240D Heater Control Disassembly ?'s
 

The 240D is dripping coolant from the driver's side (foot) arm on the manual heater control. As a result of searching, I found I have two options: 1) New Unit or 2) Replacing the O-rings in the one I have. Has anyone ever taken one of these apart? Any tips on removing the cables and/or hints regarding disassembly would be appreciated.

Alright, I guess I'm going to be the guinea...

bjcsc,

I am not sure exactly what the problem may be. I am a little confused about where the leakage is coming from. The control knobs on the 240D operate a valve on the bulkhead in the engine compartment, on the passenger side. These can leak and are easy to replace, but I am not sure they would leak into the car, necessarily. If the leak is inside the dash it is probably the heater core. I do not think these are fun to replace. Good luck, Jim

Jim:
It's not leaking into the car. It drips from the arm on the heater control in the engine compartment,
the one that the foot control opens and closes, which is the driver's side of the control unit.
I have removed it and disassembled it. The little O-ring on the right in the picture is the one that was leaking.
I didn't use a flash for the photos, so they are mediocre. So far no luck in finding a replacement O-ring.
Any ideas where I might find one? Went to all three auto stores today - BoatUS tomorrow I guess...
Or do you think I am wasting my time and should just get a new unit?







http://prod.bsis.bellsouth.net/coDat...veExpanded.JPG


http://prod.bsis.bellsouth.net/coDat...ingcloseup.JPG

bjcsc,

That is the heater control valve and it is about $45 or so from Fastlane for your car. I have had to replace that once for a similar problem. Finding the parts will be a chore and I would replace the unit just to be sure it was not going to leak again.

That valve should be manipulated by the heater dials not the air flow direction sliders. There is one for each side of the car (one knob and a corresponding valve for each heater control knob/dial - rotary action device with a red arrow icon) Good luck, Jim

Hey Jim:
I apologize for confusing you. By "foot side" I meant the right side of the control panel in the car (my understanding is that the passenger side slide diverts between windshield and floor while the driver's side slide diverts between windshield and dash vents). I know the rotary knobs open and close the valves on the control unit, but the passenger side rotary actually controls the driver's side on the valve control unit in the engine bay. That's where my leak was. Believe it or not, I actually found the O-rings today. They are readily available at Lowe's of all places, in the plumbing section. It's a #78 O-ring, Lowe's part #96715. Total $.36 for two. I sealed the end caps back on with PVC cement and will reinstall in a couple of hours to see if I am successful. If not, I'll be calling Phil tomorrow. Thanks for the responses.

It's fixed!! Reinstalled the unit, warmed the car up to operating temperature, full heat and no leaks. About the only thing that was tricky was removing the cables from the arms on the control. They are wrapped around the arm. If you grab them with pliers and rotate against the direction they are wrapped, they open up like a spring and slide right off. Other than that, this job was a piece of cake once I found the O-rings.

bjcsc,

Wow, sometimes the tenacity of you guys amazes me. Congratulations on that fix. To think I spent the money to buy a new one when, for less than a dollar I could have fixed it. Well, I still have the old one (never throw away something that looks like it comes apart without taking it apart) so I may be buying a few seal rings from Loews. Congratulations again and thanks for sharing what you did. Jim