Removing Espar D4 for maintenance

Kiltym

Active member
Is there a write-up anywhere about this?

It seems pretty hidden behind the metal protective casing, and not really sure what needs to come off, or doesn't, to get to the actual heater....

I have two big air hoses on opposite sides, exhaust, fuel, wiring, etc, but not quite sure what can remain attached (if anything).

Is there a fuel-shutoff valve somewhere?

I assume the two end-caps of the metal case need to come off first, but only the big air hose at the front-end seems to have a clamp on it. The orange one to the back (presumably the hot air), doesn't so not sure if it passes through the metal box....?

I have attached some photos, just in case something is different with ours, but it seems to be "stock" based on photos I have seen.

Any pointers where I can read some more about getting the heater out would be great.

Mark
 

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OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
Maybe no detailed write-ups, but folks have written about removing. Some tips:

Quote:

I assume the two end-caps of the metal case need to come off first, but only the big air hose at the front-end seems to have a clamp on it. The orange one to the back (presumably the hot air), doesn't so not sure if it passes through the metal box....?

End quote.

End caps are NOT removed--metal box is removed as one piece.
Remove air hose in front with clamp.
Other air hose goes through box and is attached to heater on inside, so detach air hose on other end--from outside of van.

1. The metal box remains intact as one piece. Do not disassemble. Instead, there are 6? bolts at the top and backside? of the box which hold it in place. Unbolt those bolts to remove.box.

2. Before removing box, need to

Detach electric wires screwed to box/held on by a bracket--you are just detaching the wires from being held onto the metal box so when you drop the metal.box, you don't put weight on those wires and also to take metal box out.

Disconnect the wiring harness at corner of the metal box. (Believe you unscrewed the outer collar then pulled apart.)

Disconnect air ducts (unscrew/loosen dryer hose clamps; one can be detached near box and the other duct can be detached at end going inside the Westy--so when you remove box, one air duct will still.be attached inside the box)

Disconnect fuel line (no fuel shut off so diesel will drip). Try using a binder clip on rubber hose

The funny U-shaped tube is for air into the combustion chamber. Has a little hole at bottom of the U-tube. (Someone posted about it.)

Disconnect exhaust pipe

3. Drop the metal box. The Espar heater sits inside the metal box and is not mounted to the Sprinter body--so when remove metal box, heater is removed as well.

4. Wear eye protection--lots of dirt, etc. Safely raising Westy for additional clearance is handy unless really skinny. A small box to hold metal box in place when unbolted is nice--less arm strain.

5. From old thread

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25355&highlight=Removing+heater

It looks like AFTER removing metal box and heater, you may have to unscrew an end piece a bit to pry heater out of the box. Been awhile.
 
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OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
1. Photos

As you take nice photos and can put them on this subforum, maybe take photos of what you do and share. Thanks.

2. DIY or Mail for Service

Maintenance can be DIY (supposedly very easy) but several folks have sent to Greg at lubricationspecialist for a flat fee to clean and replace any parts (parts extra).. He has the EDITH software to diagnose any issues. Beware that our Westy has a unique wiring harness spliced in and a unique circuit computer board. Also, OneManVan determined there are at least two different versions of the heater used during the production in our Westies.

3. Problems

There are a million posts on this heater so it'll take forever to go through them all.

4. Maintenance

You'll want the Espar Manual--downloadable in several places.

Want to replace the smaller-than-thimble size atomizer screen.

Want to clean combustion chamber.
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
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GoJohnGo

Road trip!
I'll add that when I did mine, I undid the mounting bolts first, then lowered the box a bit so that I could get to the fastener for the wiring bundle.
 
When I spoke to him a year ago Greg, at Lubrication Specialities was, most emphatically, unwilling to do any service work. He'd only sell parts. Not very professional or responsive.
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
That's too bad.

He's a one man shop and worked with Sportsmobile. Years ago, I found him on the Sportsmobile forum and he agreed to extend his flat rate service special to us Westies as well as the Sportsmobiles. I sent him my Espar and he cleaned and repaired it. He also made and sold a special wiring harness adapter to fit our modified Espar (all sold out) so the computer controllers could hook up (I had him splice a permanent adapter to my wiring harness).

Guess he's too busy and it's back to DIY or other service folks like ThermoKing.
 

jujupang

Member
Last year a Westy owner stopped by there, it was a residence and I think my friend received the same response as Billhpeloton received.
 

Pnwsquid

Active member
The hardest part about servicing the Espar is getting it off of the vehicle and removing it from it's metal casing designed for external use.

Once on the bench, cleaning and replacing any necessary parts (always replace the atomizer screen) is a simple task.

Most issues that come up and have branded Espar's as unreliable are due to lack of regular maintenance and a poorly designed intake and exhaust system that was used specifically for our application.
 

Wasaabi

Sprinter Westfalia #133
I have used Greg in the past. He was confusing and cranky, but he did solve the issues with both my Espars. It would be nice to find another option for Westy owners. I believe I came across another company on the west coast who fixes Espars, but can't find the info now. If anyone knows, please post it.
 

