use when i'm around my vehicle. Its only held in with a strap and can be ripped out pretty quickly if I suspect its failing. Despite how reliable this unit has been I still don't really trust them completely. It has to be said that these units already exist on the market but I wanted to try and make one myself rather than buy one, mainly because I already have a reliable diesel heater. While building this contraption i'm also servicing my Jeep XJ in peroration for upcoming excursion. Thanks for watching!
Hello Mike, as always I love to watch and learn from your videos, I have a question for my Cherokee, It has a small leak from behind the fuel injection pump, do you know what could it be?
I would suspect it's a fuel line fitting, perhaps. Hopefully, it will not be from the pump itself, or it will need to be removed and disassembled and resealed.
Yes man I hope too, so you think it's like an o-ring or a gasket or the line fitting itself? this problem started now with very low temperatures. Thank you for your time man👏🏼
Do love your sense of humour, I think this channel is better than the old one. Your natural sense of humour comes out. Good work on that jeep which always reminds me of an old man Massey tractor.
It sounds like an old Massey, doesn't it. It also likes to drive like one, haha. I'm glad you enjoy the channel. It's a pretty chilled and enjoyable channel for me to run. I never find myself thinking of what to film, It's just what I'm up to anyway, so I suppose that's why I'm more myself. My other channel was often lessons and instructional videos. It was quite intense at times.
Awesome dude! In Alaska I’d use electric battery warmer blankets, coolant circulators, and oil pan heaters, but I didn’t personally know anyone who ran diesel heaters at the time. I’m looking forward to seeing how you finish plumbing the heater.
I'm surprised it worked so well. I've insulated the hot pipe on the heater, and it's working faster. Insulating the ducting is pain in the ass. My hands are destroyed. How are your travels going?
Nice one!! Diesel heater is, in my opinion, the best system in arctic conditions. The electric plug in coolant heater is nice and very easy to use and doesn't smoke, but unless you're at home or a workplace where you have a plug next to your parking space, they're useless. A standalone diesel heater is a great addition to your Jeep, it'll surely help to make it even better at working as your transport and base camp, regardless of the weather. And having warm air inside the Jeep/tent is a real bonus! Quite a smart system you built there, even though it definitely looks like an industrial penis pump. Good work Mike!! 👌🥳💪🔥
Haha, it does look like the Suck & Blow 9000! I think I will call it that when asked what system i use. It's working a treat, which is great. I'm just finishing the ducting and insulation. Hopefully, it holds up under there 🙏 Thanks for watching
Haha Glenn! It was good to see you last Christmas mate. How are you? I'm back in April so I will come up the Star and we can have a pint. I don't have Facebook anymore so I will have to get your number again unless you still have mine.
Mike, very clever mod. My son and I both have late model XJ's and we follow your channel religiously! Everything you do has sound reasoning and you explain yourself very well. My son just purchased the diesel clone off of ebay and we're also looking at more efficient ways to preheat the engine, inside the vehicle, and sleeping quarters through recycling heat. This episode is giving us some design ideas and although we have gas engines (OM617 conversion in the works), this is valuable R&D that saves everyone time and money. Thanks for what you do! If you need anything from the states, just give me a holler and I'll see what we can do.
Hi Mike! I love your channel! I do similar projects here in Canada. I do love winter camping too... my jeep is gas, it starts at -40 no problem. However, if you have a diesel engine I'd recover the heat from the heater exhaust to pre heat the engine oil. That's how we start big diesel engines here 👍
Do you start it in those temps with no pre heat at all? I have and have had gas engines also, and I only started the ones i didn't like without pre heat, lol. It's so bad for the engine. That's a good idea on the exhaust and oil pan. I will try and make something so it's warming the pan up. Should make a huge difference, actually.
Something about you doing your absolute damndest to keep that VM boat anchor alive and make it work to the best of its ability… absolutely inspiring even if I don’t understand it! 😂 I know it’s not cheap but OM606 swap has your name on it, great video as always
I considered the OM606, but its the cost coupled with the possibility of not even being able to drive diesels made before 1997/2000 in the years to come. It makes it feel pointless. My VM is a soldier, I love it and I have a complete spare. Now of course if a better option came along for very cheap, then sure I would do it, but ultimately its just expensive in this day and age.
Appreciate you watching! I tested it in -15c today, and it was a success. Since this video, I wrapped the matrix on the end in exhaust insulation, including the hot pipe. It made a big difference. Good luck with the project!
Awesome stuff Mike - I've had my eberspacher exposed to the elements (in the UK and one Polish winter) for 13 years and it's absolutely fine. One thing it may be worth doing (i did because it was easy) is lagging the air ducting where it is outside the vehicle. This also protects the ducts from getting damaged obvs. Interested to understand how you put the chinese electronics on the eber block - is there a video on that or shall i just google it ? Take care, Ringo
Originally, I had a China unit. Then, at work, they tossed out a complete D2 because it blew white smoke. They let me take it, and I repaired it. All it was was a blocked intake on the burner. The required electronics were very expensive, so I just swapped them out from the China unit. It worked perfectly and has continued to for about 5 years. I replaced the China pump, fuel lines, pump dampener, exhaust, and silencer with genuine parts. I certainly wouldn't recommend it, but I just did it because I had the parts. I raised the intakes, and I've almost completed the ducting. It's working well so far!
