Auxilary Air Regulator

[John Rogers]

The AAR on our 1974 2.0 recently shorted internally and stopped working. I got another used one that works fine. There are requests in various places for replacement, but it seems these are not made anymore. Has anyone tried a replacement from another car make or model since the AAR is nothing more than a controlled air leak?

[This message has been edited by john rogers.]

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Well, I tried to post this once as a response and once as a new message. Hopefully this one gets through.

From some reading I did a few years ago, the 1.8 AAR can be used in place of the 2.0 AAR. It isn't quite right, but it's something. And, as of that time, the 1.8 version was still available. The mounting is somewhat different, so you have to figure that out.

However, the 2.0 AAR can be repaired.

There are two failure modes for the AAR. The typical one is that the rotary valve itself gets stuck, either open or closed. This can sometimes be fixed by spraying it down with a penetrating oil or WD-40 and "exercising" it by applying +12V to the lead and grounding the case. Do that for ~5 minutes, then let it relax for 5-10, repeat several times.

If that doesn't work, the AAR can be opened up. I used a screwdriver as a chisel to pry back the lip of the "can" that is folded over the "lid". It was tough, but I eventually got it. I then used the screwdriver to turn the rotary valve from the bottom, after some WD-40 was applied. That freed it up, and I put it back together. I folded the lip of the can back over in a few places, and then used silicone "goop" to seal the seam all the way around. Might not have been necessary, but what the heck.

The other failure mode is the one the previous poster mentioned--the heater wire failing. The wire is a strand of resistance wire, coiled like a keyboard cable. I do not know the precise length, but it can be measured or calculated. The wire sits on an insulator, with one end connected to an insulated rivet through the case, and the other end connected directly to the case. Resistance of this wire is either 13 ohms or 30 ohms total (forget which, sorry!). If you know the length and resistance, you can buy resistance wire and solder it in yourself. You have to open up the AAR as described above, of course.

Between these three techniques, almost any AAR should be salvageable. Even if yours isn't, I have had good luck buying them at swap meets. I managed to pick up one with a 2.0 manifold for a total of $10, because I wanted the manifold and the seller didn't realize the AAR was a separate piece! 8^)

Good luck!

--DD

[This message has been edited by Dave_Darling.]

[John Rogers]

Thanks Dave, mine was the latter with the heater wire and insulator bad. I got one from a friend who has several. I was wondering if there is one from any other make of car that might work? But it seems this system is the only one to have this type of valve.