The “weak point” in the interior heating system of the VAZ Kalina is the heater radiator. The heat exchanger on this car is made of aluminum (tubes and honeycombs) and plastic (tanks), so the service life of this part is not that long. Over time, the radiator loses its seal and begins to leak, which can lead to serious problems. The designers placed the engine ECU under the heater housing. If the radiator leaks, the antifreeze flowing from it gets onto the control unit, which causes it to burn out.
There is only one way to solve the issue of a leaking heater radiator on a VAZ Kalina - replace the damaged heat exchanger with a new one, since aluminum heater radiators are not repairable. But here a second problem arises - how best to carry out the replacement. The heater on the VAZ Kalina was not designed well, so replacing the radiator is a complicated procedure.
According to the automaker's recommendation, replacing the heater radiator with a Kalina can only be done by removing the front panel from the car. Removing the panel is a labor-intensive operation due to the large number of fasteners, and at the same time it is necessary to dismantle a number of interior elements - the front seats, steering column, pedal unit. An additional negative factor in replacing the heater radiator on a VAZ Kalina with removing the front panel is the appearance of “crickets” after assembly.
The only advantage of the replacement technology recommended by the automaker is that no alterations or modifications to the heater are required to remove or install the heat exchanger. Car enthusiasts have come up with alternative methods for replacing the heater radiator without removing the front panel, but each option has disadvantages.
Choosing the right radiator: the key to its flawless operation
If you need to install a new stove on a Lada Kalina car, you need to choose this part correctly, focusing on the following criteria:
- the material from which the product is made. Aluminum devices are less expensive, but they have one significant drawback - if cracks or other defects appear, replacing the radiator is not possible. You can throw it away immediately without wasting time. Therefore, it makes sense to purchase, albeit expensive, but reliable and repairable copper-brass part;
- the presence of coolant swirlers, which are made of high-quality plastic. Radiators with such elements work much more efficiently and become less clogged.
How to choose the right heater radiator
Before choosing a stove radiator, you should know that they can be either aluminum or copper-brass. It is difficult to clearly prioritize the choice of one material, but each one has specific features of its work. These features are dictated by the properties of the material. Copper has a slightly lower thermal conductivity than aluminum, and therefore warms up more slowly. This cannot be said to be bad, since the thermal inertia of such a radiator is quite large. This means that it may not cool down for a long time.
An aluminum radiator is the opposite. It warms up quickly, but cools down just as quickly. It has a few more disadvantages. Firstly, the aluminum radiator cannot be repaired. Once it drips, you can throw it away. Copper is soldered quite simply and as many times as necessary. You just need to choose it correctly, because when selling, especially in the car market, you may come across a repaired copy with the partitions removed. It won't leak, but it won't provide heat either. Antifreeze will simply pass through such a radiator as if through a pipe.
It is also worth paying attention to the presence of plastic liquid swirlers. You can see them if you look into the pipe. These are spiral-shaped plastic plates that increase the efficiency of the radiator by 25%. The price of a heater radiator for Kalina can range from 900 rubles for the original, and little-known companies can offer their radiators for 600-800 rubles. Naturally, it is better to overpay and buy an original new one. Copper or aluminum - at the discretion of the owner.
Replacing the radiator without removing the front panel
The classic method of replacing a Kalina heater radiator, a video of which we presented on the page, involves complete dismantling of the interior. It’s doubly disappointing that you have to lose a whole day if you change the radiator yourself, or five thousand and also a whole day if you use the services of a service station.
However, there is a method that allows you to replace the radiator with less labor and faster. An alternative replacement method is to use a hacksaw saw to cut out a segment with pipes from it before removing the old radiator, or simply cut off the pipes. If the radiator is aluminum, then in this case the pipes will be plastic and removing them will take at most 15 minutes. There are some other nuances to consider when replacing.
After removing the pipes, so as not to weaken the front panel, you can also make cuts in the places shown in the photo on the heater casing. In this case, you no longer have to completely dismantle the panel when replacing the radiator. Simply drain the antifreeze, remove the gas pedal (you can also remove the brake pedal mounting block, although many do without it), shorten the standard guide pin by 10 mm (with large wire cutters, pliers), remove the old radiator and put the new one in place.
This way you can simply solve the issue of replacing the heater radiator on Kalina, saving time and money. Use the right antifreeze and have a good winter road trip everyone!
Selection of spare parts
The choice of a stove radiator should be approached carefully, since changing it is quite inconvenient. The majority of motorists choose an original part that is available for sale. But few people know that there are several analogues.
Let's consider the heater radiator options for Kalina, their catalog numbers:
- 1118-8101060 – this is the article number of the original catalog number of the heater radiator for Kalina. It fits perfectly and does not require any modifications. The average cost in the Russian Federation is 1500-1700 rubles.
Original heater radiator and hoses
- There are several analogues that are in no way inferior to the original in terms of quality. Thus, spare parts from the following manufacturers are suitable for Kalina: Pekar (1118-8101060), Fenox (RO0001O7), Luzar (LRH 0118) . The average cost of an analogue is 1200-1500 rubles.
Kraft stove radiator
Reasons for failure
There are not many reasons for the failure of a stove radiator, but you need to know them. Let's consider the main ones:
- Radiator clogged, which led to pressure, resulting in a breakdown of the inner tube.
