SharkSkin

That's with a spankin' new valve! I'll have to play with it some more I guess...

goliver

Bought a new factory valve and it lasted maybe two weeks. Went the metal route out of frustration. Been a couple months no problems.

Regards,

Greggles

Thanks for your help everyone!
This is the Audi part (Napa pn bk 6601410) $26.
It might look familiar?

deliriousga

What is this "someone else's problem" you speak of? Nobody would ever give up the beautiful shark so how is this possible?

Marc Schwager

That's the part. I had to trim 1/4 inch off the vacuum hose as it was a bit stretched out.

BTW, the symptoms that caused me to head in after this puppy were poor defrost performance, and a gurgling that came from the console when I started the car even with the heater fully off.

JE928Sx4.

Failure mode is full open heat. So is defrost. Sounds like w defective valve to begin with.

Marc Schwager

That was what was confusing to me and why I waited so long to replace it. Because I didn't get full heat, I was cosidering that maybe I had a different problem, especially because the valve held a vacuum.

It turned out that there was an internal gasket or seal that looked like it failed. If you looked through the vallve you could see a piece of rubber (looked a bit like an O ring) that caused the gate to stick in a partially open position when vacuum was applied. It also would not open fully as the rubber piece was generally interfering with movement. The actual position of the valve depended on a) whether there was vacuum, and b) where the little rubber piece happened to be when vacuum was applied.

heinrich

Marc's failure is veeeery common. Also in 944's. Those plastic valves are good for Dinky Toy and maybe Matchbox.

Briguy951

Do these valves work with the check valve in place. My problem seems to be that the valve doesn't want to reopen after vacuum has been applied. Ir opens very slowly...not sure if this is correct or not? If you replace it with this valve do you still keep the check valve???

Thanks

BC

Its not so much that they wear out, IMO, its that they never worked in the first place. HOT HOT coolant water gets into the heater core and the AC doesn't blow so cold, and you get warm air when you don't want it.

How is a small plasitc circle, with no side-seal, supposed to block a torent of hot hot water?

Hopefully the audi part will work, but....

Marc Schwager

Briguy,

I didn't change anything with a check valve and it works fine. From memory there is a check valve over by the brakes that's probably there to keep the brakes from losing vacuum whem your plastic heater valve fails :-). It should not be in the line between your heater actuator in the console and your valve. It should be easy to test. Unplug the check valve and apply vacuum to the valve and then release it to see if it opens and closes. It only takes about 10 minutes to yank it out so you can do this on the bench top while you watch the valve for proper operation. Now as long as you have it out already, put in a metal one :-).

Carl Fausett

We sell the all-metal replacement heater valve in our store. Customers love them.

We kind of backed-into the need for this item.... seems the acceleration is so sudden on the supercharged engines that the plastic valves, if they are weak at all, burst, and drop all your coolant RIGHT NOW.

I know I'm going to hear about this one - but ask Tim Murphy and Jim Page - its happened to them. Jim's heater valve separated during a 1/4 mile run at the drag races - the coolant under his rear tires at WOT and 500+HP nearly caused him to hit the wall. He almost lost the car, I'm told.

Remember, when the engine accelerates, so does the water pump, and the sudden push of coolant seems to be doing it on our SC models. So replace them as a precaution.

Other customers report that they get more heat now with the metal valve - I think it flows better and opens wider.

We have them in stock, and the NAPA part is a good quality product also.

Briguy951

I picked up a audi heater valve at napa...altho it didn't look like the all metal one on the website. It was more designed like the porsche product but metal with the inlet being plastic but not like the cheap looking plastic thats on the porsche valve. (should of took a pic) Work great! Still not sure why the check valve was on the heater vacuum line but i removed it and everything works. My valve was around $29

Thanks for the help

Tom. M

This was exactly how mine failed. At the tree during one of our PacNW bracket drag strip days......launch..and get massive wheel spin....non lsd 87 S4 AT...finally get traction under control...make it though the 1/4 mile and as I'm heading into the pits...the temp starts to rise and steam pours out from under the hood......

thought I blew the engine..but closer inspection revealed a heater valve literally blown apart....quick run into town courtesy of Jim V...for a replacement piece of hose...patch it in.....but alas...missed my last chance to run....

At least I got home..

Standard replacement valve still on the car...and doing fine...(afaik....sold the car early this past year)..
Later,
Tom
midlman@rennlist.net
89GT