Hi everyone.
Hope this finds you all well....

I have a 1986 Volvo 240 that has been parked for awhile but now I need to get it operational once again.
This car has carried my two oldest daughters through their early years of driving and now I have a third daughter that will be getting her license, shortly.

My problem has to do with the heat in the car.
This is a problem that caused me to park the car over a year ago and I never found the time to try to fix the problem.

Anyway, the problem is that the car is hot in the summer and cold in the winter.
If driven in the summer the heater seems to be putting out hot air but in the winter the air never gets more than barely lukewarm. This car used to have a heater that would drive you out of the cabin, if it wasn't regulated.

I've checked the cable going to the heater control valve and it does seem to be opening and closing the valve, at least it is moving the lever.
My concern is that the heater control "slide lever" moves quite a bit easier than it used to.

I'm wondering if the valve could have possibly malfunctioned internally. I don't know if internally this is like a ball valve, (either opened or closed) but it almost feels as if it's not operating on the inside.

In case this is what is happening I was wondering if I could possibly replace the heater control valve with a simple ball valve. I have access to all sizes and styles of ball valves where I work and I'm certain that I could plumb one in much easier than I could replace the heater control valve.

Of course the valve would have to be operated manually, (off in the summer and on in the winter), but that would not be a problem. I could even regulated the amount of flow through the valve by partially opening or closing it.

I just didn't know if the heater control valve is a simple on/off style of valve or if it is more complicated than that. If anyone can give me some insight on whether or not this will work I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, I'm going to make another post in a second concerning a rather wonky temperature gauge. Please take the time to read and respond to that post as well.

Thanks, guys.

Dave
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I dream of a world where a chicken can cross the road without having its motives questioned.