Replaced the heater valve in my 86 today

JimD

JimD

Waiting for Godot...
Moderator
Wow... that was fun. 5 hours start to finish. Spent about an hour draining as much anti-freeze as possible, then lining the foot well with plastic, etc. I did not remove the seat, but I did push it back as far as possible. I found that dropping the fuse panel off its rear hooks and onto the floor helps a lot. (I did cover the fuse panel in plastic too.) Also, pulling the rubber hoses off the metal tubes gives a little more clearance to reach that lower nut on the valve.

Took my time and tried to keep my temper under control with a few breaks in the action. It is a bit frustrating. :mad4: This project is tedious and is really just a matter of trying every f'ing 10mm socket and extension you own until you find a combination that works. :hammer:

Anywho... I hope it doesn't leak!! I won't know till I get some other projects finished and fill'er back up.
 
Yup, been there too...

And I can tell ya first hand that you can NEVER drain enough out of that thing.
When I did mine, I ran fresh water through the system first, that way it would be
mostly water and not anti-freeze that spilled out.
Good as I drained it, still there was quite a bit that leaked out of the heater assy.
Like you, plastic and lots of rags.

Congrats on completing one of the few truly PITA jobs on the X.
Jim, you're becoming more of an X1/9 mechanic than you might think. Pretty soon,
you'll be making more archives of your own than you'd be searching for.
 
JJ, Tom and Bob

Thanks for your support!! HA! 👍

No beers were involved in the process. It was a PITA, but having all day ( and a beautiful day it was) made it easy to take my time and not get to PO'd at the task. I took it out on the driveway to dump the AF and then had my son and wife help me push it back in the garage. I have a pretty steep driveway, so this is always an adventure.


IM002110.JPG

Now tomorrow... I hate to even think about it. I really need to replace the cam box gasket, but I looked it over today and it pretty much took the wind out of my sails. Looks pretty intensive, but at least I get to stand up!
 
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I did that job too, last year. But not because I wanted to. The valve was completely corroded and when I was driving down the road and tried too hard to move the heater lever, the valve came apart and sprayed hot antifreeze all over the passenger side floorboard. :mad4: Until I could get a new valve I made a U coupling with 1/2 inch copper pipe to join the two hoses together. Putting in the new valve wasn't half as bad as replacing the whole heater core. Now THAT was a bugger!
 
Good goin' Jiminy...

For some damn reason... I replaced mine with very litle trouble.

I guess I just grabbed the right combo of tools the first time... I did pull the seat though... was kinda upside down on my back if I remember correctly...

Anyway... you'll find the cam box to be a PLEASURE!
 
I imagine...

...that job on a LHD would be a walk in the park compared to the RHD scenario.

We have to perform the same task with a bunch of pedals in the way!

Regards,

Brian
 
Tony, Brian and Jeff

Brian, Ian weighed in on another thread telling me how lucky I was to have an LHD X. Wheee!!

Jeff, Agreed. I was staring at that heater box all day and did not like the way it was looking back at me. That box is trouble. ;)

Tony... I think you forgot a winkie ;) on your statement about the cam box. It doesn't look like any fun to me at all, but it needs to be done. :(
 
Yup

The old one was a nasty, filthy, corroded mess from having sat for so many years in that moisture prone spot under the windshield. I was very happy to have it gone and replaced it with a very serviceable one from Matt.
 
Hey, Brian................!!

bmck said:
...We have to perform the same task with a bunch of pedals in the way!
Click to expand...

..........are you still having a weekly visit to your back specialist after replacing YOUR heater valve??
MY back guy invested in a block of apartments with all the $$$ I fed into him!! :shock2:

(BTW, my g/friend and I are having a week in Noosa in June - hope the sun is still shining then!!)
 
No "winkies" from me...

I think I'd rather stand and play with a cambox any day over the heater valve or core!

HA!

:drink:
 
Great...

Mine looks like it need replacement pretty soon as well. Where's a good source for new A/C heater valves?

'course I don't have A/C, I should just convert it to a normal car..
 
Try this old thread Mike

Rooster said:
Mine looks like it need replacement pretty soon as well. Where's a good source for new A/C heater valves?

'course I don't have A/C, I should just convert it to a normal car..
Click to expand...

http://www.network54.com/Forum/12159/message/1166834787/hey+Gregg-+heater+valve+substitute

Hopefully it is still available somewhere. :)

Update: I couldn't resist the temptation to look: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/MUR0/74627.oap?keyword=74627

Not sure if the link will work, O'Rielly has the part listed.
 
Lawso,

Noosa on June will be great! Too cold to swim, though.

If I had a running engine in the X, we could do another airport meet-up. I doubt this will be the case.

Regards,

Brian

PS Pity about the two Test matches. I have never seen wind blow a roller about like it did in Wellington!
 
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