Comprehensive modification of the stove/heater of Niva 4x4 (VAZ 2121, 2131)

Heater VAZ 2121, 21213, 21214, 2131 modernized, in collection. with body

The heater is designed for installation on VAZ 2121, 21213, 21214, 2131, Lada 4×4 cars.

The heater is a plastic housing with a built-in electric motor and air blower.

It has a number of advantages over a standard heater:

The motor is easy to install. Practical silent operation.
Three-position switch.
Increased heating speed and air flow into the cabin.

The serial motor with a fan in the cabin can be removed (removal/installation steps are carried out in accordance with routine maintenance), but if you want to have a spare option, you can leave it. In this case, the old motor with an impeller will provide some resistance to air movement

Heater assembly Airflow mode switch Wiring harness Fasteners Air flow distributor

1. The serial motor with a fan in the cabin can be removed (removal/installation steps are carried out in accordance with routine maintenance), but if you want to have a spare option, you can leave it. In this case, the old motor with the impeller will provide some resistance to air movement. 2. If desired, the standard heater can be kept in working order as a backup. In this case, it will be necessary to connect an additional positive wire to the new heater and take into account that the simultaneous operation of both heaters will create an increased load on the vehicle’s on-board electrical network, which is extremely undesirable.

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Pickup for everyone who is convenient in Moscow to independently pick up and pay for the goods you have chosen.

Delivery by mail or EMS Post. It is preferable for buyers who live in areas where there are no branches of transport companies nearby. Some goods can be sent by mail (restrictions on weight and dimensions). We will advise you on a more convenient delivery method.

We deliver by courier only in Moscow and the Moscow region. The buyer provides the address and telephone number of the place of delivery of the goods, full name. person responsible for receiving the goods, his phone number. When transferring the goods to the Buyer (Representative), the quality, quantity, and completeness of the transferred goods are checked.

Delivery by transport companies is the most convenient and profitable and often the only way to receive the spare parts you ordered. We work with any Transport companies convenient for you. Which are located in Moscow.

Excerpt from the Warranty Conditions for Auto Parts"

1.1. The warranty period (except for electrical parts) for original spare parts is 6 (six) months or 30 (thirty) thousand km. mileage, and 3 (three) months or 5 (five) thousand km. mileage if the purchased Product belongs to the “non-original” category (whichever occurs earlier), unless otherwise determined by the Manufacturer or Seller of this spare part. You can familiarize yourself with the full terms of the warranty by following the link: Warranty terms for Auto Parts

Fault Diagnosis

The stove supplied as standard will need to be modified for preventive purposes. The procedure will not take much time, but it will prevent many problems in the future. Driving experience suggests that the first severe frosts will undermine the “health” of the device. The list of main weaknesses is as follows:

the optimal operating temperature range for model 2121 is from -5 to +10°C;
inability to warm up the air in the cabin if outside is -8°C or lower;
when the blowing power increases, the temperature does not increase;
When driving in 2nd gear, the noise from the Niva's stove becomes significant.

That is why it is better to take the necessary measures in advance. The driver has few alternatives. On the one hand, everything remains in its place. The heating device is used at minimum power. During mild winters this is still tolerable, but with the onset of real cold weather the conditions will become unbearable. On the other hand, it's easy to spend a few hours rectifying the situation.

The presence of an unpleasant sound indicates the need to replace the device. A specialized retail network offers ready-made options for heating mechanisms for Niva. If desired, it can be assembled independently.

The second option is considered more preferable. When you assemble it yourself, you have the opportunity to literally personalize the stove. To do the work yourself, you will need to visit a specialized store or market to buy spare parts.

When purchasing, original parts or analogues are selected. The main thing is that they have a quality certificate. Otherwise, they cannot be installed. It would be useful to rewrite the technical data of the vehicle so as not to exceed the parameters recommended by the manufacturer.

Possible heater malfunctions and ways to eliminate them

If the stove in a VAZ 21214 has stopped working, then, in principle, repairing it yourself is not a particularly difficult task.

