Heater, hot hot hot!

[Diane]

My 1997 Wrangler has a vent by the gas pedal and pours out hot hot air 24/7. Can I cap this off? Or, detour it with a hose to the back seat area? I have no a/c and on a hot day, my foot burns & my ankle literally swells on a long drive. Also, I was thinking of installing an a/c, but I only have a 4 cyl and am afraid all the power will be lost (what little I already have).
Anyone have any input??

 

[Wrangl3r93]

To solve the hot air leaking problem I put valves on both lines to the heater core. When it's hot outside I can just turn them to the off position and voila! no more hot air in the cab. I haven't noticed any bad side affects on the running temperature of the engine and I've tested it in stop and go traffic and on the interstate. When I wheel I open them back up just to give the cooling system just that extra little bit to be on the safe side. Here's two pictures of how I did it.

 

[Diane]

You R-O-C-K!
I will talk to my husband as I couldn't pull this off myself.. But hey, do you think there is any harm is simply capping off the floor heat vent (on hot days as you did with the valves)? I can handle the leaky heat in the dash/vents, etc. it's the foot fire I can't stand! Also, what do you htink of putting an a/c in a 4 cyl?

Thanks for the reply, SUPER helpful!