The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Rebuilding a Ranco heater valve (AD)

I just scored a nice used Ranco HEATER VALVE and want to restore it.

I'm a bit confused how to replace the valve and was wondering if anyone here has done this and would be so kind as to share their experience.

TIA

When ask about how to replace the valve, are your refering to how to install it in the truck, or how to rebuild/restore it?

You have a few choices for rebuilding it, one is to send in the "core" and have it rebuilt; and, another option is to buy this seal and try to "rebuild" the valve yourself.

Just finished looking at your album, lookin’ real good Woody, quite a difference. I wish I could help you out but I taint got into it yet. I'd like to see how they are rebuilt also. Mine is in real good shape but the sensor is broken off at the diaphragm. I wish I could find someone who knows if it is filled with anything or if it’s just a sealed system. Snapped a couple of shots.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2838072870098611668lVCUEh
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

the sensor tube is the same as the one on the temp gauge temp gauge Denny, didn't you re-do one of those?

the seal that worked on my TF Ranco [maybe not the same one as Tim linked] is also available at NAPA - p/n Napa/Balkamp #BK660-1000

Bill

Sorry for not being more specific... I want to bead blast it, buy the part and replace it myself.

I want to know how to disassemble it to replace the part and if these things can safely be completely disassembled for a thorough cleaning.

If it can be disassembled where do you start? It appears that the major components are held together by the tabs you can see in THIS PICTURE but I'm concerned that the innerds could go flying all over the garage looking at that spring in there

I got this at a real good price and would rather have the satisfaction of restoring it myself.

I was just looking at mine yesterday and wondering the same thing. I bead blasted it and it looks like the tabs will have to be bent back to dissasemble it. I guess the rubber washer or valve is in the copper inlet and outlet tube. I tried the search to see if anyone had posted anything on this but did not find anything about actually rebuilding one. I guess one of us is just going to have to jump in and do it Woody.
Cleon

Well Woody, you know the routine, TAKE LOT O’ PICTURES! I’ve done a few early AD door latch mechanisms, a bunch of light switches and been into quite a few vintage radio components, i.e., volume controls, etc. If your very careful and only bend the tabs just enough to get the unit apart you should be ok. I would pay special attention to bending anywhere there is rust because this presents a stress riser and you might snap a tab off there.
I can’t say for sure but I would be willing to bet that the core valve that the vendors require, would have to be in pretty decent shape for them to credit you with it.
Like I said, I haven’t been into mine yet but it looks pretty basic. Well Cleon whoever is the first one to jump in the water, make sure and let the rest of us know how hot it is!

Of course the capillary tube sensor is the same principal as the temp gauge Bill. But I’m just not sure whether these are filled with a gas/liquid or just air. It would seem that since the motor in this case is a diaphragm with a rather large area that air expansion would be enough. In the case of the temp gauges the motor is only a Bourdon tube with a small area so there isn’t much lever age. For that you need the pressure of liquid to gas conversion to power it.
And no, I never did get the original temp gauge restored, I ran into a brick wall when it came to the calibration. The volume of Ether is very critical to the calibration and it would take more experimentation than I can afford time wise and monetarily to establish a standard. When I was a kid you could buy Ether in a bottle from a lot of local sources, like the Walgreen’s or Rexall drug store. We used it for snuffing bugs for science projects. Now days I found it about impossible to get it and actually never did find a supplier. So the only source was to buy a donor temp gauge for a source, that gets expensive.
On the Ranco valve sensor that Woody has pictured, it looks like there is a very small bulb at the end, which might lead one to think that there is indeed, some kind of liquid inside. I’m sure that the guys that are rebuilding them for the vendors aren’t gonna let you know if they are filled or not, that would take the bread off their plate.
Metal diaphragm barometers are usually just filled with an inert gas like Nitrogen or Argon and just plain air in the cheap ones.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Here are a couple of sites that I had searched earlier on this topic. This one Heater Control Valve - someone who rebuilds and sells valves, I was going to contact him and talk, never did.

