Information on how to change the stove on Kalina yourself is very popular for all motorists who have at least once encountered malfunctions of this VAZ 2118 unit.

The heating and ventilation system of Kalina itself is quite simple, but getting to its elements hidden behind the front panel (dashboard) is very difficult. Therefore, issues related to malfunctions of the cooling system in general and the heater radiator in particular deserve detailed consideration.

Cooling system problems

Most often, Lada Kalina car owners have to deal with the following malfunctions:

• engine overheating due to untimely switching on or failure of the main fan;
• the stove fan fails;
• the heater tap or the radiator itself leaks, which leads to a complete replacement of the Kalina heater;
• The VAZ 2118 power unit does not warm up to operating temperature due to the fact that the fan is constantly running.

Kalina is in charge of forced cooling the electronic unit control unit (ECU), focusing on impulses that transmit temperature sensor turning on the fan. When the antifreeze in the upper pipe heats up to 103-105 °C, this sensor transmits a signal to the ECU, which starts the impeller through a relay.

If the fan switch-on temperature is reached and the cooler is not started, then the fault lies in the sensor itself or in the relay contacts.

When the cooling fan does not work, this threatens to overheat the engine, leading to the replacement of the piston group. But if the impeller rotates constantly, regardless of temperature, then you must immediately open the relay block. In one of them, which is responsible for the operation of the cooler, the contacts are probably stuck. A decrease in fluid temperature or engine overheating can also be caused by a jammed thermostat, which must only be replaced.

Also, only replacing the stove on Kalina can correct the situation when a leak appears in its radiator. The reason is that the factory parts are made of aluminum and cannot be soldered. It often happens that the heater fan does not withstand harsh operating conditions and fails. Here, too, only replacing the heater motor will help.

The trick is that the first group of faults, after correct diagnosis, can be eliminated quite easily. There is nothing difficult about changing the fan switch sensor or cleaning the relay contacts. Installing a new thermostat will take a little more time, but replacing a stove fan or radiator is quite a task.

You will have to remove the entire instrument panel, which is a lengthy process. That’s why information on how to change Kalina’s stove without dismantling the dashboard is so important.

Removing the old and installing a new radiator

Before replacing a leaking heater radiator, you need to prepare the entire necessary tool, namely:

• hacksaw blade for metal;
• a set of socket and open-end wrenches;
• pliers, screwdriver;
• cut plastic canister or basin for antifreeze.

The first and main question: how to remove the stove on Kalina, so as not to disassemble the entire dashboard? First, you need to empty the cooling system by draining the liquid into a prepared container. Then the air filter is disconnected and removed along with the pipe, and the battery is also removed.

This opens up access to the pipes leading to the interior heater. They must be removed from the stove fittings, draining the remaining antifreeze into a basin.

Next to the fittings you can find a nut that secures the protective plate located inside the passenger compartment. It also needs to be unscrewed so that later the plate moves freely and does not interfere with dismantling the stove. Then you need to move into the interior and dismantle the following parts:

1. Accelerator pedal. It is held on by 3 bolts; first you need to disconnect the cable and bend the plate.
2. Side decorative panel.
3. Plastic side cover of the stove.
4. Brake pedal. There is no need to remove it entirely, just remove the metal rod so that the pedal rises.

Since the heater fittings stick out in the engine compartment, and its frame does not allow the radiator to be pulled out in the desired direction, for freedom of action it is necessary to cut out a piece of plastic from the side.

To do this, use a hacksaw blade to make the cut neat. After which the stove moves slightly back and to the side driver's door, getting out of the nest. The new heater is installed in the same way, and the opening is sealed with plastic that was cut out earlier. The rest of the assembly is done in reverse order.

When the radiator is removed, it is possible to change the heater damper gear motor in case of incorrect operation. The gearbox and damper position sensor are manufactured as one unit, attached with 3 screws. You need to unscrew them, disconnect the gear motor and install a new one. Also, with the radiator removed, the heater tap can be easily replaced if such a need arises.

Removing the blower motor

The stove fan is a fairly reliable unit, but when used in harsh conditions(heat, a lot of dust or high humidity) its electric motor may fail. Repairing a burnt-out motor is more difficult and more expensive than buying a new one, so in such a situation, the Kalina heater fan is replaced.

To carry out the work, you need a standard set of tools, and even “star” socket wrenches. Such grooves have all self-tapping screws that will have to be unscrewed during disassembly. The latter begins with removing the outer plastic grille and removing the cabin filter.

