Friends,

I disconnected the monovalve assembly yesterday to check the diaphragm, as suggested by helpful readers in this forum. It was indeed cracked, and hopefully will be the answer to my problems with heat. I ordered the replacement kit from Phil.

1. There is picture of me holding up the assembly below. The picture shows as far as I can get the thing out, by hand. Then it's stuck. Is it OK to get a screwdriver edge in under the wavy washer and pry it out? Will I break anything? Should I coat the new piece with some white lithium grease before I put it back in?

2. Also, I noticed the top of the air filter had gotten much, much dirtier with oily gunk accumulating around the top of the hose connection. Another picture below. This area was relatively 'clean' the last time I looked (probably a few weeks ago). There was even some white plumbing tape keeping the hose connection on, that was clearly visible as white. So some sort of blowback is coming from the top of the engine cover. Cause for concern?

3. When I bought the car, it already had a K&N 'cleanable' filter installed. But I was on the phone with Phil and he said he thought you should never use these in diesels - only replaceable filters. Fortunately, I had one. But has anybody heard of this before?

Thanks in advance

Attached Thumbnails