The second is instructions, albeit for a different valve thatn the Chevy Truck, but seemed to be worthwhile heater control valve repair .

Good Luck!
Mike

I doubt it would be air based .... this guy would probably tell ya and may sell parts

Bill

Good find!

Well I just talked with Jim Tucker on the phone about repairing my Ranco valve. Without an intact capillary tube the core is no good no matter how good of shape the rest of it is in. I called him last year trying to find a new unit but he hasn’t seen one of those lately.

So the story is, fifty bucks exchange for a rebuilt one, ninety bucks charge for the core if your core is not serviceable, that comes to a grand total of $140 for a rebuilt control valve for your AD truck. Didn’t bother to ask at this point what the shipping would be.

He says that the capillary tube cannot be replaced and that it is not filled with Ether but with a refrigerant, and there is no way he can refill the tube. Don’t know what the refrigerant is or at least he did not seem to want to talk about it, got a little annoyed when I questioned him about it.

Well what a shame!!!! Just think of all the nice new looking Ranco valves that have been pitched all because of one foot of copper capillary tubing and a squirt of refrigerant. Any Air Conditioning engineers out there that might be able to add anything to this???

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

What Woody said.

I've spoken to him in the past and he does seem to be a cranky sort... and that's why I never bought one from him.

Well, I called my NAPA dude today and he's going to have a rebuild kit for a Ranco model H13 for me tomorrow... the ones on the AD are model H11. It's the same NAPA part number as mentioned in the link to the repair above which mentions something to the effect that the parts may be interchangeable. For $10 I'm willing to take the chance.

I'll report back when I have more info.

Picked up the KIT today from NAPA. $10.77 with tax. This appears to be the same part that you see in most of the catalogs but the instructions are for a different valve.

I'm getting familiar with the way the valve is made and will probably attempt the rebuild over the weekend.

Stay tuned.

For those interested I saw them in JimCarters catalog but can't remember all the details. Seems to me they were pretty reasonalble. Has anyone checked or had experience with those?

Keep us posted Woody. I hope to be doing mine in the near future but that may be NEXT year:)

The one they sell at Classic Parts is listed at $17 and I'm sure it's the same thing. It's a lot smaller than it looks too, probably not as big as a quarter. The units you see for sale are rebuilt and the price doesn't include a core charge. The least expensive I've seen is $75 plus a core.

Hope to get to this project today.

Classic Parts of America lists a exchange for $49.95.
Look forward to hearing how it goes Woody.
Cleon

That's an excellent price...

Well, the deed is done and to sum it up in a few words... DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!

I consider myself to be a pretty handy guy, patient and fairly meticulous, but this thing kicked my butt. I spent almost 4 hours on the rebuild plus a couple hours putting the photos on line. Looking at all the sheetmetal work I have to do on my cab, I've done nothing more than waste a day.

If you can find a rebuildable core just send it to Classic Parts and spend your time doing something more productive.

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

I would suggest you select the MEDIUM picture size so you can read the captions without scrolling. If you want to see more detail, just select the ORIGINAL size photos. If you play the slide show, you will not see the captions.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to spend some quality time with Jim Beam... I've earned it!

Woody, that is a great piece you put together! I hope it makes you feel better to know that I will be going to Classic Parts for a valve instead of trying to repair mine. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for the advice.

Woody, thank YOU for all your efforts. We learn from experience AND from one another. Now you can understand my feelings about sand blasting right about now! I don't have but maybe 2-3 hours work left but Monday evening its going to the blasting place just like your going to get a rebuilt valve.

I understand perfectly well about spending a day that ends up being "non-productive". I had one as well today working on some small stuff and then throwing about half of it in the trash can.
Just don't ask me about JCWhitney sway bar bushing OK..?

