Save yourself a major breakdown...Heater valve catastrophe...
07-29-2006, 06:45 PM
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Save yourself a major breakdown...Heater valve catastrophe...
<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/97051/heater_valve.jpg"></center><p>I had to borrow my spouses car today since I am waiting for my last hydro hose to return from being rebuilt. He just started having a small dime size drip of coolant near the p.s. footwell in the engine bay over the course of these last two weeks, maybe. Anyhow I borrow the car and pick up my parents to go look at a new place for them to live without stairs when the A/C kicks in hotter than our current weather, and the temp. guage decides to blast up to near the 2nd dot! My thoughts are "Oh ****.." The car dies and I have a puddle the size of a childs plastic swimming pool floor beneath the car...I let it cool down and add a coolant/H2o mixture to fill her back up. Mind you it was drained of any and all fluid. Start the car back up (and my spouse is there then)to witness the exteme exiting of fluid from the heater valve.
I know there has been a ton of posts about this issue and NOT to get caught with one going out and some very recently. I will have a NEW one on the way for my car since we stole from Peter to pay Paul in this instance, and we will replace his with a new one and keep the used one for a spare...Good idea all, that if you don't think it has ever been replaced...and most of our cars are at least 15 years old, it is time to be changing it! I was very glad that I was in town but on the outskirts when this happened and not out on the road where 'our' Audi dealers are few and far between here to try and retrieve parts on the weekend.
I know there has been a ton of posts about this issue and NOT to get caught with one going out and some very recently. I will have a NEW one on the way for my car since we stole from Peter to pay Paul in this instance, and we will replace his with a new one and keep the used one for a spare...Good idea all, that if you don't think it has ever been replaced...and most of our cars are at least 15 years old, it is time to be changing it! I was very glad that I was in town but on the outskirts when this happened and not out on the road where 'our' Audi dealers are few and far between here to try and retrieve parts on the weekend.
07-29-2006, 07:13 PM
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Must have missed my previous post
Glad to hear that everything worked out OK. That valve looks ugly.<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/v8/msgs/102930.phtml">Previous Post</a></li></ul>
07-29-2006, 07:40 PM
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Ya know, I did read that...and honestly I did not give it a second thought that the hcv
was going to be suspect in this instance. Call it ignorance on my part, but I have been trying to maintain my own 20vtq car practically alone and don't have the time or patience to look after two of them, one is enough for me to keep up. Once again I appreciate the help all of you have been to me over the course of this last year and slightly before as I stepped up and decided to do some repairs that I wouldn't normally do myself. By reading archive posts when issues arose and following along most days to everyone's new posts I have learned a lot, but have a long way to go yet. And for those of you that don't know it yet...I am a chic and don't mind getting my hands dirty because it is well worth the effort!
07-30-2006, 05:03 AM
#7
Another BTDT here - mine let go on the urS while being parked at S-Fest last year.
Worse than the embarassment, I had to be at Watkins Glen the next Monday for a driving school. Ended up getting a ride to the nearest dealer that stocked the part, getting there just before they closed on Saturday, and paying $80 for the part. Good times.
