Steam pouring out of the dashboard

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Jona1971
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Post Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:06 pm

On the way home tonight I heard a hissing noise from the left footwell and steam filled the interior of the car. By the time I stopped, there was steam coming out of the dashboard, the clock and the instrument cluster were misted.

I opened the bonnet and there was steam there too. The left footwell was wet.

I topped up the radiator and started the engine, there was steam coming from the 2 pipes that go through the bulkhead to the heater matrix, but not much.

There is water in the glove box.

I topped up again and drove the 1 mile home. By the time I got there there was water pouring (not dripping) from the heater valve/matrix/pipework area.

Recent events where I may have contributed to the downfall:
1. There was a small puddle in the passenger footwell a year ago and it turned out to be a fractured heater matrix. This was replaced with an unbelievably cheap (£20) new part from CarParts4Less. No issues since.
2. I have always had to top up with water, every 3 months or so, since owning the car 3 years ago. Its my daily driver. I recently added RadWeld in an attmpt to stop the leak that was getting progresively worse. 2 lots of RadWeld had no effect. The leak was traced to a perished pipe that was cut back 1cm and reattached. No issues for the last 500 miles until today.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance :(
Moredoor autos with small engines are cool - but my new m20b25 is awesome!
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Jona1971
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Post Wed Nov 23, 2016 9:16 pm

I've bridged the inlet and outlet rubber pipes in the engine bay that lead to the to the heater valve with some copper tube so I now have wheels...
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DHFiS
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Post Wed Nov 23, 2016 9:54 pm

Sounds like the first thing to look for is a failure of the heater control valve.
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Brianmoooore
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Post Wed Nov 23, 2016 11:07 pm

DHFiS wrote:Sounds like the first thing to look for is a failure of the heater control valve.
Probably this, but a cheap heater matrix is also a possibility in this case.
You don't say what E30 you have, but assuming it's a post face lift, non iS, then check that your coolant pressure cap has been replaced under the 1996 recall.
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DanThe
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Post Thu Nov 24, 2016 1:17 pm

Cheap rads/heaters are always a bad move
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Jona1971
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Post Thu Nov 24, 2016 5:09 pm

CP4L advertise Behr and say its OEM...
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DanThe
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Post Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:51 am

Definitely! Cant believe it was only £20, I would have expected it to be an EIS or similar rubbish at that price 8O
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Jona1971
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Post Fri Nov 25, 2016 11:59 am

When I rip it out I'll check what they actually sent me...
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Carmo13
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 1:52 pm

I would guess that your heater valve has failed.
Dont be to quick to replace it though if it has failed as it could be fixable.
My valve failed and it turned out to be a failure of the brass rivets that are used to connect the two halves of the valve.
It is fixable by drilling out the remaining rivets and using suitable sized nuts, bolts and washers instead.
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Brianmoooore
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:27 pm

Carmo13 wrote:I would guess that your heater valve has failed.
Dont be to quick to replace it though if it has failed as it could be fixable.
My valve failed and it turned out to be a failure of the brass rivets that are used to connect the two halves of the valve.
It is fixable by drilling out the remaining rivets and using suitable sized nuts, bolts and washers instead.
It's fixable IF the rubber hasn't been damaged.
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Jona1971
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:59 pm

Right, I've got it all out (the valve and the matrix.)
How can I test it on the bench?
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Carmo13
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 3:14 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:
Carmo13 wrote:I would guess that your heater valve has failed.
Dont be to quick to replace it though if it has failed as it could be fixable.
My valve failed and it turned out to be a failure of the brass rivets that are used to connect the two halves of the valve.
It is fixable by drilling out the remaining rivets and using suitable sized nuts, bolts and washers instead.
It's fixable IF the rubber hasn't been damaged.
Good point Brian
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Carmo13
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 3:15 pm

Are there no obvious signs of failure?
Look carefully around the joint and rivets of the valve.
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Jona1971
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 4:18 pm

<a href="http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/jonat ... f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah1 ... y79xxf.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_00641_zpsv4y79xxf.jpg"/></a>

Goosed.
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Jona1971
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 4:20 pm

Image
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Jona1971
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 4:24 pm

The rest of it works fine - 12v applied and it clicks and opens/shuts the valve...
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Brianmoooore
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Post Sat Nov 26, 2016 7:26 pm

Well, that's a failure I've never seen before!
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