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Old 09-11-2011, 10:12 AM
DeckedOut DeckedOut is offline
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Default Heater control valve leaking again, too much pressure?

One again Im leaking antifreeze from that stupid arm on the heater control valve. Its only been on a few months, the last one blew up and sprayed antifreeze everywhere.

Im lost on whats causing this, is there anyway to figure out why these keep going so fast and what may be causing it?
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Old 09-11-2011, 08:48 PM
sheltonfilms sheltonfilms is offline
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Default Re: Heater control valve leaking again, too much pressure?

Newport, huh? Not too far from me.

Do you have the 4 port or 2 port design? Also can you show a pic of the problem area? Which engine do you have?
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Old 09-12-2011, 05:41 AM
DeckedOut DeckedOut is offline
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Default Re: Heater control valve leaking again, too much pressure?

2.3l, 4 port

Its leaking from the arm that controls the valve inside by vacuum. This is my fourth one. Last one was less than 1k miles old and previous one snapped and spewed coolant.

I have a p2004 thats prob unrelated (all hoses seem good and whatnot) thats causing imrc ticking.
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Old 09-12-2011, 06:12 AM
FireRanger FireRanger is offline
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Default Re: Heater control valve leaking again, too much pressure?

Well my guess as to whats causing the failure is the system being over-pressurized.

First things first, replace the radiator cap. The cap is a pressure relief valve. Once pressure exceeds ~14psi, it will open and vent coolant into the tank. If the cap is not opening to vent excess pressure, it has to go somewhere and the weakest link will fail first. Which is probably that valve. This could explain why pressure isn't venting like it should be.

Now, second problem is WHY is the pressure increasing above normal like this? At the normal operating temperature range, pressure should hold steady around 8-12psi or so I think. Well below the cap's release point and way way below where components start to fail. What is the temp gauge on the dash showing while you're out driving around?

The bad news is that if the temperature is in the normal range, excessive pressure can only come from one place... a head gasket leak. Cylinder compression is leaking into the cooling passages and adding excessive amounts of pressure to the system. If the radiator cap is bad, this will let it vent the excess pressure the right way instead of breaking shit. And when it vents, you'll see a lot of air bubbles int the reserve tank.

I agree the P2004 code is probably unrelated. Its for an Intake Manifold Runner Valve fault. Something that does need attention but I can't think of anything that would relate it.
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Last edited by FireRanger; 09-12-2011 at 06:18 AM.
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Old 09-28-2013, 06:03 PM
Fordfixer Fordfixer is offline
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Default Re: Heater control valve leaking again, too much pressure?

Also try using the older style 4 port valve that isn't all plastic. They sell them on ebay, they seem to hold up a lot better! [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190825133394&ssPageNam e=STRK:MESE:IT[/URL]
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Old 09-29-2013, 01:57 AM
richarddhoward richarddhoward is offline
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Default Re: Heater control valve leaking again, too much pressure?

Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
Well my guess as to whats causing the failure is the system being over-pressurized.

First things first, replace the radiator cap. The cap is a pressure relief valve. Once pressure exceeds ~14psi, it will open and vent coolant into the tank. If the cap is not opening to vent excess pressure, it has to go somewhere and the weakest link will fail first. Which is probably that valve. This could explain why pressure isn't venting like it should be.

Now, second problem is WHY is the pressure increasing above normal like this? At the normal operating temperature range, pressure should hold steady around 8-12psi or so I think. Well below the cap's release point and way way below where components start to fail. What is the temp gauge on the dash showing while you're out driving around?

The bad news is that if the temperature is in the normal range, excessive pressure can only come from one place... a head gasket leak. Cylinder compression is leaking into the cooling passages and adding excessive amounts of pressure to the system. If the radiator cap is bad, this will let it vent the excess pressure the right way instead of breaking shit. And when it vents, you'll see a lot of air bubbles int the reserve tank.

I agree the P2004 code is probably unrelated. Its for an Intake Manifold Runner Valve fault. Something that does need attention but I can't think of anything that would relate it.
What he said
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