All debris from the seat must be removed so that it does not fall on your head when dismantling the stove fan.

Replacing the heater motor will require you to take an acrobatic pose inside the Kalina's cabin, unless you remove the front passenger seat in advance. Its runners are fastened with 4 nuts, so this operation does not take much time.

Then you need to open the glove compartment, empty it of things and unscrew the 4 screws located on its back wall. Another screw is located outside, under the airflow grille, it also needs to be unscrewed.

Next, the decorative trim is removed from the right front pillar, underneath it you will find 2 screws securing the plastic panel and the blower unit. They are unscrewed, the blower unit is removed and the plastic panel is lifted (held on by Velcro).

There are 2 nuts under it, they should be loosened with a socket wrench. To remove the stove fan, you need to move the dashboard as far as possible and fix it in this position.

The last step is to lie on Kalina’s floor and remove the stove fan by disconnecting the electrical connector. It is necessary to replace its turbine with a new electric motor. Then the unit is installed in place, and then assembly work is carried out. The replacement process is shown in detail in the video.

The powerful stove in Kalina allows you to comfortably endure the harsh Russian winters. Over time, its effectiveness decreases, the smell of antifreeze appears in the cabin, and a greasy film appears on the windows. It’s worse when a puddle of antifreeze is found on the floor and the expansion tank is empty. For Kalina, the entire stove radiator is replaced. The problem is that the design of the heater differs from previous VAZ models and to replace it it is necessary to disassemble the front panel. The service will charge from 6,000 rubles for disassembling and replacing the radiator, so many car owners prefer to change it themselves.

Stove radiator design

A car's heater consists of a housing with dampers and a metal radiator with pipes. Two types are installed: copper and aluminum. Each has its own advantages:

• Copper heaters have lower thermal conductivity, they heat up more slowly and also give off heat. Their reliability and maintainability are higher; the radiator can always be soldered.
• Aluminum is valued for its quick heating and good heat dissipation, low price and light weight. But if there is a leak, it is impossible to repair it.

Freshly unpacked heater radiator for Lada Kalina

Important! IN good radiator stoves are installed with plastic swirlers or turbulators, they increase efficiency by 20-25%.

Frequent unit malfunctions:

• heating deteriorates due to clogged tubes and honeycombs;
• antifreeze leak;
• damp fog in the cabin due to leaky joints;
• cracks in the supply pipes.

These malfunctions are accompanied by a drop in the coolant level in expansion tank vehicle, increased engine temperature. Most often, a leak reveals itself in winter during sudden temperature changes. Ethylene glycol vapors are toxic, so repairs should not be delayed.

Finding the stove on the Kalina is not difficult - it is located immediately behind the center console, slightly below the radio. The radiator size is 24 by 20 cm, thickness 5 cm. Immediately below it is installed the engine ECU, which is often filled with antifreeze in case of a serious leak.

Reasons for radiator failure:

• low quality antifreeze, the formation of scale and solid sediments in it, clogging the stove tubes;
• cheap types of antifreeze are aggressive to aluminum and lead to corrosion and cracks;
• low-quality products or counterfeits of well-known brands;
• water use in winter;
• destruction due to long-term use.

Preparing to replace the heater

• a good set of screwdrivers and wrenches;
• set of heads for 7,8,10,13;
• pliers;
• hacksaw for metal;
• sharp knife;
• Bulgarian;
• reinforced hoses with a diameter of 20 mm;
• container and hose for draining coolant;
• new radiator.

There should be good lighting at the workplace, and during disassembly it will be convenient to put all small parts in separate boxes. After the engine has cooled down a little, begin replacing the heater radiator. This is possible in two ways: by removing the entire panel and by partially disassembling and cutting off the wall of the heater housing.

Attention! You should not pour special sealing compounds into the cooling system. Together with a small leak, they are highly likely to clog the narrow channels of the stove radiator.

Method for removing the dashboard on Kalina

1. We begin dismantling by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery and removing the decorative frill under the hood. Together with him we remove the body air filter and the battery itself, freeing access to the heating radiator pipes.

   

   Removing the frill under the hood of the car

2. Pour the antifreeze into the prepared container. Now you can disconnect the hoses going to the stove and unscrew the bolt securing the heater to the engine shield.