Buy some good bearings and check if they are packed with enough grease before you replace them in the water pump you just took out, it should last a long time then. I've found that it is a common problem with new bearings, they do have not enough grease in them... Great mod, I have this DEFA block heater in one of my cars and it works ok, but it replaces the block coolant drain there, and the engine is a small 1.6 petrol so a different scenario. In this boat anchor, I am sure that it wasn't great.
That sounds like a sound plan to be fair. I will press them apart and try and rebuild them. Otherwise, it's a total waste. Yeah, the old vm lump doesn't like cold starts. Only salt water and a constant rpm in a mechanically biased gear.
weirdly saw a thing on the book of faces where someone had put a radiator into the exhaust line of his diesel heater to get more heat out of it. was been used to heat his workshop but seemed to be pretty good this looks like a great idea may have to steal it for our Landrover trips into deepest darkest Buxton
I've seen few things like that. It's about 90 pounds for the exhaust device. I will probably get one eventually. Seems like a huge waste of energy to loose all that exhaust heat. Thanks for watching
Hi Mike, another good video. Nice job fingers x to see if it works out (I know it will). Bigfoot will be proud you thought of him ,on a side note do you have any leather patches available. Catch you on the next one. 😅
Looking forward to seeing how this turns out, I’m about to install a diesel heater in our Pajero/camper so I may hold off to see if an exchanger makes the purchase list 🤔 Love the videos as ever
I will make an update video. I caught some dirt virus, unfortunately, so I couldn't get a video made on it this week. I did finish it and test it, though, and it's working unbelievably well. It was 30c yesterday, and I had it outside for 4 hours. The engine was about 30c and the cab was very warm. I could even drive with the system on which was warmer than the jeeps heating system, and it warmed the engine up faster. All in all, I would definitely do it, but it might be better to get that one from alibaba to keep the size down, depending on how you feel about it.
@WorkshoptoWilderness put some cardboard tied with zip ties in front of the radiator, and temperature will double in half time. This must be removed in spring/summer.
Yeah, I saw their stuff online. They sell a kit for hot water. I almost went for it but opted for something simpler sold here given that I just want convection heating. It's really expensive to ship from the UK now, unfortunately. Then they add 25 percent tax and a handling fee 🙄
I've done one water crossing in ten years that was high enough to submerge that part of the vehicle. It's very uncommon for me. I'm more worried about snow. Once completed, all of the ducting will be elevated apart from the exhaust. I want to run the exhaust into the jeeps exhaust to further waterproof the heater. I just have to figure that detail out. The only issue left is the box of the diesel heater itself. My short-term plan is just to seal it up with silicone and reseal if I need to change a glowplug. Long-term, build a new sealed box that's quick release. Thanks for watching
Good suggestion. I've got a longer intake duct and combustion hose to the top of the engine compartment. I don't forsee any water crossings up that high, but for snow, it will stop them clogging up. Thanks for watching
Mike I've followed your Bushcraft channel forever, and this one as soon as I found out about it. I've been into vehicles for a very long time, so it was awesome to see this channel. I love what you're doing and really enjoy the content. You remind me of most of the guys where I grew up. "Backwoods Engineers" Edit: I'm sure could come up with a hot water system using this? Either off of the exhaust, or using the engine coolant.
Appreciate you following along for so long and for watching. My love for vehicles came in late at around 27 years old, when I got my first jeep and started using it for bushcraft courses. I sold it and got this one at about 30 years old. It's been 10 years now with this jeep. Crazy. A hot water system would be king in these cold conditions. I'm thinking about it often. My concern is being able to drain the system so it doesn't freeze. Or it has to stay running continuously. Thanks again for watching!
@@WorkshoptoWilderness You've progressed a long way in a short time when it comes to your mechanical and fabrication skills given that info. If you were to do a water tank underneath somewhere (I'd say HDPE, but with insulation and a skid), I'd think it would be pretty easy to drain. If you were to implement a pump into the system, you could use it to either suck in, or push out water.
Progressively mad, perhaps lol. I will look at what others have done and see what examples I can find. I think a tank underneath is a good idea 💡 hummm, you've got me thinking now
Just an idea to get the noggin clicking and I doubt there is room, especially if you need to put a 'Y' in, but could you put the hot air through the airbox and is it possible to do this in such a way that it wouldn't exhaust through the intake, eg on the cabin side of the recirculation valve? Air would distribute through the cabin vents and as a bonus, put some heat into the exchanger.
I think that might be very difficult with the space I have to work with. It would be very nice, but unfortunately, I don't think I can pull it off. I've ended up drilling a vent hole in the passage side behind the firewall. The heater vents directly into the jeep unless redirected to the tent. It's basic, but in -30c yesterday, it kept the engine warm, and the jeep warm inside. I aimed the exhaust at the oil pan. Takes about three hours, though, in that temperature for the engine block to reach about 35c, though.
