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djbxr

88 XF heater tap

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Hi i have a manual  88 XF falcon ute, and the heater is no longer getting hot, i checked the thermostat and it was closed when the car was cold, so i assume its not that.

am going to put it in hot water and make sure it opens up ok.

so i was reading perhaps its the heater tap, i bought a new one online, but can someone tell me where the heater tap is on an XF, is it in the engine bay or up behind the dash

 

thanks

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Hey mate if it's the same as XG , it's in the engine bay on the passenger side towards the back of the motor.
In XG its under the log manifold, not sure what motor you have, carby or efi.
I'd have a look there, XF and XG have fairly similar engine bays.

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it's in the engine bay, close to the firewall under the inlet manifold, easy to reach.  

are you sure it had/has enough coolant in the radiator?  usually the taps just rust, i think the default is ON and vacuum closes it. 

 

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ok cool thanks for the replies

yeah its a Carbi model, good to know its not under the dash.

I shall have a look on the weekend.

I have had the car for 15 years and always run coolant/corrosion inhibitor in it

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Also has anyone noticed how difficult it is to fit the thermostat, other cars i have had the thermostat sits in a horizontal housing in a groove so it just sits in place.

The issue i found with the XF is that when you sit the thermostat it in the groove in the housing and tip it up vertical to bolt it onto the engine block is slips out of the groove easily, and you cant put the thermostat in the engine blocl side and offer the housing up to it as there is no groove in the block side for the thermostat to sit in.

 

wondering if there is any trick to it, i was going to loop a piece of string around the thermostat and out thru the hose outlet in the thermostat housing to hold the thermostat in the groove when i offer it up to the block and then once bolted in  place pull the string out thru the hole in the thermostat hosing where the hose fits on

 

thoughts......

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so when i took the vacum sensor off the old housing (old housing has small crack so am replacing it) some of the senor is still in the housing, looks like the bottom of the sensor has broken off? and is still in the housing so seems i need a new two port sensor now? is this correct the part still in the housing should be attached to the end of the thread on the sensor otherwise i dont see how it would come out.

 

if so where do i find a new one

housing.jpg

housing2.jpg

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That kind of looks like it was made that way. The connector pin is a button type. Try a bit of WD40 and let it sit for a bit, then try removing it again.
Probably just corrosion holding it in.

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@SPArKy_Dave is an expert on these vacuum switches 

i don't think i've seen one apart, but maybe it will go back together.. ?
if the housing is stuffed, i'd consider cutting it with a hacksaw carefully to remove that part.. assuming it might go back together.

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all of the sensors i can find on line (most are three port) but they all have that bottom piece attached to the sensor (ie its part of the sensor) so i dont know

 

 

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Also has anyone noticed how difficult it is to fit the thermostat, other cars i have had the thermostat sits in a horizontal housing in a groove so it just sits in place.
The issue i found with the XF is that when you sit the thermostat it in the groove in the housing and tip it up vertical to bolt it onto the engine block is slips out of the groove easily, and you cant put the thermostat in the engine blocl side and offer the housing up to it as there is no groove in the block side for the thermostat to sit in.
 
wondering if there is any trick to it, i was going to loop a piece of string around the thermostat and out thru the hose outlet in the thermostat housing to hold the thermostat in the groove when i offer it up to the block and then once bolted in  place pull the string out thru the hole in the thermostat hosing where the hose fits on
 
thoughts......
Buy a Tridon thermostat gasket, they're adhesive on one side so you can "glue" the thermostat into the housing before assembly

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18 minutes ago, Mr Polson said:
2 hours ago, djbxr said:
Also has anyone noticed how difficult it is to fit the thermostat, other cars i have had the thermostat sits in a horizontal housing in a groove so it just sits in place.
The issue i found with the XF is that when you sit the thermostat it in the groove in the housing and tip it up vertical to bolt it onto the engine block is slips out of the groove easily, and you cant put the thermostat in the engine blocl side and offer the housing up to it as there is no groove in the block side for the thermostat to sit in.
 
wondering if there is any trick to it, i was going to loop a piece of string around the thermostat and out thru the hose outlet in the thermostat housing to hold the thermostat in the groove when i offer it up to the block and then once bolted in  place pull the string out thru the hole in the thermostat hosing where the hose fits on
 
thoughts......

