BMW E12 Water/Heater valve

[Vintagemotorwerks]

So I made the mistake of trying to rebuild my heater box. It’s been a headache to say the least. Does anyone know where I can source a water valve? It’s the part that connects between the heater core and coolant pipes. I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Also does anyone know where I can get the heater core without having to sell my kidneys? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks fellas!!!

[Theotherotter]

I was able to get one at LaJolla Independent.

[Vintagemotorwerks]

How long ago was this? I hope they still stock them then.

[Theotherotter]

April-ish, so not terribly long ago.

[Vintagemotorwerks]

Ok awesome!!! Btw did you happen to slip apart the heater box? I’m having a hard time doing it due to the plastic rod that runs across both halves and operate the blend doors. Also how much did they charge you for the water valve?

[Mike W.]

Not only do you not have to split the heater box, it can be done in place. Not easily, it's been described as the worst job on the car, laying on your back under the dash with just enough room for an open end wrench, but it can be done. I've done it half a dozen times or so. But not fun, not fun at all.

[Theotherotter]

I don't remember what I paid, other than that I think they charged me the old price (their words.) I didn't care, as I'd pay whatever it cost.

I did not have to touch the heater box. I also did not have to DIY a funny wrench or anything like that, per the procedure that Mike W. refers to. I found that I was able to access the hidden nuts looking through from the passenger footwell with a thin ratcheting box end / open end wrench. I believe I wrote this up in another post in a topic that I started. It's still not easier but it was a lot better than I expected.

If anyone has any unbroken U joints, I would love to have one more. I have one good one left that I'm going to put on the temp control after my tape experiment failed. Tape seems to still be working fine on the air-control side since there is much less friction. In the more medium term I plan to DIY something using a robotics U joint.

[Vintagemotorwerks]

I asked about splitting the heater box because I have to replace the heater core. I myself can also use another u joint for the heater control. What a terrible design that BMW went with. There’s so many different ways that they could’ve done it that would last longer. I hope LaJolla Independent has another heater valve. I wonder if they’ll also have a heater core.

[Theotherotter]

Yes, that heater control joint design is about as brilliant as the 911’s headlamp mounting design. @satisfiedincorporated made some DIY joints using a universal joint and if you don’t feel like DIYing your own and can’t find an original one that hasn’t broken yet, he can be talked into making some more.

[Mike W.]

While not a great design, I don't think those U joints are all that bad. They rarely failed before about 30 years. And I haven't tried, but I see a couple of different kludges for them. On the other hand, while I'm sure seemingly elegant at the time with the A/C integration into the travel, I think the heater valve is much worse. And how and the hell can you improvise something for that? Not to mention it's absolute vile to replace.

[Theotherotter]

I think the design of the heater valve itself is fine, but the fastener locations are terrible (it's not even the location per se - at least with a bad joint you can reach down and actuate it by hand.) I'd rather have one under the hood, though. I did look through some other BMW heater valves (eg early E21) but nothing that would be easy to adapt to the packaging.

[Vintagemotorwerks]

Yes, that heater control joint design is about as brilliant as the 911’s headlamp mounting design. @satisfiedincorporated made some DIY joints using a universal joint and if you don’t feel like DIYing your own and can’t find an original one that hasn’t broken yet, he can be talked into making some more.

Thanks for the info. Do you recall how much you paid for the heater valve from LaJolla Independent?

[Theotherotter]

$160? Something in the mid-100s, I think.

[Vintagemotorwerks]

$160? Something in the mid-100s, I think.

Thank you!!! Hopefully they still have them

[Vintagemotorwerks]

$160? Something in the mid-100s, I think.

Hey TheotherOtter, I just wanted to thank you for pointing me to Carl at La Jolla Independent. Perfect excuse to make a drive to SoCal for some sun. He was a stand out guy and had both the Heater valve and Heater core. They weren’t cheap by my standards but I happily paid it knowing these were probably the last NOS parts still available in the US! Hopefully we can meet up once I get my E12 running. Thanks!!!!