another heater lever question

[ramonesfreak]

i posted this yesterday
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/481565-heater-lever-question.html#post4737959

--having some slack, or free-play in the left lever as i pull up, about 75% of the way through the travel towards up

so i got under there, and with both levers up, or down, or some combination, the heater control valves are open. i suspect this is abnormal.

the cables on both sides, at the control valves, look mounted ok. the springs are attached. everything looks fine under the car

i got out the Bentley and it is very vague on this subject.

it seems to suggest that there is only one cable, at the point of the levers.

1) does the cable start as one cable at the levers, and then branch off into two separate cables towards each valve?

2) could the fact that the cables are mounted ok under the car at the valves, along with the fact that they remain open regardless of where the levers are placed, suggest that the one (or two) cable at the levers has come undone?

3) is getting at the underside of the heater levers difficult and am I on the right track? I dont want to pull up my carpet if i dont have too because the original glue is holding it down and its fragile....

advice?

thanks

[Gogar]

I would suggest that you undo the wire/cable at the flapper box:

Get a 7mm box wrench, and another one, maybe an offset, or -something- you can get to the top (bolt) side of the thing.

Undo, note the order of assembly, very important. Bolt comes through the back of the hole, then flat washer, then cable, then lock washer, then nut.

Once you have the cable undone, it's much easier to see if each flapper box is REALLY moving easily. You can mess with them and clean them, etc and get them working well. Then reinstall the cable. DON'T TIGHTEN THE NUT YET.

Get in the car and make sure the levers are DOWN/off. With the levers down, you want the flapper box open, which IIRC is when the flapper's springs will be helping you out.

With that cable through the hole in the holding bolt, take a pliers or something and pull firmly, and see if you can coax a little slack out of the cable. It's likely that there's some slack at the lever end.

Then, when you've pulled on it a bit, tighten up that nut. Then, get in the car and open up and see if it works out for you.

I just did the heater pull cables in my 72, but there is only ONE heater lever, and the cable/wire just goes through it and out to the other side, so there is only one actual wire. However, there are two seperate cables for cars with two levers.

If worse comes to worst, you can go to your local hardware and get some 18-gauge steel galvanized wire in the fasteners aisle and make your own new cable. Don't use braided or aluminum, not firm enough.





1) does the cable start as one cable at the levers, and then branch off into two separate cables towards each valve?

No. the two clear "cable sheaths", or whatever go all the way to the tunnel. If you're under the car you can see them enter in front of the tranny bar mount. They can be removed, too, for cleaning or lube or whatever.

2) could the fact that the cables are mounted ok under the car at the valves, along with the fact that they remain open regardless of where the levers are placed, suggest that the one (or two) cable at the levers has come undone?

Yes, or sometimes the cable/wire will fatigue near the lever and start to bend instead of moving back/forth like it should.

3) is getting at the underside of the heater levers difficult and am I on the right track? I dont want to pull up my carpet if i dont have too because the original glue is holding it down and its fragile....

It's not too hard but you will have to remove some carpet and the e-brake boot. If you don't want to go frickin' crazy trying to work on it, take 5 minutes and remove a seat.




Good luck!!

[ramonesfreak]

thanks for the info

I realized quickly that the cable did NOT come undone at the levers because when i pulled up or pushed down, i could hear the cable moving in the tunnel

i did discover the problem. i reached under and sprayed the left control valve with PB Blaster. Let it sit a few minutes and then reached under again and tried to turn the valve by hand. Stuck. I kept trying and finally the valve let loose and closed. Im not sure how it could lock up so tightly over night but it did and it is quite rusty. So, after working it back and forth, the lever is working again and i realize im gonna have to address this control valve. for some reason my left valve is rusty and the right valve looks new still..

are there replacement control valves?

[Gogar]

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=911-211-013-00-M260&catalog_description=Heater%20Flapper%20Box%2C%20le ft%2C%20without%20auto%2Dheat%2C%20%39%31%31%20%28 %31%39%37%34%2D%38%36%29%20


If you do decide to take the whole box off, maybe soak the mounting studs/nuts with PB overnight or something. Those mounting studs get corroded and lots of fellas have broken them off trying to remove the box. Then you're in for a long day.

[sailchef]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Those mounting studs get corroded and lots of fellas have broken them off trying to remove the box. Then you're in for a long day.

Ditto on the flapper boxes. I left my boxes in place and used a combo of PB blaster, a toothbrush, and emory cloth to remove the rust off of the boxes. If they have been untouched for 25-30 years you may want to take your time.

Be real carefull undoing the little screws that attach the cable to the boxes, they bend easily. The flat top / lid ( only moving part) of the flapper can get a little bent and the edge will catch when you go to close it holding the beater box partially open.