heater issues

[ade]

i've found out why i got clouds of steam from the facia vents after a few minutes driving on my '67 TL....stripped out heater and vent hose was perished... iwill be changing the short main hoses also which sit hidden behind the matrix

is it worth renewing or rebuilding the heater valve, or even just fitting an elbow with no valve mechanism (to stop any future leaks in the valve)

i was surprised how inneffective the flap which "stops" the air going upto the facia is: it hardly shuts off any air flow

the lower flap appears to have at least a 5mm gap all round it: anyone fitted some sort of rubber seal to close off this gap, and force more air upto the screen?

the ducts are quite poorly sealed to the facia outlets, meaning the screen gets even less air

main heater hose seems to be 18mm...is this right?
also, is fuel hose ok to use for heater vent hose?

any thoughts gratefully received....ade

 

[politeperson]

Do you think the engines water use and the steam coming out of the heater are more than coincidence?

All engines produce some steam from the exhaust when the ambient air is cold, until the pipe warms up and any condensate is evaporated.

 

[angel]

It's definitely worth rebuilding the heater valve. Just an O-ring to replace, do it now that the heater is out!

You can use any rubber hose for the vent valve-and yes, the main hose size is 18mm. It can be found in auto parts or hardware stores, sold by the meter. If you have a 1108cc, the top heater hose exits at an angle towards the engine. Again, you can buy a 90 deg. 18mm heater hose and cut it accordingly.

The flap concept was not to "seal", but rather "restrict" air flow. I think every effort of improving this should pay off.

Don't forget to clean the bottom of the heater box on the car's bulkhead, and especially the water drain pipe, while you have the heater assembly out.

 

[ade]

heater

thanks both....there were water droplets coming out of the xhaust for 10-15 mins then gentle steam after that, so i think head gasket has gone...however, ther was no emulsion in the rocker cover?? Perhaps a leak down test first? quite pricey , those kits

 

[malcolm]

If water were coming out of the exhaust due to a head gasket failure that would suggest a path between the coolant and the water. Cylinder pressures are high and normally the flow would be the other way - exhaust gasses in the coolant pushing the coolant out of the expansion bottle.

The way to check for that is remove and replace the expansion bottle cap when the engine is completely cold, then run the car for at least 10 miles. Then next day before running again see if there is a hiss when you remove the expansion bottle cap. Any hiss means there's more stuff in there than there was so maybe exhaust gasses.

It would also cause overheating, but there are more normal ways for the engine to overheat.

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Once you fix the heater and correctly bleed the system and top up, check for any water loss over the next few miles. You will need to top up the expansion bottle again and once the water level has settled then you have a benchmark to work from. If the bottle empties completely over the course of a run then you have a head gasket problem as long as there are no other external leaks.

 

[ade]

heater/head gasket

i had assumed that cooling water was getting in to the bores when the engine is stopped, this accumulated water then blows out the next day........the cooling water did come out quite green, and i'd renewed it recently when i replaced the thermostat.
perhaps i'd better just do the heater prob first...its just that i'd stripped down to be just at the point of loosening the rockers to get at the head bolts