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Rebuilt Thermal Pill valve with Repair Kit.JPG [ 1.84 MiB | Viewed 3133 times ]
I have been spending some time during the Michigan winter repairing a few parts on my '52 Firedome Hardtop that didn't work. The first one I tackled was the heater. It didn't make heat. The blower worked, and air came through the system, but the heater hoses didn't get hot, and there was no heat. I also noticed a little moisture around the heater valve.
First I disassembled the dash to access the heater valve. I drained the coolant down low enough to work on the hoses, and started disassembling things. I thought the valve might be plugged, but it seemed to be free and aside from the leak, just fine. I discovered to my astonishment that NAPA carries a repair kit for the seal in those valves- Part number 6601000. I bought two- an extra one just in case. I rebuilt the valve (photo attached). This valve is called a "Thermal Pill" design, and functions a lot like an automatic temperature control. It works fine with no leaks now.
The real problem was a plugged heater return line at the water pump. It was plugged with a green jelly from the anti-freeze! I cleaned that out, and now the heater works just fine. Turns out that jelly is common when fresh anti-freeze is installed, and the engine is not run at a high enough speed for long enough to circulate it thoroughly. It usually forms on aluminum or brass parts. So, with that fixed, I am 1 for 3. Still need to fix the clock and the radio. More on those later.