940 Heater Control Valve

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

I may be mistaken about the input pipe on the valve. I thought that it poked through the bulkhead and the hose was connected to it on the engine side of the bulkhead, but there’s a good chance that I’m wrong and the hose comes through the bulkhead before joining the input pipe. That seems more likely as the poor connection was leaking coolant into the car. I cannot be sure without checking mine and it’s persisting down outside.

Have to confess, looking at the picture again i might have been mistaken too.

Think you'll have to "suck it and see" Vicky!

[vickyg]

Well I shall report in the morning when I inspect the kitchen towels but the K-seal has stopped it so far!

[Ian21401]

Just had a look at mine. Hard to tell inside without removing kick panel etc. but there’s definitely a heater hose and hose clip on the engine side of the bulkhead.
As Dave said, “suck it and see”.

[vickyg]

Definitely a hose clip on the engine side HOWEVER it remains dry this morning! Yey! We shall see but if nothing else it has bought me some time to deal with the more important issue of the blocked breather.

[vickyg]

The valve has not dripped since however my carpets are still sodden, the driver side more so than the passenger. No coolant lost evident from the header tank. So now I've been thinking rain, as we've had monsoons here. Sunroof channels running freely to ground so not them. I am running out of places to look. I wonder if there is a way through the air intake vent below the windscreen? No leaks evident around the windscreen rubber. Someone said it may be coming in via the doors but I think unlikely as the sides are dry, it's the floor that's wet. I've moved it into the garage now until I get to the bottom of it and to allow it to dry out. Rear footwell dry on both sides.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by vickyg

The valve has not dripped since however my carpets are still sodden, the driver side more so than the passenger. No coolant lost evident from the header tank. So now I've been thinking rain, as we've had monsoons here. Sunroof channels running freely to ground so not them. I am running out of places to look. I wonder if there is a way through the air intake vent below the windscreen? No leaks evident around the windscreen rubber. Someone said it may be coming in via the doors but I think unlikely as the sides are dry, it's the floor that's wet. I've moved it into the garage now until I get to the bottom of it and to allow it to dry out. Rear footwell dry on both sides.

You'll need to check the drain(s) in the plenum where the air intake comes in if you suspect water is getting in there. Can't remember if it's one or two drains but they have a habit of clogging up with leaves and similar. If it rains and can't run away through the drain, it can fill up the heater box with water.

As for the carpets, you'll have to drive round for quite some time (weeks, maybe even months) with the heater on maximum to your feet, recirc on and the sunroof or a window slightly open. Better idea is remove the carpets and any soundproofing you can remove, hose the soundproofing off to clean it, use some clothes washing liquid on the carpets and a stiff brush to clean them then rinse off with a hose, hanging them all up to dry after.

They're already wet and will be dirty, may as well clean them at the same time!

While they're out and once the floorpan is dry again, you can check it for corrosion, there's a favourite place where they go on the floor pan :



Front passenger footwell ^^^^^ - drivers side is known to go in a similar area and the carpets get wet from this as well.

If all is good, you may want to consider adding extra soundproofing. You can buy a 5m x 1m roll about 5-6mm thick of closed cell acoustic foam on fleabay for about £30 and fit it to the floorpan and anywhere else you see fit. Makes an enormous difference!

[bob12]

I would now take the side kick panel off on the driver's side to reveal the ecu and a large plastic plug behind it. It is a common fault for the plug sealant to deteriorate with age and leak. Pull it out and re-seal.

Whilst down there have a look at where the bonnet cable goes through the bulkhead via the bottom corner of the lower inner bulkhead and the firewall. Again, rust can occur there and allow water into the floor well.

Also, from the engine bay check the two large rubber (one on each side low down) drains (they look like large teats!!).

If you want to looking inside the air vents it is not difficult to remove the outer scuttle panel once you have removed the wiper arm bush from the drive spindle.

Bob

[vickyg]

Thanks folks, I will check all these. I checked the bonnet pull this morning and not the culprit. I have currently shut a dehumidifier in the car because I'm in no mood to pull all the carpets at the moment lol. Maybe the wetness is just 'old' from the heater leak...I'd like to think so but it just seemed worse. We've had horrific rain here recently.

[jpliddy]

my 940 had water coming in drivers side via the plastic panel near bottom of door column by my right foot dry everything out then drive car for however long it takes to find the leak .you will need a good quality sealant mastic

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by vickyg

Maybe the wetness is just 'old' from the heater leak...I'd like to think so but it just seemed worse. We've had horrific rain here recently.

"Old wetness" takes ages to dry out. It's surprising just how much wet stuff carpets and the older style of soundproofing will hold. Even more surprising is how long it takes to dry out.

If you can remove the trim along the sill where the inside meets the outside and the kick panel trims and lift the carpets up while the dehumidifer is in there, that would help a lot too.