It might not look like much of a leak but I was loosing up to a gallon of coolant every week and a half from around that little screw.

 

Well I thought mine valve also might be leaking but I can not find one on my truck the heater hose runs straight from front of engine to fire wall. Also my grey line is hooked to hvac box on a nipple that doesn't appear to have a hole plus the heater does not work so I'm still lost as to where to go from here

 

Depending on your year model and cab config. you might not have one. If you don't then the gray line hooked to the blank nipple on the HVAC box is where it's supposed to be. That's a factory "plug" to keep from losing vacuum in the heater controls.

 

Thanks where would I look to check to see if super cab trucks have them

 

99-04 Crew Cab trucks and Excursions have the valve. Regular and Super Cab trucks do not. 05+ all trucks and Excursions have the valve.

 

Well does that make it an update then just wondering mostly cuz I already own one would it hurt to install anyway could it possibly make ac more effiecent?

 

I don't think it would hurt to install one. It should be easy and all you need is the right part. The vacuum line is already there.

Just be aware that the valve only closes when the heater control is in the OFF and MAX A/C positions, so those are the only times it will help.

 

2004 C/C S/B F250 here. I installed the Dieselsite Bypass coolant filter last spring and had no problems with for a while. Right after the first cold snap this winter, I noticed a small coolant leak which appeared to be coming from the passenger side near the rear of the engine compartment.

Checked all my clamps and tee associated with the bypass filter system and found what I thought were somewhat loose clamps. Tightened them down. Next time I drove my truck, leak was still there. Not much, but any is too much. First nice weekend this spring, I disconnected the connections, replaced the aluminum tee with a brass pex tee, and tightened everything back down. Still leaked, but this time I noticed it wasn't coming from the tee or clamps, but from the bottom of the heater control valve. It was running down the hose and leaking off the tee and clamps, which made me suspect them.

Last weekend, I got a new heater control valve from O'Reilly. Put it on and test drove the truck. No leak! Drove the truck to work today and went to lunch with co-workers. As soon as I got out of the truck at Dell Taco (gotta love the Macho Nacho) I smelled coolant. Opened the hood and coolant was dripping at a pretty hasty pace from the bottom of the new heater control valve. I relieved the pressure via the degas bottle cap, closed the shut-off valves for my bypass filter and drove back to work. When we arrived at work, it was still leaking, but not near as much.

Assuming I had a defective replacement part, I stopped by the local Ford dealership and picked up another one on my way home from work. Installed it about a half-hour ago. Went for a test drive, came home, and same result. Leaking from the bottom, as best I can tell.

I know it's not very likely I got two bad replacement heater control valves, isn't it? With my limited (o.k., pretty much nonexistent) understanding of fluid dynamics, I don't see that the installation of the Dieselsite bypass coolant filter would increase the pressure on the heater control valve and cause them to malfunction. Is this a bad assumption? Has anyone heard of anything like this or had a similiar experience?

Stumped here...hoping for brain cell donations.

Bill

 

Is your coolant filter T'd in before the valve in front of the firewall, shouldn't be a problem. Just bad valves, is it same part as posted above?

 

It is T'd in before the valve per Dieselsite's instructions. Same control valve part as posted above, first replacement was aftermarket manufacturer from O'Reilly auto parts. Second replacement was Motorcraft from Ford dealership. I guess I'll take them both back tomorrow and get a 3rd replacement from the Ford dealership.

 

I e-mailed Dieselsite to see if they'd heard of this issue. Bob replied and said their experience has been that the plastic heater control valves are junk. He also mentioned that's why they use metal ones in their kits.

I sent him a reply asking what he meant by "metal ones" and "kits". Then, I figured out he was talking about the "colder A/C" kits they make for the 7.3L. Sure enough, there's a metal heater control valve in them.

Anyone have any idea where I could get one of the metal ones other than ordering a full kit (which I don't need) from Dieselsite?

 

Picked up another OEM heater control valve today and will install it this evening. Hope that it doesn't leak.

My son actually did the exchange of the leaky one for me at the Ford dealership. He said the parts guy asked him if I had a coolant filter mod on my truck. My son doesn't know anything about this stuff, so he replied "no". The parts guy told him that was good thing because if I had a aftermarket coolant filter it would automatically void the warranty on any parts they sold me. What's up with that?

I've emailed with Bob at Dieselsite and he assures me that the bypass coolant filter doesn't increase pressure on the heater control valve. He also told me the aftermarket valves are junk and to stick with the OEM. One OEM valve has failed thus far and I'll try the second today. I talked with him about using the metal valve they offer for the 7.3 "colder air" mod and he said it has 5/8" connections vs. the 3/4" connections my 6.0 heater control valve has.

I searched through all postings for any information I could find on this subject and read it all. I also made sure I posted on an existing thread relative to the subject, rather than starting a new thread or hijacking a thread. I'm assuming from the lack of comments, other than mhoefer (thanks), that no one else has experienced multiple failures of heater control valves with a Dieselsite coolant filter installed or has any suggestions for a metal vs. plastic heater control valve. I'm trying my best to keep this updated in case someone comes along later experiencing the same type of issue.

Thanks for your time.

Bill

 

Update--installed another OEM heater control valve this evening. Went for a short 2 mile test drive and it's leaking profusely also.

At this point frustration has set in and I'm thinking of just going without the control valve completely, or installing a ball valve which I can operate manually.

Could really use some thoughts/advice here.

Thanks.

 

sounds like you have a leak somewhere in the coolant system, egr or head gaskets, something is putting pressuse in your cooolant system

 

Are there any other symptoms/signs I can look for to indicate where I'm getting additional pressure from?