Q:Does the heater control valve anything to do with the A/C ?My heater control valve needs replacing, as it leaks when I put my truck's heat on. No heat, no leak. I have to periodically re-add Prestone every once in awhile after using the heat . I've checked the valve and it only leaks when I have my heat on, if I don't use my heat, I don't lose fluid. But now I'm wondering if I use my truck's A/C, does the heater control valve have anything to do with the radiator fluid, or just the freon? Thanks in advanceCar Mechanic in training

What you may really want to check is if the heater core is leaking. I have never heard of a valve actually leaking. And no the AC and Heater are 2 different systems on a car. The fan that circulates the air is the same except air flows across the heater core or the air conditioning coil. AC air is usually just recirculated in the car air where heated air is usually outdoor air combined with in the car air.

Q:It is burning oil, so that means oil is getting into the combustion chambers....but im not exactly sure which piece has gone bad? or for that matter what the valve guides are in the first place. Could the lifters have gone bad too? Can someone tell me what piece is most likely the cause for the oil leak into the chambers and then a price of how much it would cost to have it fixed. When i start the car it blows a puff and then settles down and then when im at a stop light and push the accelerator it blows a puff and then more or less settles down...sometimes it keeps going for a while. My mechanic put an additive in the oil called stop the smoke or something, and i know that that causes the seals to expand...and it has helped. So. I need someone to give me an overall diagnosis and price range. My mechanic is reluctant to have me do the work, im guessing cause its expensive...but i would rather pay 1000 dollars then buy a new car.

a valve guide is basically a round tube that is press fit ito the cylinder head, the stem of the valve rides up and down inside this sleeve as the valve opens and closes. the stem seal fits on the spring end of the valve guide and seals against the valve stem keeping oil out of the guide [and running down the stem and getting into the combustion area when the valve opens] valve stem diameter and guide bore dimensions are close fitting but the stem is always smaller than the bore [very little oil is available to lubricate this area under normal circumstances] so both the guide and stem can wear [the guide is of a much softer material than the valve so it does most of the wearing] high mileage engines can have very egg shaped guide bores allowing stem movement which if not corrected will ruin a new set of stem seals in short order i hope that i have been clear on this but if you have more questions please ask,as there are several very knowledgeable people who answer volvo questions at this site. NOTE: the valve seat is concentric with the valve guide bore. due to machineing tolerances when the guide is replaced the valve seat will no longer be concentric with the new bore and the valve will not seal properly so the seats will have to be re-machined off of the new guide and then the valve faces will have to be machined to the proper fresh sealing angle of the new seat [hence a complete valve job as far as costs go if memory serves this job pays approx 9 hrs. labor,.plus machine shop work.[generallywith new guides seals resurfacing and a pressure test and cleaning about 400+ or- and related gaskets seals fluids timing componants i suspect the final bill may be above 2 grand but if you kept up with oil changes and the bottom end is't hurt your car is well worth this expense

Q:I have a 40 year old Holton Bb trumpet. It plays fine except the first valve always gets stuck when I play it, in the middle of a song it won't come back up. I can pull it back up and it doesn't get stuck real bad, but how can I fix this? I always oil it properly and insert the valves right. Do I have to replace it? Thanks

You need not replace the valve, but it does need a bit of attention. There are many possible reasons for the sticking and you can spend a long time trying to chase them down. Inconsistent sticking suggests 2 likely reasons (there are several more possible reasons). The first is piston wear that has slightly misshapen the valve casing so it sticks because it doesn't travel through the valve casing exactly the same way every time. The second is that the felts and corks are worn and need to be replaced. The best thing for you to do is to take it to a shop, describe the problem and spend a few bucks to get it fixed right.

Q:Hey, ive got a scooby and have a baileys dump valve that is a loud deep wooooosh sorta sound. What dump valve does the more high pitch sound? also they dump valve with the higher pitch seems to need less presure ta dump, mine needs alot of pressure before it will dump loud?

if i remember rite you can adjust the control settings for your dump valve so that it will dump at a lower pressure and a lower pressure dump should also give you the sound that you are looking for.

Q:I need to make a one way valve that would allow water or other fluid one way but if there is too much pressure on the opposite side the valve will close and stop water from flowing backward. Can anyone help?