Awesome video! I purchased an old Jimny that I want to start getting set up for wilderness adventures. I recently moved to the Netherlands and I'm finding it really hard to find places where you can actually go camping. Have you made any trips around this area?(I know its far away but its worth a try) If so I would greatly appreciate your expertise as I'm starting to go crazy being so surrounded by civilization. I started watching your videos when you were on your old channel. You have taught me a lot!
hello, I follow you recently on YB and would like to ask you a question if possible I am considering the purchase of XJ '99 2.5 TD. I know that it has the problem of the motor heads, my question is: is there the possibility of replacing them with more robust and reliable ones?
Sorry for the late reply. You can replace them with the AMC brand of head, they seem to be much better. Obviously its possible to crack them like most heads. I would just make sure when you start the Jeep you give it a minute to warm up before driving. Also the same goes for stopping.
Really! Well that says it all doesn't it.. I used to use there stuff all the time about 8 years ago. Seems extremely inconsistent now, as you just said.
The exhaust gases from the heater being vented into the engine bay would keep everything toasty, also the air inlet could run from the heated cab area so the inlet air isnt to cold. keep on all night? with a smell length of duct connecting cab area and tent?
That's a good idea. I will see how it looks for space. It's pretty tight with all the ducting and insulation. It's working well though, just some fine tuning and testing, but it's nice to just click a button, and everything fires up. I won't keep it on all night. I just don't trust it, although I'm sure it would be fine. It's just for the evening and morning before departure. Thanks for watching and for the input
i installed a 8kw diesel heater in my house last year to cut heating costs as i relied on expensive to run electric heaters. the diesel heater on low is very safe and will happily run continuously. i have gas central heating now, much better.
Hi I would like to install a hot-air diesel heater that will blow heat into the interior in the engine bay, because I have found a suitable place to place it and it will not take up space in the interior. I was told that such a hot-air heater is not suitable for mounting in the engine compartment, because it is not waterproof, it can cause a short circuit and fire. What is your experience with it?
I think it depends on what you do with the Jeep. If you river cross a lot then it could be a problem. You can waterproof the unit like I have done. it requires black silicone and making sure the air intake ducting is taking air from high up. I would recommend using a heat exchanger in front of the heater to heat the coolant as hot air alone might take an extremely long time to heat the engine.
@@WorkshoptoWilderness but I want to use it as a classic hot-air "webasto" for heating the interior. This is an imitation of a 2kw Vevor hot-air heater. When I measured it, it should fit between the coolant expansion tank and the air filter cover. I wanted to connect it so that the hot air from the heater blows into the original car heating pipe, but that is probably unrealistic. I saw on some video that you had a pipe from a similar heating brought out into the interior in front of the passenger. Did it work well? So, if I seal the heater cover with black silicone and bring the suction up far enough, will it be possible to mount it in the place where I mentioned it without any problems with water ingress?
Isn't there anyway you can get the Jeeps fans to start together with the dieselheater. I run a Webasto that is made for heating the car and the controller starts the fans inside the car while the heater is running. In usually 15-20 minutes the car is toasty inside.
I'm sure it could be done, but in this case, my diesel heater runs off of a separate battery in the back. I have a duct from the heater in the jeep, so it's pretty efficient at warming everything up. Otherwise, with this build, the warm air would just be going nowhere if you know what I mean.
Been wanting to do something similar but still portable somehow 😅 I'm scared of the whole rig going up in flames with it bolted on like that. With the portable at least you could rip it off the jeep and throw the fireball somewhere else. Also good to know you diesel guys have water pump issues like the rest of us 😂 AutoZone here in the states sells a pump with a lifetime warranty which pays for itself quickly at the rate that they go out. Using the least amount of belt tension possible (just enough to keep it from squealing) seems to keep them alive for longer.
It's just held in by being wedged in there. The fuel line and connectors would just come undone if you pulled the heater out. I wanted it that way because I don't like them being bolted on. The other element of them is that I only use the diesel heater when I'm at the jeep. It's been very reliable, but there's always a but with these things. It's great that you can get one with a lifetime warranty! I think I've burnt through loads of them over the last five years. My belt or tensioner must be off. Thanks for watching
@@WorkshoptoWilderness The water housing, exactly. I will have to replace my thermostat housing so I'm looking for that gasket. If I remember correctly there are two other gaskets in the coolant system that I want to replace as well.
I make my own gaskets, to be honest, because It's cheaper and more reliable. Buy a sheet of 1 mm thick gasket paper from Flexoid. Trace the surface and cut out a gasket. You can place the paper over the mating surface of the part and rub your finger on it for an impression. I use grease on the gasket after installing just to seal it in.
Stark It's the autodoc brand, cheaper parts with another name, to sell more expensive. The material is weak, especially at temperatures below 0°C. The water pump bearings are weak and stick, which for you in the middle of nowhere can become a big problem
I've tried that and I didn't like it. The condensation inside was terrible, and getting all the boxes off the roof is a pain in the ass. In the summer, the inside fills up with thousands of mosquitos, biting gnats due to going in and out, etc. It's much nicer on the roof in a comfortable bed with lots of space, and it's very easy to heat and keep dry. It stays closed until I sleep, so no flies get inside. Hopefully, now you understand, but you might not have the same intensity of flies as we do here.
