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View Full Version : Heat & A/C Hot water valve - OEM Bleed Adapter?



Dangermouse
06-25-2013, 11:02 AM
During my cooling fan failure yesterday, I was getting a small geyser of steam from this T-piece in the heating circuit – item 5:


http://store.delorean.com/images/Category/large/7-1-3.gif

I assumed it was a loose connection on one of the three legs, or maybe a split hose but eventually I determined it was a pinhole in the plastic between two of the legs that didn’t leak until put under pressure. (Alternatively, it was just a loose connection and I cracked it with all my fiddling ;) )

It is a black plastic barbed fitting – anyone know if this is OEM?

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=20131&d=1372172194


When I removed it the first time I noticed that one of the legs had only a small orifice open, smaller than you would expect from the diameter. It was almost like the end had become melted, either on purpose to restrict the flow or as a manufacturing fault. I opened it up a little, but then discovered the pinhole (it is on the upright part of the T).

My local autoparts store didn’t have any black hose adaptors, but they had a white vacuum T-adaptor, so I used that. Any experts on PVC colors can tell me whether this is just going to melt?

DMCH has this

http://store.delorean.com/images/Product/medium/106786.jpg

Obviously it is metal and they say it is either NOS or improved, but equally obviously looks nothing like what was in there.

Thoughts on suitability of the different components? The white one was a few cents and the metal one is $25, plus shipping.

Farrar
06-25-2013, 11:05 AM
I have a brass one in my car. I was concerned more with the plastic becoming brittle with age as opposed to melting.

DMCMW Dave
06-25-2013, 12:31 PM
Original are aluminum. Long gone out of stock. The good replacements are steel or brass.

The plastic ones are crap and should not be used for the exact reason you just demonstrated.

Dangermouse
06-25-2013, 02:06 PM
Original are aluminum. Long gone out of stock. The good replacements are steel or brass.

The plastic ones are crap and should not be used for the exact reason you just demonstrated.

I see that you are on the fence about the plastic ones Dave :)

I wonder why mine was changed?

I need to take a little inventory and see if any others are plastic and replace them all at once.