Heater Valve Diaphragm
Alright fellow E30'ers, not sure what's going on with the supply of E30 heater valves. They're $250-$300 right now and that seems insane, especially considering that people still have problems with this new style leaking. I suspect the new style valve is a change of supplier from Behr, the OE, to something else, and the quality has gone down hill.
Upon disassembling my leaky heater valve, it became apparent that the rubber diaphragm has dissolved.
Mine:
What it should look like:
Even if I RTV the O-ring so that it doesn't leak, coolant will still be flowing up into rest of the valve. I have verified that the solenoid still actuates. Part of me thinks that since the solenoid has operated while swimming in coolant for awhile now (this surely didn't happen overnight) that it will be fine going forward, but the other part of me doesn't believe that.
It looks like diaphragms are available for other BMW heater valves, I was wondering if anyone's figured out a diaphragm that will fit these valves?
The OD of the diaphragm is 35mm and the ID of where the diaphragm-y part of it needs to start is 27mm (don't know my proper diaphragm terminology).
The OD of the thinner collar on the end of the shaft is 5mm, so there would need to be a hole at the center of the diaphragm with that measurement.
The "off" height is 9.5mm, and the "on" height is 14mm so it would need that range of motion.
If no one's got any great ideas, I may call around and see if I can find anything.
Diagram:
Upon disassembling my leaky heater valve, it became apparent that the rubber diaphragm has dissolved.
Mine:
What it should look like:
Even if I RTV the O-ring so that it doesn't leak, coolant will still be flowing up into rest of the valve. I have verified that the solenoid still actuates. Part of me thinks that since the solenoid has operated while swimming in coolant for awhile now (this surely didn't happen overnight) that it will be fine going forward, but the other part of me doesn't believe that.
It looks like diaphragms are available for other BMW heater valves, I was wondering if anyone's figured out a diaphragm that will fit these valves?
The OD of the diaphragm is 35mm and the ID of where the diaphragm-y part of it needs to start is 27mm (don't know my proper diaphragm terminology).
The OD of the thinner collar on the end of the shaft is 5mm, so there would need to be a hole at the center of the diaphragm with that measurement.
The "off" height is 9.5mm, and the "on" height is 14mm so it would need that range of motion.
If no one's got any great ideas, I may call around and see if I can find anything.
Diagram:
but apparently it doesn't seem to negatively affect the electronics of the valve.
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