The reasons for the malfunction why the Niva stove refuses to work are given below:

Failure of the additional resistor. This element of the system is located behind the glove box and is designed to control the ventilating device for pumping warm air into the cabin. The problem is solved by replacement.
Wear of pipes. Over time, the pipes begin to wear out, and temperature changes especially contribute to this. To detect worn hoses, each line must be carefully inspected. Wear may be indicated by cracks and other damage to the pipes through which antifreeze can escape.
The heater valve is faulty. A breakdown of this component may be indicated by traces of a coolant leak in the vehicle interior. If the heater tap is being replaced, it is better to use a ceramic device; its service life is usually several times higher than that of traditional metal devices.
Problems in the operation of the control unit. It is best to have this part repaired by a qualified electrician.
The heater radiator has failed. On Niva 21213 you can easily replace it with your own hands, we will talk about this below (the author of the video is the OWNER G channel).

It is very easy to find a broken fan resistor - the fan only runs at maximum speed.

Technical details of the procedure

The efficiency of the new heating system on Niva will be determined not by the cost of the purchased parts, but by their quality. To operate, you will need the following elements: a car resistor, a figure-eight heater and a “snail”. It is a mistake to believe that only “original” spare parts are suitable for repairing a heating device. The main requirement is technical compatibility.

If in doubt, a drawing of the heating system will provide clarity. The further procedure is as follows:

Cut a new mounting hole. This is done carefully, because the reliability of the heating system’s operation depends on the quality of the preparatory process. It is recommended to place the engine as low as possible in the air duct, otherwise the device will rest against the hood. This should not be allowed to happen, otherwise the stove fan will not last long.

The heating system of a new model is checked by test switching on. It is recommended to switch modes smoothly. The device must remain on each of them for at least 5-7 minutes. The driver’s task is to make sure that the operation of the system is not accompanied by extraneous noise and vibration.

Fan replacement

Experienced car owners recommend not stopping there and continuing to modify the stove by tuning the fan.

Some people suggest getting rid of the fan installed by the manufacturer and installing a figure eight fan instead.

If you also decide to carry out such a replacement, you need to additionally decide whether you will leave the original control of the stove or also replace it with a “eight” analogue.

Having decided on the second option, take care of purchasing the following additional items:

fan speed switch;

additional resistor for the stove.

So, after you have completely prepared all the necessary components, you can proceed directly to the process of modifying the fan.

Initially, you should dismantle the old air supply box. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this requires unscrewing only four nuts, it will not be possible to do this without outside help. Your partner will need to hold the screws under the hood while you unscrew them using a wrench.

After this, you can easily remove the air intake. Clean it if it needs it, and then cut away a small amount of the plastic to provide enough space for the new fan to operate.

Install the fan and carefully inspect for anything that may interfere with the operation of the installed fan. If you find such obstacles, carefully cut them off.

Once you are sure that there is nothing else that can prevent the fan from working, secure it with sealant. There are small gaps around the fan nozzle; it is important to eliminate them by covering them with any material. This will prevent warm air from escaping.

Now the assembled fan is being introduced back into the space in which its old counterpart previously “lived”. Everything is securely fastened and the closing and opening of the hood is checked. In some cases, after the introduction of a “foreign” fan, it is not possible to close the hood normally.

If everything is fine, reconnect all wires and install new controls. Upon completion of the work, be sure to check your results in action.

The stove should work perfectly, and warm air should spread very quickly inside the car.

Original parts vs analogues: practical advice

As mentioned earlier, such a choice does not affect the quality of the heating system. At the same time, car mechanics make several reservations. For those who plan to use VAZ stoves, it would be useful to check the power system. It is different for some modifications. That is why all actions are consistent with the drawings.

It is permissible to use the VAZ 2108 heater, provided that two recommendations are followed. Firstly, the mounting socket is 1-2 cm larger than the size of the device. The additional area will reduce the vibration impact. Secondly, the switch is installed taking into account the specifics of the VAZ heating system. You will have to tinker less when minor modifications to the system are needed.

The ventilation system is updated in 1-2 hours, depending on the degree of wear of the engine.

If the factory-installed “snail” has no signs of physical wear, you only need to replace the heater “engine” itself.

