Heater Hose

[puffernutter]

I've just put the Stag away for a few months in a local lock up I rent. When parking her up I noticed some steam around the bonnet and initially I thought as it was a cold night and a wet bonnet it was just a warm engine, but after lifting the bonnet and having a a closer inspection, I have a heater hose that has split. It is the short "S" shaped one. I can't see it singly anywhere - they all seem to be sold as "heater hose sets". Are they sold singly?

I must get that temperature gauge sorted as well....

Cheers

Peter

[Andrew S]

Here you go

http://www.ldpart.co.uk/shop/shop.php?c=viewproduct&pid=133&cat=2&maincat=1&start=24&sid=sid22445d7557481faf47f78fbc4dfb0d2d

Andrew

[puffernutter]

Here you go

http://www.ldpart.co.uk/shop/shop.php?c=viewproduct&pid=133&cat=2&maincat=1&start=24&sid=sid22445d7557481faf47f78fbc4dfb0d2d

Andrew

Thanks.

Much appreciated. I shall order one when I can!

Cheers

Peter

[Andrew S]

Paddocks sell them on their own too

[Per]

Although the top hose going to the rad is the one seeing the higher temps I would replace the rest. A bottom one splitting while under your own steam could hide just steam and the resultant hot spot damage will be a depressing sight .....

[KOY 23]

Good idea, the system is drained, so make the most of it.

[puffernutter]

Ordered and arrived! I'll look at replacing the others as well.

I am not getting any heat in the car, I have adjusted the heater valve to "Open" (I think - it corresponds to the action to the Hot position of the heater controls anyway) but it doesn't get warm. This was before the pipe split. Any ideas?

Cheers

Peter

[V Mad]

The usual fault is that the control cable has come off its mountings behind the lever. This means that although lever moves, the valve does not. You can find the valve located above your left foot (assuming you are in the drivers seat of course).

[puffernutter]

The usual fault is that the control cable has come off its mountings behind the lever. This means that although lever moves, the valve does not. You can find the valve located above your left foot (assuming you are in the drivers seat of course).

Thanks for that. I wasn't clear. I have been grovelling the driver's footwell, operated the temperature lever with one hand, observed the way the valve was trying to go, then manually pushed the valve as far as it will go that direction. Still no joy!

Could the valve be blocked, or still not achieving full travel?

By the fact the heater hose split (with steam coming out of it!) there must be hot water in that area!

Cheers

Peter

[dasadrew]

Are you really sure that the valve itself is moving and that the lever isn't just rounding off the very delicate flange which it attaches to on the heater valve? The valve itself is simply two really big holes which align or don't. It's difficult imagining them being blocked, but the inner brass barrel ist quite a tight fit with its O ring in the brass "cage" housing so I would tend to doubt its free rotation.
IMG_3089.JPG
IMG_3100.JPG

[puffernutter]

Thanks for the pictures and the comment about the flange. Further investigation is required methinks!

Cheers

Peter

[jleyton]

The heater pipes are quite high up in the system. Are you sure you're not low on coolant and the steam was boiling off from the high point of coolant ?

The heater going cold is often a first sign of low coolant.

Just a thought.

Cheers

Julian

[Stagsongas]

Peter,

If the valve is OK it might be worth checking if the matrix is air locked. If it is, the system will appear to be full when it isn't, and coolant will not flow through the matrix as the trapped air will stop it dead.

To make the job of initially bleeding the air out of the matrix, and to ensure optimum performance of the matrix in the future, it is best to fit the hot supply pipe to the bottom of the heater matrix and take the return off the top. If you do that, the matrix practically bleeds itself when refilling the system and will do so each and every time you need to drain and refill it.

Regards

Steve

[dasadrew]

... it is best to fit the hot supply pipe to the bottom of the heater matrix and take the return off the top. If you do that, the matrix practically bleeds itself when refilling the system and will do so each and every time you need to drain and refill it.

Regards

Steve

Sounds logical Steve, but do you have any ideas why the ROM shows the inlet supply to the bottom on earlier models and changes it to the top for later models?

Drew

[Stagsongas]

Sounds logical Steve, but do you have any ideas why the ROM shows the inlet supply to the bottom on earlier models and changes it to the top for later models?

Drew

Drew,

Been through this before with Julian (I think) and it is indeed shown connected up differently for ser. 1 and 2 cars as you say (also depends which manual you have). I don't know about the ROM, but that would have been lifted straight from an older paper/book version of a manual anyway.

Physics doesn't change with car models and fashion, air still rises to the top whatever we tell it to do. I can only assume the inlet-at-top connection is a mistake made by someone who sat in an office making drawings and writing manuals but never actually worked on a car. If I'm corrrect and it is a mistake, my assumption is supported by fixing the problem of matrix airlocking many times over, just by switching those hoses around. It certainly won't be the first or last ever mistake included in any car manual, workshop, Haynes' or otherwise.

Regards

Steve