Heater control valve rebuild


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By topgun1 - 9 Years Ago
I have recently decided to fix the heater switches and cables in my 55 fairlane. The levers were stuck and starting to bend. When I removed the heater levers I found a stuck temp cable and the heater control valve seized. I ordered the cable. Found a couple valves on e-bay. They were between $179 to $299. I decided to try and resurrect mine. It's a firewall mounted unit. It was in rough shape. I needed something to dissolve the rust. I was originally thinking naval jelly. Looked up some stuff online; didn't come up with much.
I was at the hardware store and one of the owners suggested I use this product by WD-40. You soak the parts in it and it dissolves the rust. The guy who buys it from him a lot, rebuilds antique clocks. So I figured I was good! Here are some before and after pics of how it came out.



There was an umbrella type seal on the valve rod. Preventing coolant from leaking through the valve itself. I used a grommet and a small rubber washer to replace the broken original seal.

I can post a pic of the magic WD-40 juice tomorrow.
By '60 Fairlane - 9 Years Ago
Interesting. Please do post up the information on the "juice".

-Dave
By topgun1 - 9 Years Ago
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/uploads/images/08519eff-d7bf-409e-9075-04f5.jpg 
Here it is! This stuff was really surprising. It's non toxic, biodegradable. It smells like nothing. No fumes in the shop. Didn't hurt my hand when I was digging parts out of the tub. It's a mystery. But it worked really well. Thanks Ace hardware!
By ian57tbird - 9 Years Ago
How much was the container?
By Ted - 9 Years Ago
Looks like around $28 at WalMart.  Here’s a link.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/WD-40-300042-Specialist-Rust-Soak-1-Gallon/21969741
By Kahuna - 9 Years Ago
Also goes by the name Evaporust & others
Great product
By carl - 9 Years Ago
I bought a gallon at Lowes for $25.00 and also got a $10.00 rebate from WD 40.  Carl