Issue: Heat coming out of side vents. Permanent trouble codes on my CCU indicate a short circuit on the duovalve (51 and 52)

So far: I have taken the coil towers off the base plate but have not removed the valves or the the coils from the towers; nor have I pulled the valve body (?).

Questions:
Can I service my duovalve like this guy did on his W210?
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?p=105123
What can I and can't I do to my slightly different duovalve?
Besides cleaning and clearing passageways, what else should I do?
The person who did this write up mentioned the capacitors but did not say if he replaced them. Should I while I am in there (so far, I have just pulled the towers off)? Are they replaceable? Soldering?
If I decided to kiss the heat goodbye (I live in SoCal), what is the best way to bypass this device and continue a good engine flow?

Buying a new duovalve is not out of the question, but since I am already about $800 in on my climate issues, I thought I would give a fix a try.

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Story: My HVAC woes continue. Previous owner had blocked off heater hose from head (back of motor) to plastic flow through piece in firewall. I figured it might be impeding flow from the head so I decided to replace the broken plastic firewall hose bypass (?) and both heater hoses. So, I did that yesterday. Plus, the wife likes heat in the Winter. Also, I was having some slightly higher water temps than I should. I thought the stock routing was best.

Thank you in advance. Michael

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Michael
Southern California/Santa Monica
1986 MB 190D 2.5, 5 Speed Black and Palomino "Mordechai"
1985 Porsche 928S (32V), 5 Speed
1980 Porsche 928 (16V), 5 Speed