Ive just fitted a engine heating sytem to my vehicle, its a Webasto Evo 5. I also have 2 x (12" x 8" ) insulated oil coolers which act as radiators below my engine and trans sump. These are isolated by a diverter and one way valve when the vehicle is running to prevent draining the cooling system should a branch or rock rip the pipes off from underneath. The diverter valve when de-energised allows hot coolant to the cabin. The system is pumped too. I like your idea for a block heater, do you think with no inline circulation pump it might not reach the whole water jacket, especially around the cylinders? Great videos btw!
Sounds like a very solid system you have there. I like the sound of it. I've almost completed the build and have been testing it today in about -19. There is one component missing, which is the Y piece with the adjustable vents on it. The system works really well, and it heats almost the whole block in about 2 hours. The cylinder heads are actually pretty hot. I mean you can touch them but it's very hot considering. I made some adjustments since this video, including insulated pipe work, ducting, and such. The oil gets pretty warn as the exhaust is plumbed in to warm up the bottom. I ended up drilling and plumbing a duct into the jeep, so it's getting pretty hot in there now, lol. The final design will be when the Y arrives so that heat can be directed to the tent and not the jeep with the vents. I shall see how it goes. Thanks for watching and the comment
@@WorkshoptoWilderness Sounds a good system, can't beat a diesel heater plumbed to the vehicle fuel tank. I'm upgrading my electrical system to dual batteries for a bit of redundancy as the cold spell here in the UK highlighted its weakness, can't imagine what - 19 wouldve done. I hope to be living in a cabin somewhere in a swedish forest, west Jamtland area, hopefully this year . Greetings from 🏴
- 19 is pretty nice, providing the humidity is low. It was - 40 a week ago, and that wasn't fun. If you do move here and choose to live remotely, then i hope it goes well. I'm a bit further north than Jamtland and life is hard enough in this small town.
This is one of the best mods I have done on my XJ an it means no more cold starts! Its a simple and expandable mod to turn my Diesel Heater into a diesel engine block coolant heater for cold winter startups. It will also heat inside my Jeep cab and the roof top tent making it a much more useful and versatile unit for winter overland camping. I've got a little way to go with it before its complete, like an EGR Exchanger and ducting, but the project has legs.
When I wake up in the morning at camp, with the intention of moving on, I fire up the diesel heater to begin removing frozen condensation from inside the tent. Normally the heater runs for about 2 to 2.5 hours over this process of me getting up, making breakfast and packing down the tent. Then after this I like to pre heat the engine with my Defa heating element, and the maximum I can run this for is an hour, because it drawers 600w an hour. My engine is barely warm by this time, but its the best I could do with what I had.
So now with this new stand alone system, I'm heating my engine up at the same time as my camp pack down, meaning I have saved a lot of time, power and hassle. Plus my diesel engine is actually warm! The advantage of this system is its taking diesel from the Jeeps 100 litre fule tank, and only using about 30w an hour from my 1500wh battery, so it can be run for great lengths of time to ensure proper engine preheat in sub zero temperatures. I should note that this is something I really only use when i'm around my vehicle. Its only held in with a strap and can be ripped out pretty quickly if I suspect its failing. Despite how reliable this unit has been I still don't really trust them completely.
It has to be said that these units already exist on the market but I wanted to try and make one myself rather than buy one, mainly because I already have a reliable diesel heater. While building this contraption i'm also servicing my Jeep XJ in peroration for upcoming excursion. Thanks for watching!
Hello Mike, as always I love to watch and learn from your videos, I have a question for my Cherokee, It has a small leak from behind the fuel injection pump, do you know what could it be?
@@cole000-x4w is it oil or diesel? Black or clear fluid. Thanks for watching!
@@WorkshoptoWildernessyes sorry, its diesel
I would suspect it's a fuel line fitting, perhaps. Hopefully, it will not be from the pump itself, or it will need to be removed and disassembled and resealed.
Yes man I hope too, so you think it's like an o-ring or a gasket or the line fitting itself? this problem started now with very low temperatures.
Thank you for your time man👏🏼
Do love your sense of humour, I think this channel is better than the old one. Your natural sense of humour comes out. Good work on that jeep which always reminds me of an old man Massey tractor.
It sounds like an old Massey, doesn't it. It also likes to drive like one, haha. I'm glad you enjoy the channel. It's a pretty chilled and enjoyable channel for me to run. I never find myself thinking of what to film, It's just what I'm up to anyway, so I suppose that's why I'm more myself.
My other channel was often lessons and instructional videos. It was quite intense at times.
I don't even have a car at all any more but I still enjoy watching your videos and I love your humour.
Awesome dude! In Alaska I’d use electric battery warmer blankets, coolant circulators, and oil pan heaters, but I didn’t personally know anyone who ran diesel heaters at the time. I’m looking forward to seeing how you finish plumbing the heater.
I'm surprised it worked so well. I've insulated the hot pipe on the heater, and it's working faster.