Thanks for the pictures Woody, I'm assuming that you tested the diapraham and sensor before you went through all of that work??
If I could find a valve that is all rotted away but still had a good sensor I might be able to rebuild mine.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

I have no idea how to test such a thing. It's a sealed unit with no signs of deterioration so I'm going on faith that it worked before the seal went south.

With your shop and dedication to overcoming the smallest problem with patience and time to invest this project would be right up your alley. Good cores come up occasionally on eBay so you shouldn't have that much difficulty getting one. You could work out the kinks on your unit and then either simply replace your tube abd bellows with a good one from a donor or start over with a fresh core.

Funny, while I was doing this two thoughts kept running through my mind. One was that it would be a perfect project for Denny Graham and the other was that Andy Griffith episode... "Aunt Bea, call the man".

It's good to know that there are folks here wise enough to listen to the voice of experience...

Hey Don't fret Woodsman, I've called out to Aunt Bea on a few occasions me self. Yes having machine tools and that sort of background does help. To curl those large tabs over I would have turned a driver up on the lathe to roll them back. And I have various spring hooks for tension springs, I used them a lot when repairing TTY in the service.
As fur as the time you spent, I don't think an afternoon is too much time to spend on a project like this. If you have a job or business that will yield big bucks for those four hours, then yes, just pay someone else to do the work. Actually that would apply to all of the work on one of these restorations. Just ask around next time you go to a car show, “did you do the work your self?” The most common answer is well, yes, I bolted it all back together, after I got it back from the body shop, machine shop, weld shop, brake shop, frame shop, glass shop, upholstery shop. In other words 95% of the real work was done by someone else while they were busy making $300 and hour trying a law suit, or fixing a nose job or flying an Airbus from Dallas to Chicago or listening to why your mother is to blame for all your troubles. There isn’t much that any of us can do cheaper or faster than a professional or someone that makes his living at it.
So, all of this restoration work as far as I’m concerned, is simply a labor of love and for that reason I don’t think about the time, or the money but simply focus on the task at hand and how to do it to the best of my ability.
Testing the diaphragm; Ice and heat, does it expand and contract, if not it taint gonna regulate the water flow when your finished.
That’s the problem with mine, it’s just stuck in the full open position permanently because the capillary tube is broken off. I just shut the water off at the water pump in the summer time and open it up in the winter.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Woody, You did save your self some money, and you can say I did it my self. There is alway some satifaction in doing both.
That is assuming it works.
Cleon

You guys are right... I have to look at it that way. It's just that I have soooo much work to do on my cab before the cold weather/short days sets in that I just felt like I lost too much time on a bench project that I could have done in the winter.

"Assuming it works"... ah yes, therein lies the rub.

Before the cold weather???? Now come on Woodsman, winter down there is like fall up here. That's when it gets comfortable enough that I can really enjoy working out in the barn.
Denny G

Weather is relative, but the shorter days are a problem. Remember I'm working on the cab outside... on the north side of the building. I want to finish up the cab before December and then hunker down inside with a bunch of bench projects.

But the best laid plans...

As an FYI, I just picked up a valve on e-**y for $75, with no core charge, and a 1 year guarantee, it also had the dash mount and rod, no handle.
Mike

I rest my case... unless you just happen to get off on rebuilding stuff like this, it's not worth it.

Woody thanks for posting your photos and captions. If you've read previous threads, you probably already know of my frustration with HCVs. I was planning to do a rebuild this fall on the unit I installed less than a year ago, but I think I'll take your advice and just send the darn thing off to Classic. My core is good and, like you, I'd rather spend my time on something more worthwhile. I'm more of a blacksmith than a watchmaker.

Thanks for sharing.

Bill

I am very thankful for your efforts to document this. 12 years later I am contemplating it since Classic Parts is now upwards of $150 plus core. I’ve got 3-4 cores in various stages of who knows so I MAY try this at home. Masochist? No. Curious? You bet. Perfectionist? Far from it but I’ve waited 39 years to have my own 1954 Chevy truck so I may as well enjoy it.