How to delete the troublesome heater control valve on a 90’s XJ
My 1991 Jeep Cherokee had the fragile plastic heater valve. Not only can this valve break and leave you stranded, it is prone to leak at the valve actuator. I have replaced mine a couple of times already so this time I decided to do away with it for good.
The factory manual shows that this valve is open in all positions except closed and full cold on the temperature control switch. In the later years, Jeep deleted this valve.
I ordered hoses for a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. Gates 19038 and 19039
I removed the old hoses from the engine and the heater core. The ones on the heater core were a but difficult to reach. And I had to be careful not to damage the thin heater core tubes when removing them. I removed the valve still attached to the hoses.
I used pliers made for the spring clamps and a hose loosening plier to help get the old stuff off.
I put some rubber lubricant on the inside of both ends of the hoses and slipped them in place and reused the old spring clamps.
I then capped off the gray vacuum line that controlled the heater controller. I lost very little coolant swapping the lines and had no leaks on start up. The engine compartment looks much cleaner now and I have eliminated one possible failure point.