Insulating the ducting is pain in the ass. My hands are destroyed. How are your travels going?
Looks like a success. Atta boy from Texas.
Nice one!! Diesel heater is, in my opinion, the best system in arctic conditions. The electric plug in coolant heater is nice and very easy to use and doesn't smoke, but unless you're at home or a workplace where you have a plug next to your parking space, they're useless. A standalone diesel heater is a great addition to your Jeep, it'll surely help to make it even better at working as your transport and base camp, regardless of the weather. And having warm air inside the Jeep/tent is a real bonus! Quite a smart system you built there, even though it definitely looks like an industrial penis pump.
Good work Mike!! 👌🥳💪🔥
Haha, it does look like the Suck & Blow 9000! I think I will call it that when asked what system i use. It's working a treat, which is great. I'm just finishing the ducting and insulation.
Hopefully, it holds up under there 🙏
Thanks for watching
This is something out of a video game.
The amount of water pumps I'm changing makes it feel like a video game! Reload!
that machine so clean underneath
You haven’t changed since primary school Mike still very talented & funny. Be great to catch up when your back in Wotton Mike. Glenn 👍
Haha Glenn! It was good to see you last Christmas mate. How are you? I'm back in April so I will come up the Star and we can have a pint.
I don't have Facebook anymore so I will have to get your number again unless you still have mine.
Mike, very clever mod. My son and I both have late model XJ's and we follow your channel religiously! Everything you do has sound reasoning and you explain yourself very well. My son just purchased the diesel clone off of ebay and we're also looking at more efficient ways to preheat the engine, inside the vehicle, and sleeping quarters through recycling heat. This episode is giving us some design ideas and although we have gas engines (OM617 conversion in the works), this is valuable R&D that saves everyone time and money. Thanks for what you do! If you need anything from the states, just give me a holler and I'll see what we can do.
Makes loads of sense to use the diesel heaters output to pre heat the engine.
Good job.
I'm glad it worked! Some insulation and fine tuning, and it will hopefully be a good system. Thanks for watching.
If it works what a genuis mate 👍🏻🏴
Yes please do more video on this system😁
Good stuff. I don't even have a diesel and I watched the whole thing,!🤣
Thanks for watching
Nice work, brotha. Smart design and nice build. Looking forward to the next video.
Based, redpilled, gigachad video
Indeed my other account
@@Free_Range_4x4yes quite
i’d love to see more vids on the lesser established cherokee
I have a walk around video of it on the cards.
This is an awesome system 👍🏻
Thanks for watching
Hi Mike! I love your channel! I do similar projects here in Canada. I do love winter camping too... my jeep is gas, it starts at -40 no problem. However, if you have a diesel engine I'd recover the heat from the heater exhaust to pre heat the engine oil. That's how we start big diesel engines here 👍
Do you start it in those temps with no pre heat at all? I have and have had gas engines also, and I only started the ones i didn't like without pre heat, lol. It's so bad for the engine.
That's a good idea on the exhaust and oil pan. I will try and make something so it's warming the pan up. Should make a huge difference, actually.
Something about you doing your absolute damndest to keep that VM boat anchor alive and make it work to the best of its ability… absolutely inspiring even if I don’t understand it! 😂 I know it’s not cheap but OM606 swap has your name on it, great video as always
I considered the OM606, but its the cost coupled with the possibility of not even being able to drive diesels made before 1997/2000 in the years to come. It makes it feel pointless.
My VM is a soldier, I love it and I have a complete spare. Now of course if a better option came along for very cheap, then sure I would do it, but ultimately its just expensive in this day and age.
This is some serious backyard engineering. I'm into it. 🤣
Haha, thanks for watching
Another excellent video. Thank you soo much for your time. I'm going to do this to my Semi
Appreciate you watching! I tested it in -15c today, and it was a success. Since this video, I wrapped the matrix on the end in exhaust insulation, including the hot pipe. It made a big difference. Good luck with the project!
Awesome videos. Cheers from Halmstad 👍🤠
Thanks for watching!
Awesome stuff Mike - I've had my eberspacher exposed to the elements (in the UK and one Polish winter) for 13 years and it's absolutely fine. One thing it may be worth doing (i did because it was easy) is lagging the air ducting where it is outside the vehicle. This also protects the ducts from getting damaged obvs. Interested to understand how you put the chinese electronics on the eber block - is there a video on that or shall i just google it ? Take care, Ringo
Originally, I had a China unit. Then, at work, they tossed out a complete D2 because it blew white smoke. They let me take it, and I repaired it. All it was was a blocked intake on the burner.
The required electronics were very expensive, so I just swapped them out from the China unit. It worked perfectly and has continued to for about 5 years. I replaced the China pump, fuel lines, pump dampener, exhaust, and silencer with genuine parts.
I certainly wouldn't recommend it, but I just did it because I had the parts. I raised the intakes, and I've almost completed the ducting. It's working well so far!
Very very impressive!!
Buy some good bearings and check if they are packed with enough grease before you replace them in the water pump you just took out, it should last a long time then. I've found that it is a common problem with new bearings, they do have not enough grease in them...
