unbelievable amount of heat

[Elcaminobill]

My wife has been telling me how hot her feet were getting on the passenger side of my C3. Of course I just rolled my eyes.
Well, tonight we went out and I had a few margaritas and she wanted to drive home. NO problem, right? Wrong! My feet were on fire on the passenger side. I am waiting on some parts to repair the factory air and was wondering if there was some way to block off the heat until the parts are in? Otherwise, she is a solo ride!

 

[Mac]

Some guys put a valve to prevent hot water from circulating through the heater core during the summer and say that helps. If the heat is from aftermarket exhaust, you can wrap them or get them coated to help reduce the radiated heat. Then there are products like Dynamat that apply to the floor and/or firewall to cut back on the heat....

-Mac

 

[bill81vette]

there is a valve that is located on the passenger side near the wheel well,that is supposed to stop that.
it should be in the middle of one of the 2 hoses,you can check by feeling with the back of your hand or finger.
you can put a pair of needle nose vise grips on on of the hoses to help stop the heat as well.
like Mac there are products to help alleviate the heat in the cabin.
Good Luck.

 

[Peer81]

I had exactly the same problem! I couldn't way to start driving in hot weather as at the stoplight me feet were melting!

Two things I found.
First like states above the cut off valve at the inlet hose is vacuum controlled. You can check if the valve is still working with a vacuum pump or replace it.
Second. There has to be vacuum at the valve to make it work that was my problem.
Under the dash is a metal piece on top of the vent box. When you put the temp slide into full cold a metal arm will move on top of the ventilation box and will contact a vacuum trigger. This trigger sends vacuum to the cut off valve. On mine the metal arm didn't reach the trigger so in full cold the cut off valve still didn't get a vacuum signal. I think I redrilled something or bend the arm a little I don't remember.

Now w/o the AC when the temp slide is in almost full cold (not toughing the trigger) I have mild warm air but at full cold it's outside temp flowing out of the vent openings.
Good luck!

Btw. I also put some 1/2" isolation under the carpet and some dynamat around the center console that also did help.

Greetings Peter

 

[MIKE80]

My vacuum is not the greatest with the cam I have. I was having the same problem with the excessive heat, so I added brass shut off valves to the heater hoses as others have suggested. No more heat issues.

 

[JohnZ]

My wife has been telling me how hot her feet were getting on the passenger side of my C3. Of course I just rolled my eyes.
Well, tonight we went out and I had a few margaritas and she wanted to drive home. NO problem, right? Wrong! My feet were on fire on the passenger side. I am waiting on some parts to repair the factory air and was wondering if there was some way to block off the heat until the parts are in? Otherwise, she is a solo ride!

Is the original factory catalytic converter still installed? If so, it may be partially blocked and/or disintegrating right below your feet.

 

[Nut]

Is the original factory catalytic converter still installed? If so, it may be partially blocked and/or disintegrating right below your feet.

When I cut the CAT off mine it also made a huge difference