Leak at heater control valve

[Devilish_02]

Leak is where the arrow is pointing in the photo, thanks BMW! Not on side that would be easier to replace the hose. 
 

Read up on removing the entire heating unit but checking here if anyone has advice on how to replace or seal the hose on the side coming from the heater to valve? 
 

If it takes pulling the entire heating valve out any tips will be appreciated. 

[Mikesmalaga72]

Perhaps do a coolant pressure test to determine if the valve or hose is leaking. If you are not up to pulling the box you could mark the temp cable position remove the valve retainer bolts service/replace the valve with a seal kit if valve leaks,  Destroy the old hose clamp get a new hose use a Norma or BMW hose clamp set retest coolant line pressure. Use care on the heater valve ears they are fragile!

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by Mikesmalaga72
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[Son of Marty]

You'll need small hands to change that in place, I guess the question you need to ask your self is does the heater box need a overhaul? if so pull it now and get it done all at once, if not you can try it in place.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Son of Marty

[Devilish_02]

8 minutes ago, Mikesmalaga72 said:

you could mark the temp cable position remove the valve retainer bolts service/replace the valve with a seal kit if valve leaks

How do I access the backside where the cables a attached to valve without removing it from the inside? 

[Mikesmalaga72]

5 minutes ago, Devilish_02 said:

How do I access the backside where the cables a attached to valve without removing it from the inside? 

You can remove the center bolt holding the lever. 

Edited February 25, 2023 by Mikesmalaga72

[Devilish_02]

Could I bandaid it for the short term by bypassing the heater box entirely? 

[Son of Marty]

1 minute ago, Devilish_02 said:

Could I bandaid it for the short term by bypassing the heater box entirely? 

Yes.

[Mikesmalaga72]

3 minutes ago, Devilish_02 said:

Could I bandaid it for the short term by bypassing the heater box entirely? 

Yes

 

[larry_in_socal]

Devilish 02,

 

When I was replacing all the coolant rubber on my car (75 ' 02) I came to this junction, realized that the small inch or so hose from the valve to the core would/could eventually leak I bit the bullet and replaced it. In the process the plastic holder broke, I was able to JB Weld it like most of us end up doing. Even so, the valve is held pretty tight without having to actually mount it to the plastic holder. There are many articles showing a fix for this, but that would require taking the heater box out of the car, which is a whole other can of worms in itself.

 

The cable is attached to a piece of metal that screws into the valve, and that piece of metal has a square hole that keys into the valve. I gently removed it from the valve, without disturbing the cable part, this way I would know where to key the valve back, making reference to where the lever is (inside of the car).

 

I also replaced the o-rings inside of the valve, and had to JB weld the small "nipple" that the plastic water diverter (inside of the valve) that keys itself in the the valve body. There are valve repair kits, however since I'm here in California, I would be leaving the valve closed most of the time, so right now my valve can be used just fine the way it is.

 

One word of advise, for that valve, I would replace the flat screwdriver screws with Allen or Torx headed screws, especially the one that  connects on the back side, so that if you ever need to repair / maintain the valve, you can use a small Allen type wrench to easily work on the valve.  When I'm working on the car and I see where changing to an Allen would serve me better down the road I'll make the change.

 

 

[BarneyT]

6 hours ago, Devilish_02 said:

Leak is where the arrow is pointing in the photo, thanks BMW! Not on side that would be easier to replace the hose. 
 

Read up on removing the entire heating unit but checking here if anyone has advice on how to replace or seal the hose on the side coming from the heater to valve? 
 

If it takes pulling the entire heating valve out any tips will be appreciated. 

Jake I do not think it can be fixed without removing the heater box, you can cap off the hoses and roll without a heater until you are ready… not sure how many book hours the job is but it takes a full day to r&r…

Edited February 26, 2023 by BarneyT

[jgerock]

Take the entire assembly out and service it. It’s not that bad, especially if you DON’T have A/C.

[jimk]

If all you have is a leak, remove the hose and valve and replace the hose and recondition the valve.  I've done it. 

 

Why expand the work to the nth degree if it is not necessary.

[Mike Self]

You can replace the little short hose between the heater core and valve without removing the heater, and it's not that difficult if you do it in the proper order.

 

21 hours ago, larry_in_socal said:

The cable is attached to a piece of metal that screws into the valve, and that piece of metal has a square hole that keys into the valve. I gently removed it from the valve, without disturbing the cable part, this way I would know where to key the valve back, making reference to where the lever is (inside of the car).

 

Larry is absolutely correct with this--remove the lever from the valve and reassembly will be much easier.  You will have to remove the valve, but if you're careful, you won't break the little plastic ear/bracket that supports the valve.  Even if you do, the hoses are stiff enough to support the valve without its mounting ear--or there's someone on the FAQ that sells a replacement ear made out of metal that's screwed to the heater box.  Mine been broken for 20+ years and hasn't caused a problem with valve operation.

 

The hose on my '73 was 26 years old and hard as a rock, so I simply sawed through it after removing the clamps, and carefully pried off the remains.  Then with the valve removed, inserting a new hose is easy--goo it up with a little dish soap or some silicone grease, so it'll be easier to remove the next time.  

 

Folks have already given advice on going through the valve itself--now's a good time to do it with it out of the car.  

 

Final thought--take a picture of the valve's bell crank position with the heater control lever (on the dash) either set to full hot or full cold; it's really easy to reinstall the bell crank backwards so a cold setting on the dash has the valve completely open, and vice versa...

 

If you like, PM me for a column I did on doing this replacement...

 

mike

['76mintgrün'02]

Mine leaked at the valve and I got lucky, because tightening the hose clamp(s) fixed it.  There was more to the problem though, because the coolant that leaked had found its way into the passenger footwell and caused the floor to rust under the foam/rubber insulation pad.  I'm glad I pulled the carpet last summer and dealt with the rust before it got worse.  Hopefully you don't have the same problem.

[Devilish_02]

Thanks everyone. I bypassed the heater box for now. It is already spring in Austin so want to be able to drive it without taking on a bigger project. Summer can be here in two weeks lol.

 

I’ll follow up when I fix it.

 

Thanks!