Very lucky today

[andrewjeffs]

Been down the beach today with the family..as i pulled into my drive,a huge plume of steam comes spewing out from under the bonnet!Obviously alarm bells instantly ring and i kill the engine.I get the bonnet up,and notice a large amount of coolant has sprayed all round the back of the engine.

On closer examination,the whole plastic insert on one of the hoses going to the heater valve in the engine bay has snapped clean off!

The entire contents of my header tank was totally empty in a few seconds,so if i had been anywere furthur down the road it could have been bye bye engine.

On removal of the heater valve,all of the 4 plastic inserts were literally falling to bits.

Thank god i was driving and it happened so close to home..if the missus was driving the engine would have been toast..lucky escape!

 

[Ian G]

Not the best bit of design. Luckily not a difficult fix.

 

[quest63]

Already tried pimping him one :-D

 

[Glenn_]

I lost my coolent due to the hcv on track at Donnington a year ago. Joined the pipes with an 11mm socket then went back on track for a few more laps.

 

[andrewjeffs]

Already tried pimping him one :-D

Got one coming from the mighty ebay..cheap as chips,dont know if these pattern parts are any good..

 

[andrewjeffs]

I lost my coolent due to the hcv on track at Donnington a year ago. Joined the pipes with an 11mm socket then went back on track for a few more laps.

Joined mine temporary with some copper pipe and jubilee clips..and i will reuse the jubilee clips when i fit the new valave,as those spring clip things are a fkn pain in the ass to get on/off..

 

[748]

Got one coming from the mighty ebay..cheap as chips,dont know if these pattern parts are any good..

You'll probably be changing it again in a few weeks :-(
Many people have fitted non Ford ones, only to find they either don't work from the off or pack up after a while.
Paul

 

[oilburner]

Already tried pimping him one :-D

Got one coming from the mighty ebay..cheap as chips,dont know if these pattern parts are any good..

You'll be lucky if it lasts a month

 

[DOH]

There are definitely some after market heater valves that work perfectly ok.

I fitted a replacement to my sisters KA ( probably the same valve as it looked the same - but I didn't compare the wiring connector) 6 years ago (due to the dissolving plastic pipe syndrome ) and it's still working perfectly . It wasn't purchased off fleebay though. I also recall that
fitting the replacement valve to a KA was a lot more difficult to a Puma ,due to lack of space.

I reckon that the cause of the pipes dissolving is possibly due to infrequent coolant changes. The coolant system then has corrosion floating around inside those pipes acting like sandpaper ,wearing them away internally & the radiator cores too. They eventually end up no thicker than cardboard! So keeping the coolant system clean on the Puma is essential ose2:

 

[andrewjeffs]

Already tried pimping him one :-D

If it packs up,i will get one off you.
What goes wrong with them?..the motor bit with the multi plug on it??..if so,couldnt i just swap this over from the ford unit to the pattern part?

 

[andrewjeffs]

There are definitely some after market heater valves that work perfectly ok.

I fitted a replacement to my sisters KA ( probably the same valve as it looked the same - but I didn't compare the wiring connector) 6 years ago (due to the dissolving plastic pipe syndrome ) and it's still working perfectly . It wasn't purchased off fleebay though. I also recall that
fitting the replacement valve to a KA was a lot more difficult to a Puma ,due to lack of space.

I reckon that the cause of the pipes dissolving is possibly due to infrequent coolant changes. The coolant system then has corrosion floating around inside those pipes acting like sandpaper ,wearing them away internally & the radiator cores too. They eventually end up no thicker than cardboard! So keeping the coolant system clean on the Puma is essential ose2:

My plastic pipe connections,were so thin they crumbled in my hands!

 

[trublustu]

Shocking...
did you get the new one on ok?

 

[andrewjeffs]

Shocking...
did you get the new one on ok?

on the way..see how long it lasts

 

[trublustu]

I have a genuine ford one (nearly new) lying about if it doesn`t last

 

[andrewjeffs]

Shocking...
did you get the new one on ok?

on the way..see how long it lasts

Well it lasted...a week...now stuck permanantly on red hot..magic...12 month guarantee? ..really??..how can they possibly be aloud to sell these if they are known to fail in days!!..not just 1 copany as well..4 or 5 selling similar items..gits!

 

[evilrob]

You're not the first and you won't be the last!

 

[trublustu]

Ebay hcv`s are renowned for being not worth fitting..
Fit Ford or fit again

 

[Catweasel]

I carry a spare Ford HCV "just in case" but Puma is still on it's original !

 

[andrewjeffs]

I carry a spare Ford HCV "just in case" but Puma is still on it's original !

The problem with the ford item is the plastic inlet pipes.
The plastic had just crumbled to dust!
When i prised off the hoses,the plastic was micro thin.

Everyone with a old valve has a potential ticking time bomb under the bonnet.
It tooks seconds for all the water to be lost from the car when the hose snapped clean off.

If my wife had been driving,it would have been curtains for the engine.
I could have been anywhere..just very lucky.

something to bare in mind.

 

[748]

Another case for changing these before they break is that bits if the broken pipe get sucked into the cooling system and can cause havoc.
6 months ago I had to replace a broken HCV, thought I'd recovered all the broken bits. Last week I replaced thermostat and found a 20mm piece of the broken pipe behind it.
Paul