Troll Hunter Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 As in the title. Quite a few years ago I bought a second hand Webasto DBW46, which is a coolant heater, not a hot air model, but never got round to fitting it. I think I may get a round twit this spring, for my birthday, so I have started looking for suitable locations. I've searched the forum and have read plenty of threads about various problem fixes and piping runs, but couldn't find any threads that discussed the various installation locations. I must admit that I did not read all 694 results of my searches! So, where have people fitted Webasto or Eberspacher auxiliary heaters, and what were the pros and cons of the various locations considered? All views will be gratefully received. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 (edited) I bolted a 6mm thick by 150mm or so wide steel plate onto the outer face of the chassis inside the engine bay, long enough to come up to the level of the top of engine coolant pipes and bolted the Eberspacher onto that. It needed a kink in the bottom to bring it into the desired alignment between engine and inner wing. Its fairly close to the intake pipework and exhaust manifold but I've put good quality reflective foil on the side of the heater itself, and also onto an alloy heatshield I've made to fit it. The first Eberspacher (D4W) was on there for 25 years and no problems other than normal worn out parts, and one wiring loom disaster when I forgot to cable tie it back out of the way and it touched the manifold and got fried. That first Eberspacher died last year and the specific spare part was unobtainable so I replaced with a newer model of the same heater. Advantage of this method is you can pretty much choose your ideal location free of the contstraints of the limited side space for fitment. Its got a slot cut at top so the securing bolt for the Eberspacher to its cradle can be fitted. Edited January 4, 2021 by Jocklandjohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Many thanks for your reply, Jocklandjohn. I was beginning to fear that the entire forum was suffering from new year amnesia or that I had committed a mega-pi** off blunder. I know from the threads I have read that a number of members have Webasto or Eberspacher heaters, but perhaps they have forgotten why they put them where they did!! So far, I'm considering putting my unit in one of three places. 1) Under the front passenger seat. Space may be a bit limited, but it's relatively convenient for connecting into the engine cooling system and for connection to a fuel supply. 2) Under the rear wheel box but in front or behind the axle. There seems to be space here without affecting articulation. On either side it's convenient for a fuel supply, but not so good for connecting to the cooling system. 3. In the engine bay, roughly opposite the turbo. Space is severely limited, and a heat shield would almost certainly be required to protect from the exhaust manifold. This would also be a good location for connection to the fuel and cooling systems. This location would probably use a mounting off the chassis similar to yours. Mentioning which, what engine do you have? Any and all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Jocklandjohn, I see from your post "Possible exhaust ......." that you have a 200Tdi. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Under the passenger seat is where mine is to go. But it has to wait for the chassis swop before it is fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I have LHD 300tdi. I fitted under the screen wash bottle. Not much space, but enough. Needed a few hooked cooling hoses to hook it up. Works fine. Some people prefer to change to a td5 washer bottle, situated under the lh wimg, which frees up space in fron of the heater on a LHD vehicle. it was my planned route, but since I found the space under the bottle, i didn't bother. It's a Websato TT C I have mounted. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 (edited) On 1/6/2021 at 4:21 AM, Troll Hunter said: Jocklandjohn, I see from your post "Possible exhaust ......." that you have a 200Tdi. Mike Yes its a 200tdi engine (Defender spec) retrofitted into a 19J with many of the 19J bits such as exhaust and air filter setup. I'd forget the wheel area - the crud and discomfort of doing any work on it down there would put me off! Under seat ok, but I considered every potential location and decided to put it in the engine bay - modern heatshield material is pretty good and robust, plus it minimises coolant piping, makes for easy fuel pickup and keeps the complications to a minimum (only wires going in through the bulkhead). Plus once you have to troubleshoot any problems you'll probably be glad that everything is relatively visible! If its like mine - it needs bleeding every so often if I've disturbed the coolant system to release air bubbles, and its easier with it higher up in the engine bay. Edited January 7, 2021 by Jocklandjohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 I'm intrigued by your comment regarding the washer bottle location, Tobias. My vehicle originally had a 3.5 V8, which I replaced with a 300 Tdi. I bought the vehicle in 1995, and as far as I know it had everything in their original places, but the washer bottle is under the front left wing, and obviously well before any TD5. Because this vehicle originally had both a heater and A/C, within the same housing, the housing is huge. Immediately in front of the housing is the coolant header tank, and in front of that is the fuel filter. There is no space to mount anything along that side of the engine, the throttle and FIP making the gap to the inner wing quite narrow. Perhaps I could reconfigure the heater box to make it shorter, since I no longer have A/C. That could free-up some space. And perhaps I could relocate the fuel filter to the bulkhead. I seem to remember having seen it there on some models, buy I can't remember which ones. Also, I could be really radical and dis-assemble the entire Webasto unit and reconfigure it to fit the spaces available. The manual does mention that the water circulation pump can be located remotely from the rest of the unit, and I don't see why the control box can't also be remote from the fire tube/heat exchanger and the fuel pump. Something else to look at. What items do you have in front of your heater, Tobias? Although I mentioned putting it under the passenger seat I'll have to discount that option, Arjan, since it doesn't have the vertical space for the DBW46, and I agree with you, Jocklandjohn, regarding putting it behind the rear wheel. UUUGH! That will be a very last resort location. Anyway, thank you all for your contributions. They've made me think out of the box and I'll explore these other options, and update on my progress. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 I took some pictures, but it's almost impossible to see the Webasto. From bulkhead I have heater box, washer bottle, under washer bottle webasto, coolant tank The second picture is inside the wheel arch showing the bolts that fix the webasto. It is situated basically on top of the frame rail, but attached to the wheel arch, not frame. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted January 11, 2021 Author Share Posted January 11, 2021 Thank you, Tobias. Your description and photos are gem. I hadn't considered the area under my heater box and header tank, out of sight, out of mind, but I've measured it up and I'm pretty sure that I can fit the Webasto there. I might have to remove and relocate the water pump, but I don't think so. I'll almost certainly have to alter the position of the control box because the original mounting panel is fitted between the control box and the heat exchanger. I'll update as I progress. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 I've got a Webasto Thermotop C in my 90, due to the faff and of extending water pipes I tried to keep them as short as possible, I ended up putting in place of the washer bottle on the front left hand wing internal L bracket, you can see it here when I initially installed it. Diamond in the rough... - Page 3 - Members Vehicles Forum - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum It's still there and gets daily use through these winter months. One of the big plus sides of having it close to the cab heater is that it get its nice and hot to give you a boost of warm air for demisting and warming up the cab on initial start up. Oh yeah and I moved the squishier bottle to the later inner wing type, which are much bigger and in a much better location out the way imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger110 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 I placed mine in a seperate cabinet in the rear quarter panel NS, however it's not used to hear the engine block, but to provide hot water and heating for the cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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