Explorer heater valve

In this page you will learn how to replace the heater valve on a 1999 Ford Explorer, this vehicle belongs to us, we were driving back from a camping trip in Sedona when the heater valve blew completely apart, we were in a line of cars moving very slowly and the engine in the truck got very hot by the time we were able to find a place to pull over, we didn't know if that had caused damage to the head gaskets but it was certainly a possibility.

We were far away from any parts stores, and the only tool we had was a pocket utility knife, at this point we had two options:  1-  Have the vehicle towed over a hundred miles or   2- by-pass the heater core.

We opted for number 2, since we didn't have a piece of pipe to join the two heater hoses together this is what we did:

 

 

 

 

 

 We cut a branch off from a small green tree and we carved a small section to plug the heater hoses. ( see image )

 This is how our home made heater hose by-pass plug looks like installed on the lower heater hose, the next step of course was to connect the upper heater hose to the opposite end.

We lost most of the engine coolant when the heater valve blew apart, since we were close to the river we were able to get fresh water to fill the cooling system, since the engine was still warm and the water from the river was very cold we started the engine prior to adding water very slowly to avoid cracking a cylinder head or the engine block.

Once we were done adding water to the cooling system and we made sure that the thermostat opened properly we starting driving back home, the weather was around 100 degrees and we noticed that every time we were stuck in traffic the engine temperature would start to climb, the only way to cool the engine down was to place it in neutral and rev the engine to 2000 RPM to force more air through the radiator, so.... it was clear that the engine had a head gasket issue due to the overheating.

At the end of this page we will show you what we used to fix the problem, but first we will illustrate how to replace the heater valve. ( we did this once we got home of course ).

 Unplug the vacuum hose located at the top of the heater valve.

 Using channel lock pliers, slide the heater hose clamps away from the heater core.

 It is easier to remove the heater hoses from the heater core if you make a diagonal cut alongside of the heater core pipe.  Do this to both hoses and pull both hoses and the piece of the heater valve out of the engine.

 Place the new heater hose against the old heater hoses and cut the hose to the correct length.

NOTE: These houses are of unequal length, pay attention when you cut them.

 Slide the hose clamps away from the heater valve and pull the heater hose off, remove the clamp from the old heater hose.

 Slide the hose clamp on the new heater hose.

 Install the new heater hose on the new heater valve and slide the hose clamp in place, do the same on the other hose, once you are done installing those two heater hoses to the heater valve install the assembly back to the heater core.

 Next, using channel lock pliers pull the clamp away from the hose fitting and pull the upper heater hose off the engine. ( This hose is located near the thermostat housing, see image. )

 Place the old heater hose on a work bench, cut the plastic ties and remove the insulation, place the new hose against the old one and cut it to the correct length, install the insulation on the new hose and secure it with new plastic ties, install the new heater hose back on the engine and heater valve.

 Remove the lower heater hose and cut the new hose to the correct length in the same way you did the upper heater hose, install the new heater hose.

 this is the product we used to repair the slight damage we caused to the head gaskets when the engine overheated, please note that the coolant and oil never mixed in our engine, so we don't know how effective this product will be for an engine that due to overheating the cylinder head damage would cause the water and oil to mix together.

This product worked great for us, it cured the overheating problem in our explorer, as you can see in the picture it is called Head gasket FIX made by bar's leak, the reason we chose this particular product is because it mixes with the antifreeze, so there is no need to drain the entire cooling system prior to its use.

We added the entire bottle followed by the correct amount of antifreeze/water mix, we started the engine, allowed the thermostat to open-up, turned the engine off and checked the coolant level again, installed the radiator cap back on and took the explorer for a test drive, we turn the AC on and drove it at high and low speeds to see if it would overheat but it never did, so we were lucky that the head gasket FIX cured the overheating problem and kept us from having to tear the engine down to repair the cylinder heads, great product!!.