280z, heater thermostat wire

[roman.b]

Hi,

I went through heater core replacement in my 78 280z. Heater core is controlled by mechanical valve with no vacuum hoses attached.

This car has aftermarket installed AC.

I see a copper wire that hangs in there and I do not know where to connect it. It looks like copper tube with sensor at the end of it. I see that it starts from the coil under the heater core and goes out long enough to reach the valve. It was just hanging around when I started replacement. I think I need to connect it somewhere but I do not know where to stick it .

Can someone help me with this?

Edited February 8, 2011 by roman.b
added images

[Moonshine]

Appears as if we are working in the same area - hopefully photo attached will help - you can also google image search (280z heater valve) - from your photo it appears as if they eliminated the heater valve all together and is a constant flow - does it feel as if your heat is always on??? if you are going back to original - please let me stress that the small hollow copper tubing is fragile and can easily snap off from the sensor stem if you are not careful hence my problem - it is supported by a metal clamp housing that slides threw a hole on top of where the heater valve/water **** bracket - below that stem where the copper hosing connects to - there is another small stem that slides on the bottom that is held by a set screw - not fun putting back together - that metal clamp has two small tabs that need to be turned up to hold into place - if those parts are missing i would recommend another from a junkyard or ebay - make sure you replace the seals in the valve before re-assembling - good luck

HELP - MY PROBLEM/QUESTIONS??? - my heater was eliminated by the previous owner who looped the heater hose from the water pump to the block -and bypassed the heater coil all together - in researching further w/ helpful steps from this sites threads I did a total teardown and diagnosed a few problems under the dash - it appeared that the curvy heater hose was replaced by a straight one that made a kink in the hose dis-allowing the anti-freeze to flow freely creating a leaky weak spot around the valve - besides 2 clamps not being placed correctly - so all in all the previous owner got lazy and just eliminated the heater - i had the heater coil re-tinned (no leaks) - checked all the vacuum tubes - replaced all the 5/8 heater hoses w/ new - in putting everything back together i snapped the copper hosing off the stem (photo attached) - i took the stem out and carefully re-bored w/ drill bit

QUESTIONS -

1) - the stem where the copper hosing is attached - it seems to have no relavancy as a valve and appeared to be just welded to the top of the stem - can i just re-weld to existing hole w/o worrying if the hollow copper tube is flowing correctly ? what does this stem/hollow tube do??

2) In reading a few threads i found that a few have eliminated the heater valve w/ another one from other vehicles and/or just replaced w/ a gate valve in the engine compartment - & when u want heat u just turn on the valve - but i see no diagrams & it seems as if im back to square one w/ no flow to the heater coil - i am not the one to "jerry rig" but to stick to the OEM parts - but do want heat anyway possible

Any input would be appreciative

Edited February 27, 2011 by Moonshine