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<02> Heater Control Cables

Travis L. Ma <Travis.Ma@domain.elided> said:

> A couple of nights ago, the cable to the heater valve
> snapped off inside the housing near the heater valve ...
> Replacing the 23 year old valve appears to be straight forward,
> but the cable looks to be a bear.  Do I have to pull the heater
> box to do this? ... the replacement cable is actually a two-
> piece affair.  One end goes to the heater box and the other 
> connections goes somewhere.  (inside the box?)

You are on the right path.  You must disassemble the console and
extract the heater box with the control cables and levers attached.
To free the lever assembly, pull the small knobs straight off, pull
the bezel off in the same direction, then remove the two screws
which were hidden by the bezel.  Detach the two coolant hoses, 
the blower wiring harness, etc.  Be prepared with many towels to 
catch the coolant which drains out when you move the heater box.
Finally, remove the two (four?) nuts which hold the heater box
in the car, and take the heater box to your workbench.  (I was  
able to move my A/C unit out of the way without opening the Freon 
plumbing.)

Open the heater box by drilling out the near-infinite number of 
rivets in the flange.  (Note which side of the flange the rivet 
heads are on.)  With the heater box now open you can see and 
understand the two control cables.  Install the new cables and 
adjust them carefully so you get the full range of motion of the
water valve and air flap.  This is an excellent time to
check the operation of the fan motor.

Now go to the hardware store and buy a new set of aluminum pop 
rivets and backing washers.  I *think* the size is 5/32 inch 
diameter and 1/4 inch length.  Also get enough closed-cell foam 
tape to seal the heater box in the body opening.  The tape is 
thin and about 3/8 inch wide.  

Check the control cable adjustment again.  Then reassemble
the heater box with the pop rivets and washers, being careful
to install them from the correct side.  Clean off the old
sealing tape and install the new.  Put the heater box and
control back in the car, and reconnect enough things that 
you can test the heater.  Then put everything else back together.
If you have the newer, illuminated bezels, check the bulbs
before replacing the bezels.

This glib description ignores many of the annoying details of
the job.  It is manageable, but give yourself most of a day
to do it.

Curt Ingraham
ingraham@domain.elided