Worldly Scions,
I recently replaced my heater control valve and thought
some of you might benenfit from my experience. FWIW the
failure mode of the old valve was an internal leak
(i.e. the heater was ON a little all the time).
This only presents a problem in the summer months :-)
The later Spit heater valve is NLA but can be "repaired"
using a part from the "other" LBC company as described
in TRF's glovebox companion.
VB had them in stock, so I went this route.
What VB does *not* provide is the brass adapter that is integral
to the heater control valve. This part is not shown seperately
in any catalog (except Moss Europe) and appears to be part of
the valve casting. The old brass adapter was easy enough to
re-use, but when it was detached from the valve body another
"unlisted" part was revealed. There is an internal sealing ring
inside. Much like a flattened rubber grommet. Moss Europe is
the only catalog that shows this part (I don't know if they have
them in stock).
One other complication was the poor tolerances on the VB part.
The hole that mates with the adapter was a good .02" oversize.
I ended up having to use copious amounts of form-a-gasket-goop
to fill the voids. Not a very elegant solution, but it doesn't
show and it doesn't leak (yet).
Having gone through this exercise, I think I would try the TRF
repair next time.
Riding more comfy now,
Bob Sykes
'78 Spits
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