Great mod, I have this DEFA block heater in one of my cars and it works ok, but it replaces the block coolant drain there, and the engine is a small 1.6 petrol so a different scenario. In this boat anchor, I am sure that it wasn't great.
That sounds like a sound plan to be fair. I will press them apart and try and rebuild them. Otherwise, it's a total waste.
Yeah, the old vm lump doesn't like cold starts. Only salt water and a constant rpm in a mechanically biased gear.
Hey, i love your channel and your truck looks good,doing it great,
are you based in Sweden?
He is in Sweden 🇸🇪 Wish I was too.
Blow the exhaust on the oil pan, that will help with starting in cold weather
That's a good tip! I've aimed it directly at the pan.
Great work Mike love the concept
Hopefully, it does the job in low temperatures! Thanks for watching
Are you sure you don’t have a pulley alignment issue or too much belt tension if you keep killing pumps?
It must be something like that. I think it's tension. I will order a new tensioner and belt and see how it feels.
weirdly saw a thing on the book of faces where someone had put a radiator into the exhaust line of his diesel heater to get more heat out of it. was been used to heat his workshop but seemed to be pretty good this looks like a great idea may have to steal it for our Landrover trips into deepest darkest Buxton
I've seen few things like that. It's about 90 pounds for the exhaust device. I will probably get one eventually. Seems like a huge waste of energy to loose all that exhaust heat. Thanks for watching
Hi Mike, another good video. Nice job fingers x to see if it works out (I know it will). Bigfoot will be proud you thought of him ,on a side note do you have any leather patches available. Catch you on the next one. 😅
Very cleaver Mike.
"Set to maximum suck" was that a spaceballs reference you just dropped on us? 😂
Hahaha, such a good movie! What happened to films, I miss the 90s, although I know that film was technically in the 80s.
Looking forward to seeing how this turns out, I’m about to install a diesel heater in our Pajero/camper so I may hold off to see if an exchanger makes the purchase list 🤔
Love the videos as ever
I will make an update video. I caught some dirt virus, unfortunately, so I couldn't get a video made on it this week.
I did finish it and test it, though, and it's working unbelievably well. It was 30c yesterday, and I had it outside for 4 hours. The engine was about 30c and the cab was very warm.
I could even drive with the system on which was warmer than the jeeps heating system, and it warmed the engine up faster.
All in all, I would definitely do it, but it might be better to get that one from alibaba to keep the size down, depending on how you feel about it.
@WorkshoptoWilderness put some cardboard tied with zip ties in front of the radiator, and temperature will double in half time. This must be removed in spring/summer.
Hey Mike, have you heard of Bobil Vans? ( uk based) they do a heat exchanger kit and many other bit that look really good 👍🏼 Ant
Yeah, I saw their stuff online. They sell a kit for hot water. I almost went for it but opted for something simpler sold here given that I just want convection heating.
It's really expensive to ship from the UK now, unfortunately. Then they add 25 percent tax and a handling fee 🙄
Are you not worried about water getting in the diesel heater if you do a water crossing?
I've done one water crossing in ten years that was high enough to submerge that part of the vehicle. It's very uncommon for me. I'm more worried about snow.
Once completed, all of the ducting will be elevated apart from the exhaust. I want to run the exhaust into the jeeps exhaust to further waterproof the heater. I just have to figure that detail out.
The only issue left is the box of the diesel heater itself. My short-term plan is just to seal it up with silicone and reseal if I need to change a glowplug. Long-term, build a new sealed box that's quick release.
Thanks for watching
I might suggest a longer intake hose so that the filter is mounted higher in the engine bay and stays dry
Good suggestion. I've got a longer intake duct and combustion hose to the top of the engine compartment. I don't forsee any water crossings up that high, but for snow, it will stop them clogging up.
Thanks for watching
Good stuff 🤘🏻
Mike I've followed your Bushcraft channel forever, and this one as soon as I found out about it. I've been into vehicles for a very long time, so it was awesome to see this channel. I love what you're doing and really enjoy the content. You remind me of most of the guys where I grew up. "Backwoods Engineers"
Edit: I'm sure could come up with a hot water system using this? Either off of the exhaust, or using the engine coolant.
Appreciate you following along for so long and for watching. My love for vehicles came in late at around 27 years old, when I got my first jeep and started using it for bushcraft courses.
I sold it and got this one at about 30 years old. It's been 10 years now with this jeep. Crazy.
A hot water system would be king in these cold conditions. I'm thinking about it often. My concern is being able to drain the system so it doesn't freeze. Or it has to stay running continuously.
Thanks again for watching!
@@WorkshoptoWilderness You've progressed a long way in a short time when it comes to your mechanical and fabrication skills given that info.
If you were to do a water tank underneath somewhere (I'd say HDPE, but with insulation and a skid), I'd think it would be pretty easy to drain. If you were to implement a pump into the system, you could use it to either suck in, or push out water.
