20 replies to this topic

[ucchockey]

Just had my second heater valve blow apart within 3 months. I have tried two different looking ones now and both were rubbish quality. Anyone know of a reliable one for sale anywhere? Cheers.

[AVV IT]

I take it you're talking about the head mounted heater tap version? If so, I've also experienced exactly the same thing twice recently and with supposed genuine parts too. The last one went on me on the way to Stanford Hall last weekend, at which point I said enough is enough, and have now fitted a cylinder head heater take off http://www.minispare...|Back to search and a plastic in-line valve from a later model http://www.minispare...|Back to search (which is what I have fitted to my other mini and I've never had any issues with)

[cradley-heathen]

my advice would be dont bother with a valve at all!

 

i always take them off, if i want the heater on i switch it on and sure enough my feet get warm, if i want to cool off in the summer i open the window, simple as that!

 

the fan in the car doesnt provide enough "gust" to cool you off on hot summer days anyway, its not like having air con in a modern car where you can keep the windows up and stay as cool as a cucumber.

[ucchockey]

I think I will remove it altogether then. To be fair I have never used the knob in the car. Just don't like the idea of having a useless knob (So to speak)

[AVV IT]

I agree that the heater is completely useless for blowing out cold air, but If you remove the tap/valve, the matrix still fills with hot coolant and hot air still drops out of the bottom of the heater, its just not assisted by the blower if the heater is switched off. Having had a stuck open heater valve on a boiling hot summers day, I found that it turns the classic mini sauna into even more of an oven, (even with blower off and the windows open). But I suppose you could always remove the valve and see how you got on, and then fit an inline valve at a later stage if required.

On the plus side, having no heater valve does mean a constant year round flow of coolant through the matrix, meaning your matrix is less likely to collect debris from your cooling system and then corrode/leak over the summer months.

[Yoda]

my advice would be dont bother with a valve at all!

 

 

 

+1  I have never had a problem with too much heat in the cabin in summer and i agree with AVV IT, it keeps the matrix flushed.

 

If this bothers you, then bypass the heater in the summer with a metre of 5/8 hose  from the take off back to the Rad hose. but you will lose a small amount of cooling capacity. I think in summer its better to make use of the pint or so of coolant in the heater system rather than shut it off.

Edited by Yoda, 18 September 2013 - 08:32 AM.

[AVV IT]

If you do remove the tap/valve and don't like the idea of having a useless knob on your dash, you could always remove that as well and blank off the hole it leaves in the switch panel with a the plug/grommet that was used to blank off the choke hole in injection models.

[jime17]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but my heater is generally cold with occasional periods of hotness. It seems to bear little relation to engine temp. I can sit on traffic with the gauge creeping up to mid range and nothing. Conversely I can be 5 mins from early morning start up, still needing a touch of choke and I can feel the heater box getting hot. Any ideas at all?

Its a 91 Mayfair with in line valve.

[Yoda]

your choke knob has been connected to your heater valve or you are pulling the wrong knob.

 

How old is your Mini, some you have to pull the heater knob, and some you have top push it!

 

But seriously, it sounds like you may have an airlock in the heater pipes.

[AVV IT]

Possibly sludge/ debris in the heater circuit that's moving around and giving you these intermittent problems. Try flushing the matrix through with water, you can do this with the heater still in the car by disconnecting the heater hoses on the engine side of the bulkhead and then connecting a garden hose to one and a spare length of hose leading to a bucket to the other. Don't turn your garden tap on fully though, as full mains water pressure is likely to blow holes in your matrix, just turn it on enough to get water flowing through the matrix and out into the bucket and keep flushing until the water runs clear. If you want to doubly sure, you can even swap the hoses over afterwards and reverse flush the matrix by sending the water through the matrix in the opposite direction.

Flushing the matrix will also prime the heater circuit and should therefore remove any air locks that might also be causing these problems, although air locks tend to actually stop coolant flow completely as opposed to causing intermittent problems.

Edit: But as Yoda mentioned though, if your heater only works when the choke is pulled out, you probably ought to check that your choke isn't actually connected to your heater valve and vice versa! :lol

[Stiggytoo]

I pilfered the old style one from an early a series. Miles better quality.

Like this: http://www.google.co...379580822848882

[jime17]

your choke knob has been connected to your heater valve or you are pulling the wrong knob.
 
.

Lol. No wonder I'm getting 8mpg when I want to warm my feet up.

Its a pull to open the valve knob with the big red arrow pointing towards me. Sort of.

How do I relieve the air lock? Disconnect the take off from the head and prime the pipes?

[Yoda]

 

your choke knob has been connected to your heater valve or you are pulling the wrong knob.
 
.

Lol. No wonder I'm getting 8mpg when I want to warm my feet up.

Its a pull to open the valve knob with the big red arrow pointing towards me. Sort of.

How do I relieve the air lock? Disconnect the take off from the head and prime the pipes?

 

. 

Read AVV ITS last post, it has full instructions for you.  

 

Smartass got there first!

 

Darn you AVV IT.  Let the battle commence.

 

Have you worked out that i am bored again yet?

[jime17]

Oops. You all replied while I was answering Yoda.

Thanks to all of you

Ps my choke comment was to demonstrate that the engine was nowhere near fully warm so that engine temp had no real bearing on the problem. Lol

Edited by jime17, 18 September 2013 - 09:24 AM.

[Yoda]

Hmmmmmmm, My "choke" comment was a "Joke" Comment Hmmmmmm?