It’s worse if the factory equipment of a Chevrolet model has manufacturing defects. A complete replacement of the device is recommended. This will save time.

The operation of the heating system determines the comfort and safety of driving. The driver constantly monitors the system's performance. If extraneous noise appears, it is necessary to urgently carry out a technical inspection.

The process of refining the heating system

It is useful to note that modification of the VAZ-2121 stove is not accompanied by high problems. Even a car enthusiast who does not have special technical and repair skills can eliminate such technical defects.

In addition, modification of the Niva-2121 stove may involve performing a variety of actions, including the most basic ones.

Heating in your car can be improved by even just slightly upgrading the air ducts. If you want to radically improve the heating system and increase comfort, then, of course, you will have to tinker a little more.

Comprehensive modification of the stove/heater of Niva 4x4 (VAZ 2121, 2131)

Having set out to increase the efficiency of my car's heater, I re-read the available methods on the forums, and realized that these methods have some drawbacks that did not suit me. For example, installing a fan from a VAZ 2108 allows you to increase the air flow through the heater and blower nozzles, but this air is taken from the street, it is icy, and therefore the interior begins to warm up only after the engine has completely warmed up. In addition, this method requires significant modifications to the design of the heater, as well as the cost of purchasing a fan. Next, I’ll tell you how to modify the stove on the Niva with your own hands without investment and in a short time.

Interior heating

To heat the interior and protect the windshield, door windows and rear window from fogging and freezing:

move levers 6 and 7 to the right;
set lever 8 to the middle position;
open the heater cover with lever 10;
turn on switch 11 heated rear window;
If necessary, turn on the electric heater fan with switch 12.

Warm air will be directed both to the driver’s and passengers’ footwells and to the windshield and front door glass. For faster heating of only the windshield, close the heater cover with lever 10 and move lever 8 to the right.

Do-it-yourself modification of the stove on Niva 21213 is necessary if the car’s heating system malfunctions. There is no point in delaying this, because uneven thermal regulation leads to foggy windows or icing. In any of these cases, the view of what is happening on the road deteriorates. The malfunction causes wear of individual elements of the device or manufacturing defects.

Improvement No. 1. We take air from the cabin

The main disadvantage of the Niva heater is that all the air into the heater radiator comes from the street, and when the air intake flap is closed, air circulation and heating stop completely. To eliminate this drawback, I disassembled the heater (I had to drain some of the antifreeze and disconnect the heater radiator pipes), and in the side wall of the heater housing, opposite the wall where the radiator tubes exit, I made a hole in the shape of a rectangular trapezoid. I did it in such a way that there was 1.5-2 mm of the body wall left to the boundaries of the plane in which I made the hole, and 6-8 mm from the side of the stiffener for attaching the petal valve. I made the hole using a drill, marked it, drilled along the contour of the small diameter holes, then connected the holes using a knife, then filed the edges of the resulting hole, giving it its final shape. The area of the resulting hole was approximately 25 square centimeters. It is through this hole, when the heater air intake flap is closed, that air is drawn from the passenger compartment.

Since the salon is a closed space, air circulation occurs in a closed circle, and the warming up air of the salon, passing through the heater radiator, becomes increasingly hotter at the exit. Despite the small size of the hole, due to the absence of a supply of icy air from the street, the time for warming up the interior to a comfortable temperature and melting icy glass is reduced by 4-5 times, and it is possible to achieve a comfortable temperature even in severe frost.

To prevent cold air from entering the cabin through the hole when the air intake flap is open and the heater fan is turned off, a petal valve is installed on the hole on the inside of the heater housing, which does not interfere with air intake from the cabin. The petal valve is a rubber band cut from a car chamber (preferably from a truck), 1.5-3 mm thick, in the shape of a hole, but slightly larger, and attached to a bolt in such a way that it can freely bend inside the heater body, opening the access of air from interior, and fit snugly against the wall of the heater housing, blocking the hole for the passage of cold air into the cabin, past the heater radiator.

Video “How to install a heater motor from a VAZ 2108 on a Niva”

Detailed instructions for upgrading the heating system are given in the video below (author - Serg Morozov).