   

   Disconnect the hoses going to the stove

3. We go into the car interior and begin to unscrew the screws on both sides of the front panel.
4. We remove the decorative trim in front of the windshield, air duct deflectors, radio, and climate control knobs.
5. We remove the climate control unit, carefully disconnecting all the wires and rods. There are two screws underneath that need to be removed as they hold the panel in place.
6. We dismantle the decorative casing around the steering column, under it we remove the steering column switches and the ignition switch.
7. To remove the entire panel, unscrew 9 nuts and carefully, without breaking the wires, pull it out of the car.

   

8. A heater block opens before us, which is screwed to the vertical stiffeners. We disconnect all the fasteners and pull out the entire body.
9. We disassemble and replace the faulty part. There should be no gaps between the heater radiator and the housing wall. Assembly is carried out in reverse order.
10. When installing the front panel in place, we connect all the electrical connectors and put the wiring in its place. The dashboard should fit easily and effortlessly to the engine shield, and the mounting holes should match.
11. We collect small decorative elements and connect the hoses under the hood of the car. We fill in antifreeze, start the engine, and check the functionality of the repaired heater.

It is convenient to combine the procedure for replacing the radiator with complete disassembly with soundproofing the car or other similar work when disassembling the interior is necessary.

Method without removing the dashboard

Replacing the heater radiator on a Lada Kalina without removing the panel has become popular due to its speed and the need to dismantle a minimum number of components. The algorithm has some differences from the classic one.

1. We drain the coolant and remove everything unnecessary under the hood, unscrew the clamps that secure the hoses at the inlet and outlet of the stove.
2. In the cabin, we begin to disassemble the steering column - dismantle the protective cover, steering column switches, and all the wiring to them. We free access to the steering column and pedal assembly.
3. The steering column is removed at the location where the electric power steering is mounted. It is held on by 4 bolts and is detached from the cardan.

   

   To disconnect the steering column, you need to unscrew four bolts

4. The gas pedal (3 bolts) is removed from the passenger compartment and the gas cable is disconnected. The brake pedal does not interfere with removing the radiator, but if you remove it, it will be much more convenient to work.
5. The side wall of the heater is now accessible and can be pulled out. To do this, remove the decorative heater cover by unscrewing 3 screws.

   

   The decorative heater cover is held on by three screws

6. It becomes clear that the entire radiator will not fit into the hole. To widen the hole, use a hacksaw, jigsaw, or small grinder to cut through the body. Cut out in one whole piece. After replacing the stove, it will need to be glued in place. The pipes can be cut off - they will no longer be useful.
7. We pull out the stove in the direction of the pedal assembly. There will still be some coolant left in it.

   

8. We try on the new radiator in place. For ease of installation, the pipes are shortened by 1-2 cm. We glue anti-vibration strips and a seal around the perimeter.
9. We pull the hoses onto the fittings, fix them with clamps, firmly fix the stove in the heater body and close the decorative cover. We install a cut piece of plastic onto the sealant or glue.
10. We assemble the remaining components in the reverse order, fill in antifreeze and check the functionality of the entire system.

The advantages of this method are obvious: labor-intensive disassembly and disconnection of numerous connectors is not required. Crickets will not appear in the front panel after assembly, and later disassembling and replacing the heater radiator is much easier. This does not reduce the efficiency of the stove.

Video: Lada Kalina - replacing the heater radiator (without removing the panel)

As operating experience shows, a new radiator lasts for 3-5 years of operation, after which problems inevitably begin. The driver decides how to repair. Having basic car maintenance skills will be enough to self-replacement in the garage. Otherwise, you should contact the service. “Kalina” with air conditioning has a more complex climate control system with two radiators, and replacing the interior heater involves disassembling the entire front panel.

Many owners of a Lada Kalina car are familiar with the situation when antifreeze gets into the cabin through the heater, and it can be very hot, which leads to injury to the driver or passenger of the car. However, usually everything does not manifest itself so tragically - in the form of a puddle of unknown liquid on the central panel or on the floor. The car enthusiast immediately comes up with a decision to replace the faulty heater radiator, but the fun begins when he opens the factory instructions and tries to figure out how to do it.

Where is the heater radiator in the Lada Kalina?

The location of the heater radiator in Kalina is so inconvenient that, according to the instructions, to replace it you need to go through almost half of the car: remove the entire front panel, seats, pedals, not to mention the radiator itself and at least two of its pipes. Over the years, from their own experience, drivers have learned alternative ways change the heater, we'll talk about them a little later.
Where to look for a stove radiator? Almost directly behind the instrument panel, and this is the root of all the inconvenience associated with replacing it.

