N10 Cherry heater valve (Read 194 times)

[geordiechris]

I was having a little jolly in my Cherry as it were when all of a sudden coolant started pouring into the cabin. Fortunately I wasn't far from home and made it back before any overheating issues arose. I thought the issue was with the heater matrix and so set about removing it to get it repaired. I've not done a heater on a Cherry before but remember changing them on other cars back in the days when I was young. It always involved removing a section of the dashboard and then wiggling out a heater box the size of a suitcase.

Looking at the Cherry it became obvious that the whole dash needed to come out. A quick look in the Haynes manual confirmed this but gave no real indication as to where the bolts etc might be located. The Datsun dealer manual I have made reference to the fact that the car has a heater but no more than that (despite very in depth information on repairing air conditioning that my car doesn't have). I suspect that this manual covers all the things that were different on the 1.3 OHC engine and seeing as how I don't have the OHV manual it doesn't help.

I managed to remove every bolt and screw I could find and unplug everything but the dash is not for coming out. I've managed to prize it to a point where it was just about possible the get the heater box out of the car with great difficulty but there is still something on the drivers side that wont let go and I'm frightened of breaking whatever it is.

With the heater out it became obvious that the cause of the issue is the water valve. I am trying to source a replacement with help from another very nice Datsun owner. Not looking forward to the rebuild as it is going to be quite a job getting that enormous heater box back into the tiny gap behind the dash. I will try again to see if I can find whatever it is holding the dash back first, for now Storm Ciara is making any repairs impossible anyway.

[gainsb1]

Hi, Chris. Thanks for posting. Let us all know how this goes, particularly if you manage to work out what is holding the dash in place. Also, is the heater valve accessible without removing the dash?

Leigh (Area rep)

[Tero75]

Is the valve like this link

[geordiechris]

Thank you for the responses. The valve is similar to the one in the link. I have looked at a few and America is always a great source for parts like this but you get crippled with import duties and VAT (just bought a device for converting the 4 cylinder rev counter on my V8 Volvo to 8 cylinders. Part was £36.51...duties were an extra £17.28!)

I have bought one on ebay for a Violet. It is not exactly the same but I'm pretty sure that I can make it fit with some careful modification and at least it is a new, old stock genuine Nissan part.

The valve is not accessible with the heater box in place...in fact I didn't even know it had one until I finally got the heater unit out. Unfortunately I can't get much work done on the car at the moment due to the weather. Ciara has passed but Dennis the Menace is coming!

I will let you know how the repairs go...hopefully by next weekend I will have the new valve and begin the rebuild.

Chris

[geordiechris]

Well...a fairly successful day yesterday. The Violet heater valve arrived and I set about making it fit the Cherry heater box. The actual valve is the same but the operating lever is totally different and the outlet pipe is bent in the opposite direction. Once I had removed the Cherry valve (which did involve drilling the heads of a couple of bolts...they were never intended to last this long and the screw heads rounded off due to the soft metal) I then carefully bent back the brass tags that locate the valve to the bracket. It was then possible to carefully un-clip it from the bracket and operating mechanism. The same process was used on the new Violet valve and then the whole thing could be placed back onto the heater box with a couple of new bolts. I cut the outlet pipe off the Cherry valve and using a shaped piece of heater hose (actually for a Triumph Stag I used to own) I made a sort of u bend connection. Getting the heater back into the car actually went smoother than I had expected. I never did find out what it was that refused to release the dashboard on the drivers side, but with the dash balanced on my knees I manage to wangle the heater back into place and then began the rebuild. The heater is now fitted and the dashboard it 90% back together, I even managed to replace the rear fog lamp/hazard lamp switch that I have been trying to obtain for 15 years and spotted one on ebay from the same guy I bought the valve from...result! Unfortunately the weather then closed in on me and I had to call it a day. Next Saturday with any luck I will fully finish and get my little Datsun back on the road.

[geordiechris]

The little Cherry lives to fight another day! The work is now completed and it has just passed another MOT with no advisories. The heater is warm, but not as hot as it was before. I suspect this is due to the ubend shape needed in the modified pipe restricting the flow a bit. Nevertheless it is adequate and not leaking.

[gainsb1]

Job done!

Leigh (Area rep)