Pnwsquid

Active member
The recommendation I got from PNWSquid was Rixen's in the greater Portland, OR area. Haven't used them yet; perhaps Mr. Squid can share?
Rixen definitely knows their stuff and do many of the OEM installs on local conversions (Van Specialties, Outside van and I believe even sports mobile in some cases).

I wouldn't hesitate to use them, but can't stress enough my opinion towards servicing the unit on your own. Once removed, open it up and check the atomizer screed and clean the burn chamber. 30 minute job not including install/reinstall.
 
I removed the espar heater from my Westfalia today and like most things on my rig, what I have doesn't seem to match the OEM setup. Does anybody see any reason for me to not revert these items back to the OEM setup ?

The differences that I noticed right off the bat as compared to Kiltym's pictures at the beginning of this thread are below.

1) My combustion air intake tube doesn't loop back to the second port on the underside of the stainless box that the espar is housed in, nor does the pipe have the condensate hole in it.

2) My exhaust pipe doesn't have a muffler on it. I have always thought my espar was ridiculously loud when running-maybe that's the reason. Is a muffler on the espar exhaust OEM ?

3) The return air duct on the front of the stainless espar box is not a flexible pipe but a single walled metal vent connector. This significantly increased the complexity of removing the espar heater. The vent connector appears to have been attached to OEM return duct fitting coming out of the floor of the van with a custom made transition fitting riveted to the OEM.

4) The supply air duct was just stuck to the stainless espar box with some sticking tape, no fitting or hose clamp. Is there a fitting that's missing from my unit ?
 

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Here's a few removal pictures for anyone not familiar with dropping the stainless box from the van in order to remove the espar from the box.

Once the two supply and return air ducts, fuel line and intake and exhaust pipes are removed the box unbolts easily from the van with six bolts that are readily apparent.

There is a large electrical/control connector that easily separates by pulling out on the red tab.

There are four threaded studs securing the espar inside the box that are located adjacent to the intake and exhaust ports on the bottom of the box.

I had to remove one end of my box to get the espar out of the box, but that is easily done by removing six screws.
 

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onemanvan

Active member
A couple of years ago I removed the muffler on mine. I was having problems with the heater not starting - just blowing clouds of white smoke. I had already added a high altitude pump and high altitude compensator. It seemed to me that the muffler restricted air flow through the combustion chamber which contributed to a richer air/fuel mixture. After removing the muffler the problem seemed to abate - but not entirely. At last I replaced the burner tube and now it's working OK. But I'm going to leave the muffler off in the hope that a leaner air/fuel mixture will help reduce carbon buildup in the burner tube and chamber.
 
A couple of years ago I removed the muffler on mine. I was having problems with the heater not starting - just blowing clouds of white smoke. I had already added a high altitude pump and high altitude compensator. It seemed to me that the muffler restricted air flow through the combustion chamber which contributed to a richer air/fuel mixture. After removing the muffler the problem seemed to abate - but not entirely. At last I replaced the burner tube and now it's working OK. But I'm going to leave the muffler off in the hope that a leaner air/fuel mixture will help reduce carbon buildup in the burner tube and chamber.
Did you notice an appreciable difference in the noise level without the muffler verses with the muffler ?
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
1. Make things the same, unless the modifications deliberately altered the setup. Espar heaters are sensitive to proper installation, including angled slant of the fuel pump, no gaps in the hard plastic fuel lines (can't use rubber types ones), etc. Why have more things to track down as possible culprits if things aren't the same?

One note--a controller.accessible from upper bunk would.be nice.

4. Query re Red Supply Hose Duct?

If you're asking about the red supply hose duct, one end goes into the metal box and OVER/around one end of the heater--with a hose clamp accessible only from INSIDE the metal box.

So when drop the metal box, have to disconnect the other end of the red hose duct where it attaches to vehicle--so red hose duct goes with the metal box when lower and remove metal box.

3. Return Duct

NOTE: The other end of the Espar heater sticks outside the metal box so the return air duct can slip OVER/around that end with a hose clamp.

Think the above is correct.

The red hose duct looks original but you're missing the original whitish return duct (replaced with the metal and tape in your version).

NOTE: Poor Design. The heater ductwork into the passenger area behind the driver seat goes right ABOVE the return air hole--so if the heater duct droops, it may block the return air hole in the floor--and Espar.heater will shutoff.

Remove the large plastic panel under awning window to see if that is a problem. The body cavity acts as the air return area, with the little slotted area opening next to rear seat.
 

onemanvan

Active member
After removing the muffler I could hear little or no difference from inside the van. Outside it's a bit louder - more so when the heater is running at high heat output. It's difficult to quantify without decibel readings - but i'd guess 20 to 40 percent louder depending on what heat output level it's running at...
 
I received my Espar parts, serviced and reinstalled everything.

As I posted above, the Espar's return air duct fitting and flexible duct on my Westfalia was removed for some reason and replaced with a metal vent connector. I was able to improve on that setup with the metal flexible duct that I purchased from Espar, but I am wondering if the original return and supply duct fitting shown in the pictures below is an available part that I could still purchase somewhere or was that a specially made Westy part that is no longer available. Anybody have any idea ?
 

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