Heater control valve internals

[olajon]

Replaced my heater valve some time ago. Just couldn't resist the temptation to take the old one apart. This is what I found that explains the constant flow of heat inside the car when the internals are old:






There is a diaphragm that has more or less completely disappeared, and also more important a rubber seal the "mushroom" pushes against that has eroded. This will let hot fluid through even if everything else works.

This would be very easy to replace, isn't there a repair kit available somewhere? 4 simple rubber parts instead of the whole valve.....

[olinjohnston]

This would be very easy to replace, isn't there a repair kit available somewhere? 4 simple rubber parts instead of the whole valve.....

Annoying isn't it? I think I threw mine away, but maybe I'll hold onto it if I still have it. I won't hold my breath on a repair kit for it though...So many things go to waste like this nowadays.

[Kapitan]

Its not only the seals !
I vas fixing my valves today, an i just swaped the rubbers for good ones, and it did not work !
It appears that the electro magnets can be damaged to, one of them did not close fully and the hot watter was stil getting through, it was working but not as good as it cloud, so I needed to swap the whole valves, and finnaly i can drive my car without fully open windows

[olajon]

Before replacing the whole valve, I would like to try a thorough clean-out & replacing the seals first..... If it doesn't work, the next step would be the whole valve....

Where did you get the rubber seals?

[Kapitan]

I found them in a 7 E32 I bought, they look new.
I did it like you say, i cleaned the whole thing, installed the new rubbers, and still nothing, so i changed the whole upper part with el. magnets, and now its working.

[Mike in CT]

Olajon, your post prompted me to take my old valve apart and also found failure of the rubber diaphragm. Also found one of the sealing cones broken off from the plunger rod and jammed into the coolant inlet opening.







I had noted for some time that it seemed that the air coming out of the passenger side central vent was warmer than that coming out of the drivers side.

[tonys]

I was talking to my local BMW parts guy about this just last week. He said he thought the E28 internal valve (64 11 8 390 132) which can be purchased separately from the entire valve assembly, might fit. We looked up the price and found that valve was too expensive to be a cost effective repair. He said it used to cost less. Maybe there is another BMW model that uses the same internal valve that would work and not cost more than half of the entire assembly.

Tony

[olajon]

from a dealer in Hong Kong, got it shipped to me in Sweden in 4 days (!!!).



Inserted the new seal on the right to see the difference:



Now I can see why it is still letting some hot water through.....

Tony's picture above explains why there are new plungers in the set as well.

Will replace the valve again and see if I get it to operate properly this time.



Kind of makes you wonder what other rubber parts there are in the car that need to be replaced before they cause serious problems......

[M.Rad.]

When you say a "dealer" in H.K., do you mean a BMW dealer, or an aftermarket parts dealer? If so, could you pass on their email or other contact info please?
I figure since I'm having to re-build every other G@& D@#^ thing on this car, might as well do that too.

Regards,
M.R.

[Timm]

Good find and 100% for perseverance!

[tonys]

Good find indeed. I just ordered a valve assembly last week.

Tony

[olajon]

Found an aftermarket parts dealer through alibaba.com: Richpower Hand Tools Company, part# R3399. The total cost was 70$ including shipping plus the Western Union transfer fee.

Maybe not really worth the trouble....in the US, I can find a new valve for $120 or in Europe for $150 not including shipping to Sweden. At BMW in Sweden they would charge me about $300. However, it was an interesting exercise!

[olajon]

Opened the hood to remove the valve to install the new gaskets, seals and pungers. To my astonishment I found that the center nipple that attaches to the rubber pipe on the auxiliary pump had broken off and that a lot of coolant liquid obliviously had drained - right into the drain in the middle of my garage. The center thingy for the shaft through the rotor was also broken.

Luckily this happened in the garage..........

So I replaced the gaskets, seals & plungers. Just happened to have an additional pump around which made it quick & easy to replace the top part of the pump too.