Heater VAZ 2121, 21213, 21214, 2131 modernized, in collection. with body

The heater is designed for installation on VAZ 2121, 21213, 21214, 2131, Lada 4×4 cars.

The heater is a plastic housing with a built-in electric motor and air blower.

It has a number of advantages over a standard heater:

The motor is easy to install. Practical silent operation.
Three-position switch.
Increased heating speed and air flow into the cabin.

Improvement No. 2. Increasing fan performance

I also slightly increased the efficiency of the standard heater fan. The fact is that the gap between the fan blades and the diffuser is about 3 mm, and the width of the diffuser is no more than 15 mm, while the width of the fan blades is more than 30 mm. Therefore, some of the air leaks back between the blades and the diffuser, preventing a large pressure difference from being created between the suction area and the discharge area.

According to my estimates, the efficiency of the fan increases by 10-15%, so you don’t have to bother with this problem.

Options for upgrading the heater on Niva

To ensure that the heater works more reliably and you do not have to repair it from time to time, it can be modernized. As practice shows, a modernized stove for Niva will not only be able to work several times longer, but its functionality will also be more efficient. Below are several options that will allow you to modernize the node.

We will not describe them in detail, but know that all these options have already stood the test of time, since they are used by many of our compatriots, so you can have no doubt about their effectiveness:

the use of an electric stove motor from a G8 - this device has proven its reliability;
installation of additional resistance of the ventilation device;
installation of a three-row copper radiator assembly;
installation of a more reliable heater valve from the VAZ 2108;
as an option, you can install a G8 heater assembly on the Niva.

Price issue

Improvement No. 3. Installing the grille on the air intake

When disassembling the heater, a large number of tree leaves and insect remains were found in the air intake casing and in the honeycombs of the heater radiator grille, which also reduced the efficiency of the heater. Therefore, after cleaning and flushing the heater core, I took measures to prevent the radiator from clogging.

To do this, I bent a wire frame to the size of the air intake inlet, covered it with a nylon mesh with a 1x1 mm cell, and installed it at the bottom of the rubber seal of the air intake inlet. It was perfectly fixed there in the fold, like an accordion, without additional fastening.

All work to modify the heater took me about 4 hours of time and did not cost a penny of additional costs. Unfortunately, during work I didn’t think to take a photo, but from the attached drawing and picture everything should be clear. I'm happy with the result, now the stove heats better.

Instructions for replacing the stove

Replacing the radiator of the Niva stove is carried out as follows:

First, you should drain all the coolant from the heating unit and cylinder block; to do this, place a container under the drain hole and unscrew the cap. If you are sure that the entire system is sealed, then there is no need to drain the consumables, just turn off the tap.
The next step will be to remove the center console and the shelf under the glove box. For greater convenience, you can also remove the gearbox lever, since it will get in the way.
After completing these steps, you can remove the lower air duct. It is not necessary to remove it, but doing so will make your repair much easier.
Next, you need to unscrew the bolts that secure the radiator assembly bracket.
After the bolts are unscrewed, it is also necessary to loosen or completely unscrew the screws securing the front panel on the left and right sides. It is not necessary to completely dismantle the panel.
Then you can remove the rods from the faucet of the heating unit, after which you can remove the casing with the fan.
At the final stage, the radiator device is removed, but before that you need to disconnect and dismantle the pipes. Be careful, some coolant may remain in them. The new radiator assembly is mounted in place of the old one, further assembly is carried out in the reverse order, making sure that there are no air pockets in the system. Otherwise, the efficiency of the stove will be minimal.

Heater diagram

1 – damper; 2 – electric fan casing; 3 – fan electric motor; 4 – impeller; 5 – heater radiator; 6 – radiator inlet pipe; 7 – radiator outlet pipe; 8 – radiator casing; 9 – air duct damper; 10 – air duct box; 11 – air duct for heating the windshield; 12 – central deflector damper; 13 – central deflector; 14 – crane control lever; 15 – control lever for the windshield heating flap; 16 – air duct damper control lever; 17 – control lever bracket; 18 – windshield heating flap; 19 – windshield heating damper cable.