This is what the heater radiator looks like

Reasons for replacement

1. Coolant leak.
2. The smell of antifreeze appears in the cabin.
3. Instead of warm air, when the heater is turned on, the cold air or antifreeze.
4. Uncomfortable environment inside the car with the onset of the cold season.

How to replace it yourself: options

Replacing the heater radiator on Kalina yourself is possible in three ways:

• traditional, according to which it is necessary to remove the entire instrument panel assembled with the heater;
• combined, which involves dismantling only the dashboard (without the heater);
• folk, excluding the procedure for removing the dashboard.

What is needed to change

To carry out actions to dismantle components and assemblies with your own hands, you will need:

• Phillips screwdriver
• set of wrenches
• coolant container
• fresh antifreeze

How to carry out work according to the manual (classic method)

1. According to the factory instructions, dismantling the heater takes from three to six hours, including the preparatory stage. The main stage of dismantling the heater is briefly discussed below. You need to start by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery.

   It is necessary to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before dismantling the heater

2. Second step: remove the frame trim windshield. Remove the battery and air filter housing along with the air duct.

   According to the instructions, you need to remove the windshield frame trim

3. Remove from engine compartment battery.
4. The next step is to disconnect the heater radiator hoses, which will require draining the coolant and crawling under the car.

   Pre-drain the coolant, disconnect the heater hoses

5. Next, you need to unscrew the bolt securing the heater to the partition of the engine compartment.

   Disconnecting the heater mount

6. The last step: remove the heater radiator cap and the heat exchanger itself. The radiator is under dashboard in a plastic casing, so in this case the console and front seats must be removed from the interior. Also, the main stage of work, in addition to removing the dashboard, is preceded by the dismantling of the steering column, power steering and central tunnel.

Alternative methods for removing the stove

It is quite natural that the procedures described in the manual, which sometimes stretch over an unacceptably long period of time, spurred the imagination of car enthusiasts who invented their own, simpler, but often less accurate methods of dismantling the heater radiator. Through trial and error, a relatively acceptable alternative was found.

Without removing the windshield

In this case, the windshield lining and cabin filter remain in their places. Roughly speaking, less is produced preparatory operations. But the algorithm for the main stage of work is fundamentally different from the traditional one. It looks like this:

1. Disconnect the gas pedal cable.
2. We remove the pedal.
3. We dismantle the sensor for turning on the rear side lights.
4. We disconnect the brake pedal from its drive by disconnecting the locking bracket and the metal pin.
5. Remove the steering column.
6. Remove the trim on the left side of the dashboard.

Without removing the dashboard and panel

Another method is to dismantle the “stove” without removing the dashboard. Sequencing:

1. Coolant drain.
2. Removing the radiator cap and gas pedal. Unscrew three nuts by 10.

   To remove the heater without disassembling the dashboard, you will have to unscrew the cover

3. Removing the locking ring on the rod.

   Remove the brake pedal rod with retaining ring

4. Cutting the panel behind the radiator so that it can be pulled out without removing the dashboard.

   The radiator is removed through the cut casing

5. Removing the radiator while pressing the brake pedal all the way. Before removal, the pipes in the engine compartment are disconnected.

Finally the radiator is out!

The good thing about the method described above is that it results in less labor costs and wasted time, but then you will have to seal the hole that remains in the casing using soundproofing material or vibroplast.

Different ways to replace it with video

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.

The time has come to be initiated into Kalinovoda. As they say, a true Kalinovod should change the stove radiator at least once in his life. So, let's get started with this ritual.

I bought a heater radiator for the Lada Kalina, antifreeze, clamps and hoses, as well as black sealant. Clamps and hoses just in case, so that if something happens you don’t have to run to the store for them.

So, the first thing I think is to remove the battery, it will interfere anyway.

I will also remove the housing with the filter. Well, I removed the battery and the housing with the filter.

Now I will drain the antifreeze using a compressor, in this way I managed to drain about 2 liters of antifreeze, but still I won’t be able to completely drain everything without losing liquid.

Well, guys, the preparatory work is finished. Now I will unscrew the clamps on the pipes and one fastening nut. The long pin will require a lot of effort to unscrew the nut from it; someone will saw off half of it, but I didn’t bother. And yes, they say that the nut can only be unscrewed from the hole, but nothing like that can be crawled up from above. Well, I removed the pipes from the stove in the picture below you can see how the antifreeze flows and also unscrewed the nut.

