Leaky heater control valve

RocketMonkey101

RocketMonkey101

Daily Driver
So last week I tried using the heater for the first time. It was a little stiff but the lever moved and I learned that the heater control valve is leaking. Not sure if I disturbed the dirt that was holding it together or what. Anyway after looking online I'm seeing that these things are hard to find. Is there a way to repair them or should I just post on the FS&W forum? I also came across a thread where someone had put together a guide on swapping out to a 124 heater core; is that something I should instead? Any ideas? thanks!
 
They are certainly available but not cheap. I got one from Obert last time. He also advised me to manipulate the valve every time I use the car. That was good advice, it's lasted a long time.

If I didn't want to spend the money to get the correct one I'd make an adapter to just use a generic valve.
 
They are still available from overseas. They are expensive due to the fact they are also used on some Ferraris and Maseratis.
 
I saw that if I googled it I get a hit for Midwest Bayless but it shows out of stock. Maybe I'll send them an email and see what the word is. Thanks guys.
 
Do you feel like experimenting? Vick's has a valve for the Strada that looks "similar". It has one pipe flange and one tube in kinda the same orientation. The operating lever does not seem to be oriented the same though. The Vick's listing refers you to a gasket that lists both the Strada and 850, so that's a good thing.
 
Well, even if you can't re-engineer the pull, it probably wouldn't leak. One problem solved??
 
Very true. I hadn't thought of that. It's not winter right now anyway so I have some time to figure out a solution. I'll go ahead and pick it up and see how it goes.
 
Wait you said it's not winter yet but you live in LA, it's never winter there. Just kidding but let us know how the Strada valve works. Of course the other option is just to bypass the heater core.
Run a loop for the hoses and you can drive until the valve issue is solved.
 
Thought I'd give a quick update on this for those that were curious. Turns out the strada valve is too big. The diameter of the valve mechanism bumps up against the sheet metal and won't fit. It was worth a try. It may work for other models; I'm not sure but it for sure won't work on the spider.
 
RocketMonkey101 said:
Thought I'd give a quick update on this for those that were curious. Turns out the strada valve is too big. The diameter of the valve mechanism bumps up against the sheet metal and won't fit. It was worth a try. It may work for other models; I'm not sure but it for sure won't work on the spider.
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Darn, i need one for my coupe.

Funny how it is the little things that become no longer available and make it difficult to enjoy our cars. I think all four of my Fiats have this issue. Our Miatas valve doesn't work right either.
 
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RocketMonkey101 said:
Thought I'd give a quick update on this for those that were curious. Turns out the strada valve is too big. The diameter of the valve mechanism bumps up against the sheet metal and won't fit. It was worth a try. It may work for other models; I'm not sure but it for sure won't work on the spider.
Click to expand...

That is a bummer rocketmonkey101. Sorry it didn't work out. :(
 
The good news is I think I may have found a place that has them at a decent price in Germany. I've contacted them to see what the cost is with shipping. etc. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
 
Alrighty campers, it's been a little while but I finally have some news to report. I got my heater valve from Lingotto Parts in Germany. Here's a link the the product page: http://www.lingotto-parts.com/details/heater_valve_Fiat_850___Fiat_1100_R__572.html the price was the cheapest I could find after scouring the net. As you can see in the link it's not the original metal style but I think this will work fine. The part came in about 2 weeks after I ordered it and they were kind enough to throw in a free gasket in the box. The valve is made by Behr-Thomson Italia. I'm not familiar with them but some of you might be and may have some opinion about their parts so I thought I'd include that info as well. The part seems sturdy and looks like it'll do the job. Assuming it all goes well this will be my last post about it. If I have issues I'll let you know about it. Oh, also, shipping was 7.50 euro from Germany to Los Angeles.
 
Thanks for doing the work of chasing one down. It is on my list of parts to get ahold of for my Coupe.

Greatly appreciated.
 
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