Firstfives.org

I intend to drive my car thru the winter here. We sometimes get temperatures of -40 Celcuis in January up here in Canada. Engine blocks are kept warm overnight by plugging into house outlet during extreme temps. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to make sure the AAR was functioning efficiently as sometimes it is not possible to plug in everywhere. Can it be taken apart and cleaned?

About all you could do is pull it, spray some carb cleaner or the like in to clean it out, followed by a light lube like Triflow, and then verify operation, stick it in the freezer first to make sure it opens, then heat it with at least a blow drier if not a heat gun to make sure it closes. People complain about them being unreliable, but I've never had an issue and the one I recently tested was fine after sitting for years if not decades.

Karl, Check out my project post in Gallery. Its on page 3 . My AAV was stuck and I took it all apart and cleaned and lubed it. It seems to work better now although it doesnt actually open all the way or close all the way. Hope that helps

I could not see your post in Gallery? Did you mean in the Tech section?

Nope, Its in gallery, second posting from the top. Tile: 1977 530i 27 years in storage

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5482

Thanks.I found the the pics on the AAV. Luckily I found a spare in a parts box that came with the car. I did what Mike said and put the spare unit in the freezer and then put the heat gun on it and it does open and close so it's all good. I took the whole works out and cleaned everything. One of the hold down bolts was rusted so bad that the head broke off when I tried to remove it. Good thing I had a spare.

Karl,

You can disassemble these units with a shop press, but I would advise against it (ask me how I know ).

Instead, I'd suggest getting a cheap ultrasonic parts cleaner (If you have Harbor Freights in Canada, they sell a small benchtop unit) and carb cleaner in a can. The ultrasonic cleaner will do a thorough clean job without you needing to disassemble the valve. Just be sure to thoroughly rinse the valve and repeat ultrasonic cleaning a couple times to ensure the bottom of the valve is de-gunked.

Mike

Thanks for the info.