All,

So my 89' has a leak on the re-circulation button on my climate control buttons.

I only hear the 'hiss' while the button is out. When it is pressed in, I hear no hiss, and the flapper moves as expected.

So a question is, where should I be looking first, and what should I use to test for the leak so that I can pin point exactly where it is as quickly as possible.

Thanks in advance,

Matt
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1989 - 245, 1990 - 245, 1991 - 245, and 1993 - 245

It's easier to pinpoint the leak, by listening, when the engine is not running.
Run the engine to build-up vaccum. Shut it off and then press the buttons.

You can remove the side panels on the center console to hear better. You can get one of those mechanics ear scopes. Run out of vaccum, restart the engine---reapeat until you find the source of the hiss.

Could be as simple as a cracked hose???

CB,

I've pinpointed which button the leak is on, but your comment about it being a cracked hose is intriguing.

I hadn't thought that far about it yet.

I guess I can spend a little bit of time trying to find the leak in the hose vs. pulling out the heater core.

I'll put this on my list to do and report back in a few weeks as to what I discovered. It will take me this long as there are other vehicles that need my attention and I consider this a luxury at the moment and not a serious defect.

Thanks for the input.

Matt

When the button is pressed in, the valve is closed. So your leak is most likely at the most common place, the actuator. The time-honored fix is a rubber ball wedged in the flap to keep it in fresh air mode and just leave the button in. Really fixing it requires the heater box to come out, unless you can find some trick to replace the vacuum motor in some other way.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible. - George Burns

Art,

You're not helping me here!

I've removed that core twice already, its not coming out again, unless of course if fails, then I'll remove it.

Ugh!

Matt

Matt,

I tried to help you. Went to the trouble of documenting a heater core replacement, with an explicit suggestion to test and attend to this common issue while you have the opportunity. (smile)

You must be like me. Dive in, do it, then read what folks have written. Believe me, I enjoy doing things that way, because the mistakes are just too much fun, and nothing is learned as well as when making mistakes.

From http://cleanflametrap.com/heater_core/

Captioned "You'll never get a better opportunity to fix this."


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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Art,

I know you tried to help, and you did. Since the car is not my daily driver, but my son's, I'm not inclined to fix it just yet.

I had read your post several times over the years.

The last time I had that out, it worked just fine, which was over 2 years ago. Between now and then, something has given up the ghost.

What is the usual failure on the unit? Does a pin hole leak develop or what is the usual culprit?

On my 91', the problem is so bad, or the hole so big that the vent is always open and the only fix currently short of tearing into it is the tennis ball, though right now I need all the cool air I can get as the A/C doesn't work.

Any ways, I'm not upset with you or the problem, just that its a hateful job to do, and I'm not inclined to do it until if fails completely open, then I'll have to dive in as the recirc will no longer work, and the a/c won't be as efficient.

Matt

"... I'm not upset with you ..."

I knew that, you were just teasing and I teasing back. Need emojis for the generation gap I suppose. That little guy with the tongue out? (smile)

On topic, CB is absolutely right. The issue deserves a little investigation before jumping to conclusion. Fact is, you had your hands in there when you did the heater core, and that's an involved R&R, so maybe a detail or two got overlooked, and all you need to do is stick a hose back on a nipple.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

An expert is a man that has made all mistakes possible in a narrow field of expertise (Albert Einstein)

I had the oem unit out of mine for a heater core circa 2001. That piece (fresh air opener) wasn't even there. And I didn't know enough to know it was missing. Previous owner must've affected some kind of "fix".
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82 242-6.2L; '17 Mazda3; '16 Crosstrek

Guess the port was capped or the hose plugged.

For sure I know exactly how lucky I've been to have most of my collection from PO's who had their 240's to the dealer and then some fairly skilled indies, with receipts and stamped booklets, because later, in '06 I bought one from an "enthusiast!" One surprise after another.

Nothing against enthusiasts, but I suppose it is like unexpectedly stepping in dog poo -- not so bad if it was your dog.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

I used to be indecisive. Now, I'm not so sure...

My experience has been, again and again, that the 'surprises' are more likely to be found on cars that have been to "professional" mechanics.

Just had it happen again - 2011 BMW X5 turbo diesel. Helping my buddy (his car) do a water pump/t'stat - the egr cooler has to come out. That part had been replaced under a factory recall about 5 years before by Hendrick BMW here in Charlotte. The 2-bolt flange from the cooler that attached to the exhaust manifold is extremely hard to get to. We could only SEE the bolt heads with a mirror - tough sledding. The mechanic who replaced it at the dealer ran one bolt in blind (my learned opinion) with an impact wrench and cross threaded it. The other bolt was hand tight - the shoulder of the bolt wasn't even in contact with the flange. Sure enough, we broke the cross threaded bolt off in the hole when removing it. Since it was only being held on with one bolt, we didn't feel to bad about putting it back on with the 'other' one bolt. Additionally, multiple places were wiring looms and hoses weren't put back into the clamps designed to hold them...just incompetence plain and simple.

Lots of detail - but it just irks me to see that kind of work over and over again. Saw the same thing from a Porsche dealer down in Orlando that serviced a used Cayman I bought. In 3 years of annual service, they couldn't be bothered to remove the factory seal tape on top of the battery to check electrolyte level. 3 year old battery needed 24 ozs. of distilled water (4 ozs in each cell) to top it up - it had never been checked during the dealer's annual servicing. It failed about 2 weeks after I drove the car home. If they didn't check battery level - what else didn't they do?

I only go to dealers for warranty items and even then only if I have to. UGH!!!
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82 242-6.2L; '17 Mazda3; '16 Crosstrek

Our newest car is an '89 244. Kids have some newer cars, but with the exception of their Volvos, Saabs, and BMWs, I'm loathe to mess with them. There will come a day though, when I'll be forced to give in, if I live that long. UGH is right.

I guess I shouldn't have implied our cars were largely unmolested only because they'd been cared for by their POs using dealership and specialist technicians -- just that I was lucky is enough.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.-Sacha Guitry

You couldn't handle the truth. :-)
most excellent to have the answer and a viable work around.

This will fix it all....


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82 242-6.2L; '17 Mazda3; '16 Crosstrek