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Re: <E12 & E24> Heater Valve

John asks:

>Help.  In front of me I have a heater valve for a E12 (5 Series thru '81) or 
>a E24 (6 Series thru '82).  The valve is fastened to the heater tubes with 4 
>- - 10mm nuts.  To remove the old valve, one has to stand on their head, peer 
>between the gas petal and heater box to see the old valve.  At the right 
>angle, one has access to 2 nuts and a third is visible.        
>Question: How does one remove and install a heater valve on an E12 or E24?    
> 

I just did this, and it ain't pretty.  Well, if you _don't_ have A/C, then
it's probably pretty easy -- just removed the  entire center console, w/the
heater core, and should should then be able to pull the whole unit from the
firewall, after you disconnect the two heater hoses in the engine
compartment.

But if you do have A/C, and you're not inclined to disconnect the hoses at
the evaporator in the center section, then it gets real ugly.  Ultimately,
I had to take a torch to a Craftsman wrench and bend it ("L"-shaped) so
that I could access the two nuts that are towards the center of the car. 
The two others, I was able to do upsidedown with my head under the steering
column.

Plus, the "accordian" air tube gets in the way while you're doing the upper
nuts.

I replaced the O-rings, and lubed them w/Vaseline, but I don't know how
long they will last -- the recess in the valve is not designed correctly
for those O-rings.

I discovered that this is my '77 530i's _third_ valve -- it was first
replaced in '85- or '86.

Fun Fun Fun ...

 ___________________________________________
| Andrew E. Kalman, Ph.D.   aek@domain.elided  |
|        standard disclaimers apply         | 
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