ALFAGTV6.COM

[grega]

Hey guys.

I'm having problems with my heater valve it stays open, and there's always heat coming out of the vents.

I think the problem is related to the metal bracket that activates the plunger in the heater valve. I think mine is not installed in the right hole or is orientated incorrectly. Can someone take a pic or two of the heater valve area. showing the metal bracket that is connected to the cable.

thanks

Greg A
83 gtv 6

[grega]

hello lads,

It's getting very hot here in toronto, still no luck with the alfa. it's too hot inside now to drive. I've got to figure out why my heater valve isn't closing.

So i'm asking again hoping someone can take 10mins out of there day to help
me out.
can someone please take a picture of the heater valve area showing the cable going to the arm that opens and closes the vave. I need to see if my arm is orientated properly.

Thanks

Greg A

[MD]

Greg,

Do yourself a favour and buy and install two inline stainless steel stop valves to the supply and return heater hoses to fully shut off the hot water.
Even when brand new, these types of heater control valves NEVER fully shut the water off anyway producing cabin heat whether needed or not and adding heat load to the air conditioner.

[grega]

thanks for the tip.
Would you install these in the engine bay?
Where does one buy such ss valves? They have to be a certain size
to fit the standard hose.

I'd still Would like a picture of the area where the stock valve lies, to determine weather not the metal leaver is orientated properly. This way i know it's opening toit's fullest for the cold weather. If i install the two valves, the stock valves ability to close isn't the issue, but opening is still important.

out of curiosity. Why two valves and not just one. Does the coolant not flow in one dirrection?

greg

[MD]

Greg,
The ball valves require screw in connectors to match the bore size of the tubing they fit into. That way you can buy the appropriate size connector for the existing heater hoses.

Two valves are required to prevent not only flow from the supply side but heat migration along the return line from the engine that will warm the heater element and generate low levels of heat whether you need it or not. This is not desirable if you want maximum performance from the airconditioner as it is just more heat load.

You will still need a cable control valve AS WELL so you can operate the heater during the cold season. It can be located in the engine bay by extending the existing heater tubes from the heater box into the engine bay and then install a universal heater control valve at the new location for ease of future maintnance. The old valve will then be redundant.

In the summer months you would manually shut off both ball valves to stop water circulation and vice versa.

Make no mistake this is a bit of a job, especially fitting a longer control cable to reach into the engine bay. The simplest solution is to fit an original heater vavle (if you can get one). Up to you.

[grega]

Yes this does sound very complicated. I would like to see some pictures of the whole setup.

Anyone know a source for a new heatervalve?

can someone PLEASE take a picture of the heater valve area. I need to see if the metal arm that activates the plunger in the valve is set up properly.

Untill this is sorted out my car is sitting in the garage wating for a colder day. even with the a/c cranked it's still very hot.

Greg

[MR2 Zig]

If you put the cable/ wire into the hole closest to the pivot point you will get the most "action" out of the valve....it will also be the stiffest / hardest to move.

hth,

[GregoryV]

Here's a picture with the vlave in the OFF position. As alreasy mentioned make sure to adjust so valve is all the way OFF, don't worry about getting Full On, these heaters put out some serious heat at just 3/4 open. GV

[grega]

AWESOME!

i'm going to check this out sunday night or on monday.

Thanks guys. i'll keep you posted on what i find

Greg A

[grega]

well,
i've compared my setup to the picture and it looks like mine is in the same holes as in the picture. so bad news i guess. Anyone have a source for a new heatervalve?


Greg

[Al_Cam]

Greg,

Try this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=462&view=unread#unread

I find the idea of two taps located in the engine bay attractive , but then you'd have to take care of freezing the heater core if you have working air conditioning.

AL.

[grega]

thanks for the link,
i just sent them an email to see if they still sell this bracket that allows you to use a different alfa valve on our cars.

Greg A

[MD]

but then you'd have to take care of freezing the heater core if you have working air conditioning.

This would be unlikely as the evaporator coil would not reach that temp to start with and furthermore, the coolant running through the heater would contain antifreeze/antiboil additives that would more than compensate for it.

Use the taps with confidence.

[grega]

so IAP sells this part for 200 bucks.

with this setup what happens to the thermo coupler or whatever its called that sits inside the exisiting valve?

Greg A

[Membse]

The heater control valve in a Saab C900 regulates the flow of hot coolant mixture directly from the engine compartment through the heater core that's located in the bottom section of the middle part of the dash. These valves are incredibly annoying to replace due to the lack of direct access to the bolts holding the heater control valve in place on the heater core.

However, if you take it carefully and don't let your frustrations get to you as you pull your hair out trying to work out how to get better access to the heater control valve securing bolts, you will get there in the end!Furnace Replacement

If you plan on changing the heater control valve, also consider taking the opportunity to flush out and clean the entire coolant clean at the same time. That way you can flush/drain the coolant system (as well as running a radiator flush/clean product through the system first), then replace the heater control valve, then re-fill the coolant system.