E21 Help!

[emmceethree]

Hey~

i got a 1979 320i and its got an '81 m10 engine swap. its now a fuel injected car. i just bought it this way about 2 weeks ago and i am having some minor problems with the heater.

i pulled out the dash control panel cause i thought that maybe there was a linkeage that became unhooked, but turns out that everything is good in there. i changed the thermostat which made the temp gauge work so the only other problem i can think of is the heater core. i do get some heat at first, but it quickly dissapates and then it starts blowing cool air.

i am newly into the old school beemers and dont know much about them. does anyone know how to get to the heater core? i think i need to get it flushed out, but i cant seem to get to it from under the dash. if anyone has info or a diagram on the dash or something, please help out!

thanks for all your help in advance.

Emm Cee Three

i really cant drive it until i get this problem fixed so any help would be nice!
i live in northern minnesota and its been -20 below 0 (not including the windchill) for the last 4 days! i need the heat.

[abruzzi60103]

The car basicly cranks and sounds like it wants to turn over. I guess for a lack of any better word to use , it makes the typical wa wa wa noise. I had recieved an email from someone suggesting that I try replacing the " pick-up coil " or the distributor. There is def. fuel running to the engine , so it is a spark issue. Are you familiar with what a " pick-up coil " is ????? ghead

[KC Ron Carter]

The worse job on an e21 is the heater core.

You will need to almost remove the dash to get to it.

I would be sure the control valve which is mechanical and access is from the drivers knee cover, is moving.

I have a 1977 and it has never needed the core cleaned or replaced.

Later,

[emmceethree]

Originally posted by KC Ron Carter@Jan 17 2005, 12:52 AM
The worse job on an e21 is the heater core.

You will need to almost remove the dash to get to it.

I would be sure the control valve which is mechanical and access is from the drivers knee cover, is moving.

I have a 1977 and it has never needed the core cleaned or replaced.

Later,

[snapback]273060[/snapback]

hey bro,
thanks for the info. i am new into the scene so i am not totally familiar with the car yet. i took the panel off the bottom of the dash on the drivers side and the valve seems to be working correctly from what i can tell. it rotates when i move the dash lever.

would you happen to have diagrams of how to get to the heater core. if not, could you walk me through it by hitting me back. you can also reach me at my e-mail,
emm_cee_three@yahoo.com.

thanks dude, for all your help.
later,
emm cee three

[Kowalski]

make sure you have enough coolant int he radiator cause if there isn't enough coolant the thermostat wont open which would explain the short blasts of cool air, the engine gets hot and it opens for a sec and u get your hot air and then it shuts cause there isn't enough coolant to keep it open.