Leaking Heater Control Valve
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Leaking Heater Control Valve
Aerostar does not have rear heater. Have a small leak in the heater control valve. According to auto parts people, the valve should have 2 ports. Mine has 4 ports. Are the auto parts people correct? Also, they suggested that I not replace any hoses as they are very expensive and not likely to wear out. Do heater hoses really last a lifetime nowadays?
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From: Georgia
Are you talking about the vacuum controled by-pass valve that sits under the hood near the passenger finder wall? If so, there should be 4 ports plus a vacuum port.
Two ports connect to the heater core. The other two connect to the engine. You say this is leaking?
Read this thread if this is the valve. There is a picture included. Bi-pass valve
Two ports connect to the heater core. The other two connect to the engine. You say this is leaking?
Read this thread if this is the valve. There is a picture included. Bi-pass valve
Last edited by tom_foreman; Feb 2, 2004 at 12:26 PM.
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There is a heater core bypass valve on later model Aerostars with four ports and a single vacuum line going to it. If this is the leaking component, you can either replace it outright or you can also remove it temporarily and splice the lines together. The valve only operates, shunting hot water away from the heater core, when the MAX A/C setting is selected.
The quality of the OEM hoses appears much greater now than in the past decades. Heater hose longevity is greatly influenced by the degree of engine maintenance. Take this as anecdotal evidence only, but all my hoses are the original factory ses and they are now 13 years old and counting. This is probably the exception rather than the rule. Although, in our family there are 5 different Ford vehicles, mostly early-mid 90's vintages and the only hose replaced was an aftermarket one put on by the previous owner.
It would be interesting to hear other's experiences on this topic.
The quality of the OEM hoses appears much greater now than in the past decades. Heater hose longevity is greatly influenced by the degree of engine maintenance. Take this as anecdotal evidence only, but all my hoses are the original factory ses and they are now 13 years old and counting. This is probably the exception rather than the rule. Although, in our family there are 5 different Ford vehicles, mostly early-mid 90's vintages and the only hose replaced was an aftermarket one put on by the previous owner.
It would be interesting to hear other's experiences on this topic.
Last edited by aerocolorado; Feb 2, 2004 at 12:31 PM.
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Had to replace the heater hoses on my 90 last summer. One of the hoses developed a split in the molded section that attached to the water pump. The rest of the hose was in pretty good shape but I decided to do both. Rather expensive even at an aftermarket place $27 each if I remember correctly. Plus you will need a special tool ($19 online) to get them loose from the heater core because there is just no room to work.
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Thanks very much for the information. I've checked the coolant loss and found that the leak is very slight. It had no effect on the opertion of the heater. The picture is a great help...much different from the 2-port valve they tried to sell me.
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