Buy a Tridon thermostat gasket, they're adhesive on one side so you can "glue" the thermostat into the housing before assembly

ok thanks mate

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4 hours ago, deankdx said:

i always use a goop of some sort (silastic/aviation gasket cement etc) with the gasket, so kind of glue the thermostat in the recess before bolting it together 

 

 

Yeah I do the same, use whatever goop you're using. By the time you've coated both sides of the gasket , it's sticky enough to hold the thermostat for a few seconds while you plonk the housing into place.

 

Also that yellow switch is a Ported Vacuum Switch (PVS) and they're really expensive to buy new. They are colour coded for what temperature they switch at so you need another two port yellow one. Yours is broken and has left some of its guts behind, jammed in the thermostat housing.

 

As deankdx said, I'l also be tempted to carefully cut the old thermostat housing apart and see if you can retrieve that piece and perhaps it can go back together?

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2 minutes ago, macman said:

 

Yeah I do the same, use whatever goop you're using. By the time you've coated both sides of the gasket , it's sticky enough to hold the thermostat for a few seconds while you plonk the housing into place.

 

Also that yellow switch is a Ported Vacuum Switch (PVS) and they're really expensive to buy new. They are colour coded for what temperature they switch at so you need another two port yellow one. Yours is broken and has left some of its guts behind, jammed in the thermostat housing.

 

As deankdx said, I'l also be tempted to carefully cut the old thermostat housing apart and see if you can retrieve that piece and perhaps it can go back together?

ahhh i thought so, great a simple thermostat change turns into a bigger deal than i thought, where do you even buy the PVS  from i cant find them on the net anywhere

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Just now, djbxr said:

ahhh i thought so, great a simple thermostat change turns into a bigger deal than i thought, where do you even buy the PVS  from i cant find them on the net anywhere

in the short term you can buy a bung for that port.. most of My hoses and stuff when i had XD XE XF were never connected to those things anyway. 

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17 minutes ago, djbxr said:

ahhh i thought so, great a simple thermostat change turns into a bigger deal than i thought, where do you even buy the PVS  from i cant find them on the net anywhere

 

Yeah always the way isn't it...

 

It may be easiest to see if anyone local is wrecking an XF or similar to grab another second hand PVS? Other option is to buy a bung for now, block the vacuum tubes and see if someone can post you a second hand PVS.

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yep might have to do that just to get it back on the road, would like to keep it all original and connected if i can get another one, just because its all pretty original and has been that way in the 15 years i have had it and i kind of like it that way

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On 9/24/2020 at 10:17 AM, djbxr said:

does anyone on here have a yellow PVS i could buy, (second hand is fine) like the one in the photo thank

 

housing2.jpg

if you want it to look stock, and fill the hole..
you might be able to tap a thread on the inside and screw in a bung on the back of that brass fitting...

 

or get the thermostat housing hole welded up and just screw that into the blind hole.. 

 

originally i was thinking of silver soldering a brass plug (actually a welsh plug could go in it) but any heat would probably melt the plastic fitting on it.

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The more I look at your "broken" switch, I reckon you should carefully retrieve the guts out the thermostat housing and put the switch back together. I think that brass end just fits tight into the body, I don't think yours is actually broken, just separated?

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2 hours ago, macman said:

The more I look at your "broken" switch, I reckon you should carefully retrieve the guts out the thermostat housing and put the switch back together. I think that brass end just fits tight into the body, I don't think yours is actually broken, just separated?

that's what i'd be doing, be cutting the old cracked housing off it gently

 

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On 9/23/2020 at 5:55 PM, deankdx said:

it's in the engine bay, close to the firewall under the inlet manifold, easy to reach.  

are you sure it had/has enough coolant in the radiator?  usually the taps just rust, i think the default is ON and vacuum closes it. 

 

Yes just bought a replacement tap for mine as its showing signs of decay with the occasional drip.

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