Another long weekend in the Shuswap... some observations...

[impalator]

Well, we just made it back from the Shuswap last night... and I have a few observations:

1.) Met JMac4u in the Shuswap - he is the satellite-dish and cable guy in the North Shuswap... - seen him and his van cruise around a few times already in the past... but finally got to meet him.... nice to know that there is a resident Deli-Owner in the North Shuswap....
2.) On the Coquihala the Delica clearly is the slowest vehicle on the road (and those slower are so because they don't want to drive faster... ... Greyhound Bus, Semi-Trailer-Trucks, even the oldest beater... everybody is passing... the only vehicle I actually passed was an old school bus that was converted into a camper-vehicle...
3.) Driving barefoot rather than with shoes is not only more comfortable but it allows for much more sensitive "gas pedal pressure"... i.e. just the needed amount to keep speed up / turbo boost lower / Exhaust-temp lower... I guess it has to do with the fact that it's not just the foot pressing down but the toes can "apply" little nuances in pressure....
4.) In the approach to Vancouver, I ran the AC for a bit... the front fan-vents were blowing pretty cold air (like they should) - but the rear vents only blew medium-warm/cold air... despite the rear fan being set also on cold and blowing at full throttle.... it used to blow cold too in the back - but it appears not anymore... are there two AC's or radiators? or is the rear cold air just being fed from the same ac-radiator as the front? How could that then make such a difference?

Anyway... hope everybody had a great long weekend.... already looking forward to the next one....
Cheers,
Chris

[mararmeisto]

With your rear AC blowing warmer than the front, there's only one thing I can think of that would affect it's output: the input. Was the vent down by the floor covered up? My kids complained of the AC in the back a couple of summers ago, and I discovered it worked a whole lot better when their coats and jackets weren't piled on the floor in front of that louvre.

There is a separate condensor for the rear AC, so it might be a problem too, but the coolant is the same for the whole system.

Do you have a Crystal Light? If so, you might be combatting the 'greenhouse effect' as well. All that extra glass makes it pretty gorram difficult to cool off, even with the shades closed.

As for getting passed while going uphill: ya, know about that one. But there was this one time, climbing the Crowsnest, we passed a loaded water truck. It was actually going slower than we were! We cheered, we laughed, we pointed at and made faces at the driver, it was good-fun-happy-times all around. Cherish those moments, for they will be few - I hope you find a water truck of your own someday.

[Adrock]

I remember that heat in the rear only comes through the lower vents, can't remember the story on AC though. Are you checking through high and low vents?

If you already figured all that out and there is warm air moving past your hand from all vents in the rear then it looks like you'er on the right track with any components that operate the rear only.

[deLOOKA]

Well I drove the Coq. this past weekend as well. For the first time as a matter of fact.
Fri nite made our way to Duffy Lake, Kamloops. Braaaap! braaaap!
But I knew going into this road trip that the truckers' lane will be my friend.

The one thing I did learn was how to "control" my speed on the hills.
Surprised how much smoother my shifting was when I let the "auto" do it's thing.

First hill heading up I did the "OD off" thing. Took a while for the 'speed' to find it's place. But it did.

Second hill (before the tunnel) I decided to let the Auto do it's thing.
When the RPM dropped below 2K the auto dropped a gear. Smoother then myself turning off the OD. If that makes sense.
From there on it was AUTO all the way. Never touched the OD unless I was descending.

On the really slow climbs, 60km/hr~2500rpm and the better climbs 80km/hr~3000rpm.
Consistent, without any "jerking".

I passed a total of 3 rigs. Although it took me what felt like 3 mins to pass.
Really, he was going slower than I.

Can't say much about the A/C since my compressor is useless.
But I do recall the hot air comes from the bottom vents and the cool from the ceiling vents.

-Delooka

[Erebus]

For the rear HVAC system:

Heat only comes out of lower vents, A/C only comes out of upper vents. The temp slider and the where-air-comes-from slider really should be moved together, both to one side for AC, both to the other side for heat. Keep in mind, as mararmeisto pointed out, the big grill by the floor is the air intake for the recirculate-only back system, don't block it. Also the other slider that says something about cool needs to be a the max setting to get the most A/C.

There are 2 "radiators" for the AC, a big one just in front of the engine radiator for the front A/C, and the rear system uses a small "rad" under the front passenger's feet. But it is all one "system" from the freon point of view.

Gotta love the Coquihalla, slow and steady eventually gets you there, 4-way flashers are your friend!