Well, I am finally going to take the plunge and replace
the heater fan - I can't take the noise any longer.

I am looking for some input on a related problem.
When the heater control is moved to warm or hot,
anything other than all the way to the left, I get
full heat. I have to keep moving the temperature
selector back and forth from all the way to the
left and anything to the right to regulate the heat

Basically it does not mix cold air w/warm air
Is this a heater valve issue or is it a mixing door
problem? If I have to replace the heater valve I
guess I'd prefer to do it while I am replacing the
heater fan -but maybe it's not that big of a deal.

Thanks in advance for the help.

--
1990 240DL - 204K, 1989 Ranger 241K, Gone but not forgotten 1994 855

You're facing the two big complaints about the 240 heating system.

They're both common things, or common enough as the cars age. The heater fan motor typically fails like this and they get replaced when they become unbearable. Not a fun job, but with care (and maybe strong fingers for the clips) it can be accomplished in 4 to 6 hours, even for a first timer.

Plan to cut the black ground wire and either splice it or just connect the one from the new motor to one of the screws on either the tunnel or center console.

The other problem is common enough to be considered an epidemic. I thought simply that they all did this, until I actually owned one that worked - my oldest car, too, a 1982 245T that came from Texas. I assume that the heat was used very little down there. Anyway the heat control has been on/off on all the other 10 or so 240's that I've owned, including my present 1992 244.

A new valve should fix it, for a while, till it breaks. The deal is they're supposed to be thermostatically controlled valves, and I assume vibration kills the thermostat tube or something along those lines. I dunno. I put up with it and just turn it from too hot to too cold to too hot to too cold to ....
--
::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 M47 212K ::: 90 745GL M47 275K ::: 90 745T AW71 213K ::: 90 745T Parts Car ::: 88 245DL SOLD! ::: 84 242DL Project ::: 70 VW Bus ::: 70 VW Pickup Project ::: 71 VW Notchback :::

Thanks for the feedback.
I ordered the parts from FCP groton today
I'll dig in to it next week when the parts get here.

Thanks!

--
1990 240DL - 204K, 1989 Ranger 241K, Gone but not forgotten 1994 855

As Ken said, no mixing flap. Just a valve to allow more or less hot coolant through the heater core. My 1986 244GL has the same problem, heat control seems to have two positions - 100% or zero.

DEpending on your weather/climate it is possible to moderate the full-hot setting by opening the passenger side windows an inch or two or three, both windows down the same amount. Better if you have power windows, obviously.Or Or run the a/c too.

Changing a heater valve might be covered in the FAQs, never looked. Prepare for old brittle hoses, and other old-car difficulties.

Check with IPD (ipdusa.com) for a replacement, they used to have some Volvo units.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

I think I know what you mean by "mixing door" -- on my old M-B, there was a flap that adjusts what proportion of heated air (passed through the heater core) and plain outside (and cold, this time of year) air will pass through the vents. But in that car, there was a auxiliary electric coolant pump that ensured that coolant always flowed through the heater core, so that you can get heat instantly (assuming the engine has already warmed up), as well as sit in the car with the blower working and you'll get some residual heat even when the engine is off.

However, in the 240, the temperature control simply regulates the valve controlling the flow of coolant through the heater core. There is no mixing of air from different sources -- all the air passes through the core, and it's temperature just depends on how fast the coolant is flowing through it.