The next step will be to unscrew electronic pedal Kalina gas, which is held on by four nuts. To do this, you will need a 10mm wrench. After unscrewing it, you need to disconnect the plug and move the pedal to the side.

Now I will unscrew the bottom plastic, it sits on one screw.

I decided to cut out the hatch using a drill in order to pull out the radiator of Kalina's stove. Well, I started cutting and broke two drills, but still made a hatch.

Now I’ll try to pull out the radiator, but it doesn’t really want to come out. I decided, without ceremony, to saw off the pipes of the old heater radiator, otherwise they were long and in the way.

Well, I was finally able to pull everything out and the thought immediately came to mind of how to put a new radiator in because it’s impossible to cut out the pipes. Well, as they say, you have to try.
In the picture below we see an old radiator, which is immediately visible.

The new heater radiator came with foam rubber; some say why glue it on, but I did.

Well, now I’ll try to fit a new heater radiator, in general it doesn’t work, the pipes are in the way.

Well, we finally succeeded in installing the heater radiator in place, now we need to bend the mounting hardware and push the pipes through.

Well, in principle, everything is ready, the only problem that arises is how to assemble it all, because I cut the plastic into small pieces. I decided to glue all these pieces together; with the help of super glue, as you can see in the picture below, it seems to be holding up fine.

But if I had known from the beginning, I would have immediately cut out such a hatch; this raises the question: why it was impossible to immediately make such a technological hatch with two self-tapping screws from the factory is not clear. Next, I assembled everything and coated it with black sealant. It doesn’t look very good, as we can see in the picture, but there’s no need for beauty down there.

Now you need to reassemble everything in the reverse order, secure all the pipes, fasteners, by the way, the clamps and hoses were in order, there was no need to change them. Next you need to put back the air filter housing, also put the battery back in, fill it with liquid and don’t forget to remove the air from the cooling system. Well, that’s all I told everyone about my experience of replacing the heater radiator on a Lada Kalina car for now.

Video on removing and installing the heater radiator on the Lada Kalina

This is what the heater radiator looks like

The radiator is designed to release excess temperature from the Lada Kalina engine. This unit is an element of the car heating system. The radiator of the Kalina stove includes a core, lower and upper tank, and pipes. The core is a tubular-plate structure made of brass.

The oval tubes are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. They are soldered to the cooling fins. The upper container of the stove radiator on Kalina is equipped with a neck with a sealed plug and valves. The lower box has a tap through which the coolant is drained.

Basic methods and reasons for replacing parts

There are several reasons why the heater radiator on a Lada is being replaced. If, with the onset of cold weather, the heating device begins to heat poorly, you will need to install a new one. In some cases, the radiator fan of the Kalina heater is replaced.

There are several ways to replace a radiator. Repair work can be done independently. To remove the AvtoVAZ model stove along with the torpedo, you will need the following materials:

• crosshead screwdriver;
• capacity;
• antifreeze

First, unscrew the 3 screws securing the casing cover. Then remove the seal frame. After dismantling these elements, the heater radiator is replaced. The dismantled parts are installed in the reverse order.

Since the method described above is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, Lada Kalina car owners are trying to remove the radiator without dismantling the dashboard. In this case, you will need to drain the antifreeze into the container. Then remove the gas pedal by unscrewing 3 nuts using a 10mm wrench. Remove the pedal by moving it to the side. Then the EUR is dismantled. The radiator pipes on the Lada Kalina are cut off and the seat is cut. The heater radiator is dismantled from the pedal side.

Heating system fan

Installation of all parts is carried out in the reverse order: the radiator is inserted into the housing, pipes are connected, and the seat is assembled.

The Lada Kalina engine may overheat due to a faulty radiator fan. In the current vehicle devices with an electric motor are used. Due to a malfunction in the fan power supply, the motor may overheat when the vehicle is moving at low speed. As a result of even slight overheating of the engine, vacuum rubber hoses, including sealing gaskets, are softened and destroyed. Of the latter elements, the gaskets of the cylinder head covers and intake manifolds are the most damaged.

As a result of failure of seals and hoses, air leaks occur, leading to depletion fuel mixture. When it burns, overheating occurs in the cylinder and engine. The on-board computer's job is to compensate for minor air leaks. A large leak can lead to disruption of the normal functioning of the Lada Kalina engine, including Idling. In this case on-board computer issues special code diagnostics, which signals a lean mixture. A code may also be displayed indicating that the sensor is in a faulty state or its readings are not within the specified range.