Antifreeze flows into the cabin due to a breakdown in the heater radiator
- An air lock can also cause a radiator leak.
- Wear . Frequent use of the stove leads to wear on the inner walls of the tubes.
Perhaps these are the main reasons, but others may arise due to the operation of the car.
How to replace a radiator: basic methods
As we mentioned above, replacing the radiator on Lada Kalina cars is a rather complicated procedure that requires disassembling the entire front panel. To do it yourself, you will need to prepare tools - pliers, a Phillips screwdriver, a wrench, as well as knowledge of the sequence of work described below:
- drain the coolant and first unscrew the screws holding the radiator, and then the nuts that secure the gas pedal;
- remove the electronic engine control unit;
- unscrew all the screws holding the torpedo. It is best to do this using the instructions for the Lada Kalina car in order to avoid completely unnecessary mistakes;
- remove the panel. Here we will make a small digression and give a useful recommendation. It is better to carefully put all the fasteners that hold the torpedo in one place, remembering their location in the car’s structure. Otherwise, you will simply get confused, because there are quite a lot of screws, bolts and self-tapping screws in the Kalina model;
- remove the seal frame, which allows you to get to the radiator and remove the broken part;
- We install the new device and assemble the front panel in the reverse order. Make sure that there are no “extra” parts or fasteners left.
We recommend: How to replace valve stem seals without removing the cylinder head?
Removal algorithm
As for removing the element, with all three replacement methods without removing the panel, dismantling is performed in the same way. The algorithm for removing the heater radiator is as follows:
- Drain the antifreeze from the cooling system.
- We dismantle the engine air filter along with the air duct.
- Disconnect the battery terminals and remove the battery from the car.
- Remove the battery mounting plate.
- Under the steering rack we find two pipes through which coolant is supplied to the heater radiator, loosen their clamps and pull the tubes off the fittings.
- Near the fittings we find a nut that secures a mounting plate with a rubber seal through which the heat exchanger fittings pass to the engine shield. unscrew this nut.
- Let's go to the salon. On the driver's side, remove the decorative side trim of the center console.
- Unscrew the gas pedal and move it to the side.
- We remove the brake light sensor located near the brake pedal.
- Since it will not be possible to remove the brake pedal without dismantling the steering column and mechanism, we do this. We remove the bracket for fixing the pin that connects the brake pedal to the vacuum booster, remove the pin and bend the stop plate of the brake light sensor. After this, we lift the pedal up and it does not interfere with removing the radiator.
- Unscrew the three screws securing the radiator to the body.
- Since the radiator outlet is blocked by fittings, they need to be sawed off or broken off.
- After sawing off the fittings, the radiator will “come out” of the seat.
But dismantling the heat exchanger is only half the battle; you still need to install a new element, but the fittings prevent this from being done.
Features of replacing the stove radiator on Kalina
There is only one official method for replacing the heater stove on Kalina. And it inspires sacred awe - complete disassembly of the interior, removal of the front panel, seats and center console. This takes a lot of time, effort and nerves, and if you ask for help at a service station, then the price of replacing the Kalina heater radiator may not fit into 4 thousand.
But there's no need to rush. If it’s cold in the cabin, this does not mean that the radiator is to blame. The problem may not be buried that deep. The cause of poor heater performance may be an air lock, which does not completely allow antifreeze into the heater radiator, or may block it completely. We won’t go into detail about this problem, suffice it to say that by draining the old coolant, flushing the cooling system and adding new fluid, you can avoid problems with the stove.
Often, novice drivers panic about a cold interior simply because the dampers are closed, the cabin filter is clogged, or the heater motor is not working well. Which, when replaced, also requires either acrobatic training or complete dismantling of the interior. The air conditioner also requires some experience, which sometimes ends up in Kalina’s interiors and does not always interact correctly with the heater. However, replacing the Kalina heater radiator is relevant not only when there is a coolant leak.
Reasons for heater failure
Operating practice of the Lada Kalina suggests that it is sometimes necessary to get to the heater radiator for the following reasons:
- If you ignore the cabin filter and don’t install it at all, the radiator will quickly become clogged with dust. It gradually accumulates in the honeycombs of the radiator, and after a certain amount of dirt build-up, the radiator stops giving off heat.
- Slag and coke inside the heater radiator. A typical problem, and it occurs when the owner uses low-quality coolant or mixes it with non-distilled water. In such cases, flushing the cooling system rarely helps, and the only way out of this situation is to replace the heater radiator.
- Loosening of the Kalinovsky heater radiator leads to the appearance of cracks in the places where the pipes are attached. It is not possible to solve this problem without dismantling the radiator.
If, nevertheless, replacing the radiator cannot be avoided, then first you need to choose a good heat exchanger, since its replacement will be unforgettable.
Differences between the algorithm on a car with air conditioning
“Kalina” with air conditioning has two heater radiators and a temperature controller in the cabin that is different from models without climate control. There are two radiators, since air conditioning freon passes through one of them, and antifreeze passes through the other, as in a car without an air conditioner. Accordingly, the temperature regulator allows air to pass through one of the radiators, depending on its position. It will be more difficult to dismantle such a structure and replace the necessary elements yourself.
It is not immediately possible to understand that the stove has become unusable, since the leaking liquid quickly evaporates and reminds of itself only by a specific smell. When replacing a radiator, you must carefully place the parts being removed, do not deviate from the instructions and follow safety precautions.