Progressively mad, perhaps lol. I will look at what others have done and see what examples I can find. I think a tank underneath is a good idea 💡 hummm, you've got me thinking now
Just an idea to get the noggin clicking and I doubt there is room, especially if you need to put a 'Y' in, but could you put the hot air through the airbox and is it possible to do this in such a way that it wouldn't exhaust through the intake, eg on the cabin side of the recirculation valve? Air would distribute through the cabin vents and as a bonus, put some heat into the exchanger.
I think that might be very difficult with the space I have to work with. It would be very nice, but unfortunately, I don't think I can pull it off.
I've ended up drilling a vent hole in the passage side behind the firewall. The heater vents directly into the jeep unless redirected to the tent. It's basic, but in -30c yesterday, it kept the engine warm, and the jeep warm inside. I aimed the exhaust at the oil pan. Takes about three hours, though, in that temperature for the engine block to reach about 35c, though.
Awesome video! I purchased an old Jimny that I want to start getting set up for wilderness adventures.
I recently moved to the Netherlands and I'm finding it really hard to find places where you can actually go camping. Have you made any trips around this area?(I know its far away but its worth a try) If so I would greatly appreciate your expertise as I'm starting to go crazy being so surrounded by civilization.
I started watching your videos when you were on your old channel. You have taught me a lot!
hello, I follow you recently on YB and would like to ask you a question if possible
I am considering the purchase of XJ '99 2.5 TD. I know that it has the problem of the motor heads, my question is: is there the possibility of replacing them with more robust and reliable ones?
Sorry for the late reply. You can replace them with the AMC brand of head, they seem to be much better. Obviously its possible to crack them like most heads. I would just make sure when you start the Jeep you give it a minute to warm up before driving. Also the same goes for stopping.
Very nice!
Blueprint are just reboxers now, pot luck what they are putting in the box that day.
Really! Well that says it all doesn't it.. I used to use there stuff all the time about 8 years ago. Seems extremely inconsistent now, as you just said.
The exhaust gases from the heater being vented into the engine bay would keep everything toasty, also the air inlet could run from the heated cab area so the inlet air isnt to cold. keep on all night? with a smell length of duct connecting cab area and tent?
That's a good idea. I will see how it looks for space. It's pretty tight with all the ducting and insulation. It's working well though, just some fine tuning and testing, but it's nice to just click a button, and everything fires up. I won't keep it on all night. I just don't trust it, although I'm sure it would be fine. It's just for the evening and morning before departure.
Thanks for watching and for the input
i installed a 8kw diesel heater in my house last year to cut heating costs as i relied on expensive to run electric heaters. the diesel heater on low is very safe and will happily run continuously. i have gas central heating now, much better.
Hi
I would like to install a hot-air diesel heater that will blow heat into the interior in the engine bay, because I have found a suitable place to place it and it will not take up space in the interior. I was told that such a hot-air heater is not suitable for mounting in the engine compartment, because it is not waterproof, it can cause a short circuit and fire. What is your experience with it?
I think it depends on what you do with the Jeep. If you river cross a lot then it could be a problem. You can waterproof the unit like I have done. it requires black silicone and making sure the air intake ducting is taking air from high up. I would recommend using a heat exchanger in front of the heater to heat the coolant as hot air alone might take an extremely long time to heat the engine.
@@WorkshoptoWilderness but I want to use it as a classic hot-air "webasto" for heating the interior. This is an imitation of a 2kw Vevor hot-air heater. When I measured it, it should fit between the coolant expansion tank and the air filter cover. I wanted to connect it so that the hot air from the heater blows into the original car heating pipe, but that is probably unrealistic. I saw on some video that you had a pipe from a similar heating brought out into the interior in front of the passenger. Did it work well? So, if I seal the heater cover with black silicone and bring the suction up far enough, will it be possible to mount it in the place where I mentioned it without any problems with water ingress?
Isn't there anyway you can get the Jeeps fans to start together with the dieselheater. I run a Webasto that is made for heating the car and the controller starts the fans inside the car while the heater is running. In usually 15-20 minutes the car is toasty inside.
I'm sure it could be done, but in this case, my diesel heater runs off of a separate battery in the back. I have a duct from the heater in the jeep, so it's pretty efficient at warming everything up. Otherwise, with this build, the warm air would just be going nowhere if you know what I mean.
3000€ 😢😢😢. На некоторых Mercedes ставили, купил на разборе за 200€.
Интересная работа 👍
Been wanting to do something similar but still portable somehow 😅 I'm scared of the whole rig going up in flames with it bolted on like that. With the portable at least you could rip it off the jeep and throw the fireball somewhere else.
Also good to know you diesel guys have water pump issues like the rest of us 😂 AutoZone here in the states sells a pump with a lifetime warranty which pays for itself quickly at the rate that they go out. Using the least amount of belt tension possible (just enough to keep it from squealing) seems to keep them alive for longer.
It's just held in by being wedged in there. The fuel line and connectors would just come undone if you pulled the heater out. I wanted it that way because I don't like them being bolted on. The other element of them is that I only use the diesel heater when I'm at the jeep.
It's been very reliable, but there's always a but with these things.
