I'm guessing the answer is "No", but it's not normal for the heater control valve to leak a little, is it? My heat and A/C work perfectly on my 2000 LS, but my HCV seems to spit up a little coolant every now and then. I never catch it in the act, but every so often when I open the hood I notice a little dried up pink spittle on the valve. Does this mean that sooner or later the valve is going to fail and need replacing? The hoses connected to it are in very good shape, and the clamp seems pretty tight.

 

mine is dry. you have a very slow leak that will develop into a bigger one later. wipe it down and keep and eye on it. it could just be the clamp, regardless if you think it's tight enough.

 

Looks like the plastic body has a minor crack. If so, I'd change it before the crack develops.

 

I dont think I would trust it, just get another one

 

Just to close the thread out - I replaced the valve with a new one and the leak hasn't come back. I couldn't find any cracks on the old one, even after taking it off and inspecting it with a magnifying glass.

 

Thanks for the report. Congratulations on your success to fix.
It may be natural that you can't recognize the exact leaking point at ambient. With a certain pressure and the high temperature, you can barely recognize it judging from the photo you posted.

 

true, with heat comes expansion and the crack may become more apparent at operating temperatures and pressures. glad it's fixed!

 

Sorry for the old thread bump, but my heater control valve has developed a leak and I need to take care of it. Is the DIY to replace the part fairly straightforward? Easy to do myself? I've searched for a step-by-step but couldn't find much. Took the car to a mechanic and he wants $292 to install a new OEM hcv. Would like to save that money if possible.

 

It's not bad at all - you can do it. Just disconnect the few bolts holding the valve in place and the hoses attached and swap in the new one. Be gentle with the hoses when pulling them off and pushing them back on though. They're old and fragile and can split if you force them too hard.

Edit - and maybe you already knew this, but use a hose clamp to shut off the flow of coolant before you detach the hose!

 

OK, I'll give it a go when the part arrives. If it's such a straightforward procedure why does the indy mechanic want $292 to perform the fix??

Any other tips or helpful suggestions? I'm all ears. Will report back once I give it a go!

 

The original one was likely okay, and just a little seepage around the hose.
Indy wants the $ for having to mess around with old crusty hoses and the possibility of goofing something else up in the process, and the coolant draining and removing air from the system and all that. Any thing in auto mechanics may look and be easy at times but when something gets messed up and the whole dash needs to be removed or the engine has to come out, then its not so easy. Just don't do something to get your heater core leaking then the $ start flowing.

 

I'll be gently to my poor crusty old hoses Ordered the part, should be here next week. Let's do this..

 

I assume the radiator and this will probably go at about the same time due to the plastic aging and getting brittle. So I would also keep an eye on the top radiator hose mount on the rad. Make sure there's no seepage there or around that area.

How much are these HCVs? I heard that they're hard to get or are discontinued?

 

I bought one at the wrecking yard for $10. 6 years ago, still working today.. PS VERY simple to replace

 

I say clean the one you have and keep an eye on it.