Great Success!

After many hours of wrestling with the stubborn heater box, I was able to extract it and get to the actual repairs. Popping in a new blower motor and heater core only ended up taking about 15 minutes, and most of that time spent on realigning the flaps to close the heater box.

Everything tested out fine. The blower motor kicked on nice and strong right away. Heat started pumping out as soon as the engine started warming up. Nice! However, before I can truly say I'm done I should really flush the coolant and refill the whole system for the new winter season.

Putting everything back together should go fast, and usually does. I think it took me about 1/3 the time to put things back together compared to the amount of time it took me to take it all apart.

One advantage to performing your own repairs is finding out what other people screwed up in the past. It's also really frustrating. I found electrical connectors that had been left disconnected, lights left out of their sockets, vents not properly connected, etc. Just by taking the time to work on this particular problem I was also able to:

• reconnect the controls for the passenger seat heater
• reinstall the ashtray light
• reinstall the lighter light
• optimize the routing of electrical cabling - it was a rats nest
• properly install the trim paneling
• properly connect two air vents
• properly install the boot for the gear shifter

I'm also better set up to tackle some other nagging issues. Now I know how to remove the trim to gain access to a defective switch which tells me my parking brake is permanently engaged, how to access the wiring for the stereo, how to replace my windshield wipers, etc.

The biggest downside to performing your own repairs is knowing when you cut corners. I didn't have enough rubber foam for the heater core installation, so it's not tightly fit. I should have sealed some components with silicon sealant, but I didn't have any on hand. I should have flushed the system right away, but I just wanted to call it quits for the night.

The most important lesson I've learned this time is to pay close attention to whether or not electrical components should be reconnected prior to reinstalling them. I failed to hook the windshield wipers up, thinking I would still have enough space afterwards. I ended up having to pull them back off. Thankfully, I was only set back 5-10 minutes.

With all the work completed, it's worthy to note that the cold outside is so much better when it's warm inside.

Blower Motor and Heater Core

Winter is setting in, and I'd like to meet the cold with a little heat. Problem is, Casper's blower motor went out last spring.

I put off buying new parts until the weather began to turn. Once it was cold enough for my windows to be frosting over in the morning, it was evident enough that the $140 for a new blower motor and heater core would have to be forked. Over.

So why a new heater core? Well, getting to the blower motor inside the heater box on Casper is pain enough that the heater core may as well be replaced at the same time. It's going to burst eventually, so why not take care of it early on? That's better than having coolant seep into the foot wells. Thankfully, a heater core for Casper was only ~$35.

Today I spent several hours in pre-repair dismantling. The water box cover (don't ask me why they gave it such a nonsensical name), the windshield wiper assembly, the center console, and a few other pieces needed to be removed. For those, I was very glad to have the Bentley repair manual for my car. For the next steps, however... Let's just say that the four-inch thick manual was worthless.

In my past reading regarding this procedure, I had run across the SJM Autotechnik website, run by a helpful man named Scott who also posts on the Audi World forums. He lays out the information in a manner vastly superior to the Bentley repair manual on a page devoted to the disassembly of the heater box.

I ran out of time to finish on Sunday, but thankfully I have all day Monday. I have no choice but to be finished before Tuesday, as I need my car to get to work! I'll keep you posted!