Ventilation system woes.

[Michael999]

Okay, ive finally gotten the heater valve/pump unit out..
I took the unit apart, and guess what i found jamming open one of the valves?
ROCKS... lots of tiny little pebbles, the rough ones like you would put in a fish tank.

How the hell do you get rocks, not dirt, ROCKS into your coolant..

Should i put the unit back together having cleared the rocks out from it, and give it a good clean.

Also, is there some way of testing that the unit works whilst it is apart?
Can i spark the connections on a battery to see if it works?

[genphreak]

Okay, ive finally gotten the heater valve/pump unit out..
I took the unit apart, and guess what i found jamming open one of the valves?
ROCKS... lots of tiny little pebbles, the rough ones like you would put in a fish tank.

How the hell do you get rocks, not dirt, ROCKS into your coolant..

Should i put the unit back together having cleared the rocks out from it, and give it a good clean.

Also, is there some way of testing that the unit works whilst it is apart?
Can i spark the connections on a battery to see if it works?

Grind one up, make sure it is a rock. If coolant is left in the car too long weird things can happen as it breaks down and reacts with the components it is running through. Id be pressure flushing the block, the heater core, radiator and all the pipes.

What kind of coolant was it running? Sounds pretty bad bro, but at least you have caught it now not later...

Is the auxilary pump still working?

Be careful rebuilding the heater valves, the valve stems are very brittle and are easy to break. It is a non-servicable item.

[genphreak]

Okay, ive finally gotten the heater valve/pump unit out..
I took the unit apart, and guess what i found jamming open one of the valves?
ROCKS... lots of tiny little pebbles, the rough ones like you would put in a fish tank.

How the hell do you get rocks, not dirt, ROCKS into your coolant..

Should i put the unit back together having cleared the rocks out from it, and give it a good clean.

Also, is there some way of testing that the unit works whilst it is apart?
Can i spark the connections on a battery to see if it works?

Yes the valves will open adn close if you apply 12V to them.

You should bypass your heater core though until you repplace it adn/or its o-ring seals. Ethylene Glycol is poisonous and the leak will get worse. Can rust out your floor when it overflows the condenser's driptray.

The joys of heater cores. Are you running clear blue coolant?

[Michael999]

The rock as i thought it was seemed to break up in my fingers pretty easily.
Friend of mine asked me if it looked like gasket material.
It Feels like rock, but half of it crumbled away.

It is running "green" coolant, no idea what type, ive been meaning to flush it and replace it all with new Prestone, found some at a local shop.

I have no idea if the aux pump or valves still work, no idea how to test it.
BUT, the fuse for my aux pump keeps blowing (thought it was the horn), perhaps this is the problem *sigh*.
Can they be tested outside the car?

Ok where to from here, it IS summer at the moment so i can live without a heater for a while, but i want my car working fully.
Any idea what a NEW valve unit + pump is going to be worth?

I may as well replace the valves as well as the rubber seals in them seems pretty worn out.

[Michael999]

OKAY, just tested both items.

Pump is dead, connected with a freshly charged 12v battery and nothing, no movement, no noise, just the spark from connecting the wires.

Valves are dead, they are jammed at different heights, one moves 0.1mm when power is applied, the other has no reaction at all.

Who wants to sell me a new unit?

[Paul in NZ]

I think big kriss got new valves and a pump.Definetly a BMA item.I have a vague idea that some model does have serviceable valves.Try cleaning them all up and then see,youve got nothing to lose have you?

[Michael999]

Oh, they are well and truly dead, ive applied current and there is zero sound/movement from one valve, and minimal movement from another.
Ill try again tomorrow, give them a good bang with a hammer or something, cant hurt at this stage :P

I found both items on Bavauto, but only the pump on bma, and bma was more expensive.
So im at a loss

[TC535i]

Oh, they are well and truly dead, ive applied current and there is zero sound/movement from one valve, and minimal movement from another.
Ill try again tomorrow, give them a good bang with a hammer or something, cant hurt at this stage :P

I found both items on Bavauto, but only the pump on bma, and bma was more expensive.
So im at a loss

Call a wrecker? Are you in the US?

[BillionPa]

oh yeah, dont use prestone!

[mamilapon]

Hey, dont ask us!! We"re not the ones going to the river for a quick coolant top up!!lol