Refilled with coolant & bled the car, so far seems to work perfectly.

Lesson Learned: If this happens, get a new water pump & valve, the plastic parts are old & brittle and needs to be replaced anyway. That's probably why it's so hard to find the repair set - the whole assembly needs to be replaced anyway.

[sleepy81]

Kind of makes you wonder what other rubber parts there are in the car that need to be replaced before they cause serious problems......

Opened the hood to remove the valve to install the new gaskets, seals and pungers. To my astonishment I found that the center nipple that attaches to the rubber pipe on the auxiliary pump had broken off and that a lot of coolant liquid obliviously had drained - right into the drain in the middle of my garage. The center thingy for the shaft through the rotor was also broken.

Luckily this happened in the garage..........

So the answer is ..all of them.
BTW many thanks for passing on. Great photos also.

[wokke]

Since this HK company with the repair kit didn't react to my inquiry for four kits I searched a little and found THIS

[e31gixxxer]

Its not only the seals !
I vas fixing my valves today, an i just swaped the rubbers for good ones, and it did not work !
It appears that the electro magnets can be damaged to, one of them did not close fully and the hot watter was stil getting through, it was working but not as good as it cloud, so I needed to swap the whole valves, and finnaly i can drive my car without fully open windows

You can power each valve up independently on the bench and blow through the pipe to test the seal; you can hear the valve click if it is working electrically.

Since this HK company with the repair kit didn't react to my inquiry for four kits I searched a little and found THIS

Wow please enlighten us!

[wokke]

Wow please enlighten us!

just click the link in my previous post (THIS)

[tonys]

Here is where I bought one a couple of months ago:



1147412038 Bosch OEM $119.06

Tony

[wokke]

I just ordered 10 sets of those sealing sets described by the OP.
Got a good volume discount (US$55,- per set). If anyone is interested PM or email (info@wokke.de) me.

[wokke]

Meanwhile set sets arrived
Heater valve repair kit

I managed to successfully repair several heater valves with this set. And ALL the units looked like the ones shown above in the various pictures.

BTW, it isn't even necessary to remove the unit from the car. The cover with the solenoids can be unscrewed and removed while the unit itself is still installed. Half an hour job and everything is working again.

[taylorpatterson]

Olajon, your post prompted me to take my old valve apart and also found failure of the rubber diaphragm. Also found one of the sealing cones broken off from the plunger rod and jammed into the coolant inlet opening.







I had noted for some time that it seemed that the air coming out of the passenger side central vent was warmer than that coming out of the drivers side.

Thank God for this post. I was able to see what a 'normal' valve was supposed to look like.

My original one is now confirmed that it was totally hosed (see attached).

Next to nothing left of the rubber seals. No WONDER my heat was always on - only hitting the A/C or Recirculation would turn off the heat.

I had since replaced the original one with one from a parts car. But the heat problem persisted so I thought it was probably the control unit.

Given what a piece of shi! this valve is like inside, I strongly suspect THAT replacement is also hosed and will know for sure when I swap it out for the new one I just ordered.

I was going to order Wokke's repair kit but figured what the hell, a whole replacement unit from Bosch was only sixty bucks more so I'm going with a new unit.

I'll report back if that nails the 'heat always on' feature of my car...

[wokke]

so you say you're getting a new heater valve for US$120.- ?
We pay €150.- for it in Germany.

[Mike in CT]

One source:

http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/PartD...id=64118391417

[taylorpatterson]

Yup - found a new one from AutohauseAZ.com for $119.06

[Carl1011]

Also ordered one from Autohausaz for 119.06. It comes with free shipping.

This has got to be the best car owners forum ever. So much shared information about preventative maintenance and troubleshooting.

Since I acquired my 840ci, thanks to you guys, I have eliminated thousands in repairs and all the inconvience that arise from these problems occuring away from home. And I've only had the car two months.

Carl