It's great that you can get one with a lifetime warranty! I think I've burnt through loads of them over the last five years. My belt or tensioner must be off. Thanks for watching
Where do you get your gaskets and things? I'm finding it is extremely difficult to find some things as an English speaker in Italy.
What kind of gaskets? The small things like water housings, pumps etc. Or the big things like head gaskets and such?
@@WorkshoptoWilderness The water housing, exactly. I will have to replace my thermostat housing so I'm looking for that gasket. If I remember correctly there are two other gaskets in the coolant system that I want to replace as well.
I make my own gaskets, to be honest, because It's cheaper and more reliable. Buy a sheet of 1 mm thick gasket paper from Flexoid. Trace the surface and cut out a gasket. You can place the paper over the mating surface of the part and rub your finger on it for an impression. I use grease on the gasket after installing just to seal it in.
@@WorkshoptoWilderness OK thanks!
Hey travis..how’s the taxi job going…😁
I quit after what went down in the brothel
What headlights are you running?
Nice work. Just don't like stark brand, hope you don't have a problem with it again. Cheers from Portugal
Ah, that's a shame for hear. I've never used stark. Hopefully, it won't let me down in the middle of nowhere....
Thanks for watching
Stark It's the autodoc brand, cheaper parts with another name, to sell more expensive. The material is weak, especially at temperatures below 0°C. The water pump bearings are weak and stick, which for you in the middle of nowhere can become a big problem
Do you have a brand you recommend? Every pump I buy looks like it's fresh out ot Shite land.
After crown, INA usually it's good
Okay thanks for the tips. I will order another from them as a spare
hi its called thermo syphon the old cars used to have that to cool the engine before water pumps, highly inefficient but you properly know that
I had no idea it was called that. I appreciate the information!
when engines speeds increased the system could not get rid of heat quick enough so along came the pump@@WorkshoptoWilderness
Ah, I see, I mean, it seems inefficient without the pump. As you say, hens the introduction of a pump
What antenna on the front bumper?
It's a Firestik.
Interesting
4:52 🤣🤣🤣
Я не понимаю, почему не сделать спальное место в машине, а на крышу ящики? Комфортнее и тепло
I've tried that and I didn't like it. The condensation inside was terrible, and getting all the boxes off the roof is a pain in the ass. In the summer, the inside fills up with thousands of mosquitos, biting gnats due to going in and out, etc.
It's much nicer on the roof in a comfortable bed with lots of space, and it's very easy to heat and keep dry. It stays closed until I sleep, so no flies get inside.
Hopefully, now you understand, but you might not have the same intensity of flies as we do here.
Теперь понимаю, надо попробовать палатку, чтоб сравнить 👍
Blow up doll fitting? 😛😛
A necessary upgrade often forgotten!
Ha!Ha!
Only buy genuine VM parts. I used to work for VM Diesel Specialist in UK for 6 years in my 20s. All the aftermarket parts for them are shite.
The vm diesel specialist no longer sells genuine parts, unfortunately. Some things are, but I think it's getting harder.
@WorkshoptoWilderness I'm surprised he's still going. You can still get genuine parts, just got to know the right people...
I ordered from Italy 🇮🇹. They were genuine back when I got them. I wouldn't buy genuine heads for love nor money, though.
@@WorkshoptoWilderness genuine heads are the best
@@Bertcustardhead I will take AMC any day over the original
Ive just fitted a engine heating sytem to my vehicle, its a Webasto Evo 5. I also have 2 x (12" x 8" ) insulated oil coolers which act as radiators below my engine and trans sump. These are isolated by a diverter and one way valve when the vehicle is running to prevent draining the cooling system should a branch or rock rip the pipes off from underneath. The diverter valve when de-energised allows hot coolant to the cabin. The system is pumped too. I like your idea for a block heater, do you think with no inline circulation pump it might not reach the whole water jacket, especially around the cylinders? Great videos btw!
Sounds like a very solid system you have there. I like the sound of it.
I've almost completed the build and have been testing it today in about -19. There is one component missing, which is the Y piece with the adjustable vents on it.
The system works really well, and it heats almost the whole block in about 2 hours. The cylinder heads are actually pretty hot. I mean you can touch them but it's very hot considering. I made some adjustments since this video, including insulated pipe work, ducting, and such. The oil gets pretty warn as the exhaust is plumbed in to warm up the bottom.
I ended up drilling and plumbing a duct into the jeep, so it's getting pretty hot in there now, lol.
The final design will be when the Y arrives so that heat can be directed to the tent and not the jeep with the vents. I shall see how it goes. Thanks for watching and the comment
@@WorkshoptoWilderness Sounds a good system, can't beat a diesel heater plumbed to the vehicle fuel tank. I'm upgrading my electrical system to dual batteries for a bit of redundancy as the cold spell here in the UK highlighted its weakness, can't imagine what - 19 wouldve done.
I hope to be living in a cabin somewhere in a swedish forest, west Jamtland area, hopefully this year . Greetings from 🏴
- 19 is pretty nice, providing the humidity is low. It was - 40 a week ago, and that wasn't fun. If you do move here and choose to live remotely, then i hope it goes well. I'm a bit further north than Jamtland and life is hard enough in this small town.