officially on suicide watch!!!

[RoccoGilroy]

So I finally got around to tackling my heater box rebuild and dash replacement... I rebuilt a spare heater box top to bottom and was very excited because the heater halve seemed to work great!!! I took it off and polished it up before reinstalling it. I tore the old dash out like a cave man and painstakingly installed the new dash (not new but one with a dash cap.) took forever!!! Took out the old heater, cleaned up the crud around the seal and popped the new one in. Took forever to get the cables all perfect so everything opened and closed all the way!!! This hole process took the better part of three days. Finally got everything put back together and fired it up for a test drive. Got it hot and turned on the heater. Worked great! Got hot and all the cables worked perfect! Got back and popped the hood to make sure there were no leaks. Peaked at the heater valve and guess what??? The mother fucker is dripping coolant!!!! My heart sank and i started thinking about which establishment would let me buy a bullet and rent a gun... FUCK ME RIGHT!!!!!!!!

[KFunk]

so it's just the heater valve leaking? Just tighten the hose clamps on it, the screws on it, or pull it out and take it apart and seal it up better and put it back in there... shouldn't take more than a couple hours if you take your time...

[RoccoGilroy]

The clamps are tight. It's defiantly the valve. Just frustrating!!! Don't want to take it out again... I'm just being a cry baby.

[jerry]

did you actually open up the valve and replace the o-rings???

that is a 'must-do' part of the process.

btw, i've given up on trying to unscrew those two slotted machine screws holding the cover on. i now drill them out, retap and replace with small bolt and nut.

o-rings can be found in the plumbing section of a well-stock hardware store. if you can't find one thick enough for the small diameter piece, use two on top of each other. no leaks yet...

[RoccoGilroy]

I drilled rhem out and used rivets to put it back together. Didn't replace the o ring and I'm sure that's what's fucking me... Gonna take it out now and do it:( just sucks u no!?

[Mike Self]

it could have been

1) a leaking heater core

2) incorrectly installed control cables that wouldn't move

3) the resistor block was bad so you didn't have intermediate speeds on the fan

4) the fan was hitting the cold air mixer door and making a dinging sound

5) the fan was connected in reverse so it sucked air vs blowing it

6) the fan motor decided not to work at all

See, it coulda been a lot worse! BTW, don't put the valve back together with pop rivets; it'll distort the cover. Either retap the holes or use small machine screws and nuts.

cheers,

mike

[ClayW]

I feel your pain. Keep the faith.

After driving home from college in sub-zero temperatures, I rebuilt my first heater box in 2005. After six hours of frustrating work and cut-up hands, I finally had a dry, warm interior. Soon after I caught myself looking upon people in their new cars with disdain because they hadn't "earned" their heat. Ha!

[4x2]

The clamps are tight. It's defiantly the valve. Just frustrating!!! Don't want to take it out again... I'm just being a cry baby.

Removing the heater valve is a 10 minute job so it could be a lot worse.

[RoccoGilroy]

Ok update. When dry testing the valve a few days ago it felt perfect! Not too stiff not to tight. As soon as the valve got coolant in it and loosened up it started to leak. I took the box out and the valve off. Valve was super loose! (not frozen solid like many others iv seen in the past. Pulled it apart and it looks like the o ring is not providing any resistance. It's hard and not at all rubbery any more. Not cracked though... I'm heading over to orchard supply now to find a replacement o ring. How tight should the valve be?

[cmmatt123]

I would use something else than rivets too. screws or bolts can be cinched up if needed. Check Harbor Freight for the O-rings. they have a nice box of many sizes for cheap. I have been thankful to have it around many times.

[jerry]

I'm heading over to orchard supply now to find a replacement o ring. How tight should the valve be?

be sure to replace BOTH o-rings, not just the one on the arbor (or whatever it's called). the brass cover has a larger thinner one that should be replaced, too. if you have some silicone grease that's helpful to smooth things out as well. don't use regular grease on rubber.

[RoccoGilroy]

I misread earlier. Not using robots to hold the valve on. Used robots to put the box itself back together. I'll try to use the original screws to hold the valve in place. Found a good o ring size I'll post later if it works lol.

[RoccoGilroy]

Rivets not robots sorry. Auto spell check on I phone.

[SteveJ]

Used robots to put the box itself back together.

Damn robots.

Never could remember the first the first directive.

Seriously, (sort of) look how proficient you'll be at heater box removals.

I can feel your pain. My pain has slowly healed from my heater box refurb this past summer. If I only had a robot to do all the work.

[RoccoGilroy]

I must have done something wrong to someone cuz this operation has been fucked since jump street!!!!!!!!! Rebuilt valve put box back in go to test the cables and the valve cable snapped right at the valve connection!!! I can't believe my fucking luck today!!!!!! I'm ready to kill myself now... No sence in putting it off anymore... Any suggestions? Don't think the cable will be long enough to reatach and allow the valve to fully operate. This sucks!!!