We need to know what exactly the work/purpose your 'one way valve' has to perform. You have given overall description that got you fairly good answers here. But if you really want to solve a problem by yourself (instead of going to any plumber) then you have to understand that the one way valve used for garden drainage system is different than the swimming pool drainage system and numerous other household applications one can think of where 'one way valve that would allow water or other fluid one way but if there is too much pressure on the opposite side the valve will close and stop water from flowing backward'. Let me assume that you are in a place where neither plumber nor the hardware shop is readily available. In that event you may consider placing one ‘flap-valve' on top of the outlet pipe. The valve is simple metallic piece may be from tin, iron, plastic etc., that can withstand the force applied by water/liquid on it. The flap-valve would have to be hinged hanging from top part of the drain/pipe in a way that it can move away with the pressure of the inside tank or reservoir and then would shut-off when reverse flow (RF) would occur, by the force created by the RF. If you have seen any Tube Well or DWT Pump then you may notice that these are also having a RF (Check Valve) mounted either at the bottom of the sunk-pipe or somewhere in-between. This help in having the flow of ground water upward only and any reverse flow back to the ground is automatically restricted as the 'flap' would fall onto the pipe orifice due to gravitational weight as well as weight of water column on top of it. Hope this would help learn the basics.

Q:There has been brake fluid leaking below where the Master Cylinder was and pinpointed that the leak was at the base where the steel lines and proportional valve intersect(kinda sprays out out like if a seal is bad or someone didn't tighten enough). Any way to fix this or replace? Vehicle is a 1988 Plymouth Reliant (2.2 liter) Auto, no ABS.

If you are not familar with brakes I wouldn't suggest tackling this job yourself. You will need to take the line off in question to condemn either the prop valve or the line. I have never in my life seen the line itself leak but I guess it's possible. The valve is a dealer item only, whatever you do, dont buy it from a junk yard. After replacing the valve, if that is what the problem is, most likely you will need to get a brake power bleeder to get all the air out of the system. I would estimate through a shop and the typical mark up on the part, shouldn't be more than 200-225 parts and labor including the brake flush, good luck.

Q:do I need a new water heater or can this ne be fixed?

you said you tripped the valve-meaning opened it up then closed. try taking i small hammer and tapping onit on the sides. sometimes you will get minerals or a little dirt stuck up in there. if it doesnt stop dripping after that then just replace it. go to your local hardware store and ask for a pt valve for a hot water tank. make sure you specify for a hot water heater as the valve for a boiler is a different pressure. shoulr run you about 15-20 bucks. turn your water supply incoming off. drain the water from your old valve till water stops becuase now your below that part. unscrew the old vave out. apply pipe dope to the threads of the new one and screw it in. using a pipe wrench tighten it in. now turn on your fill and bleed air from your faucet. you should be all set

Q:I'm at school reading a mag and all the internet is blocked except yahoo. So i'm trying to figure out what the diff is between 3 angle versus 5 angle valve jobs.

The object of the valve angles is to produce a smooth transition to help air flow. So a 5 angle valve job is done to make a series of angles that are closer to a even radius or even parabolic. For street use, you not see that much difference. But when you are at the top levels of competition that little bit might be the difference between an also ran and a winner (read winnings).

Q:Can I make a heat pump straight A/C ?Or some hints how to replace the reversing valve without reclaiming freon

problematic thing. research from search engines like google. just that can help!

Q:I just bought a brand new rain bird sprinkler valve with flow control and when I turn the valve on automatically or manually it makes a loud sound that resembles a muted horn and when I close it, it makes the same sound but thumps at the end. Is this normal? Or do I need to get a new valve?

Provided you are talking about the valve that controls flow from the constant on of water to the sprinklers, that also cuts it off, the turning on is a groaning of the built up pressure (normal) releasing into the sprinkler line. The thump only occurs at the end when you close it because it's slowly cutting off the pressure. Its more pronounced in the sprinkler valves because you are dealing with greater pressure than say when you turn on a sink or hose, in fact you can nearly mimic a more muffled version of the sound by using a hose, and kinking it or using a nozzle head. Having installed 20+ of these working with my Dad on his rental properties, I can guarantee they are not silent. Unless water is spraying all over the place, I'm 98% positive its a perfectly functioning valve.