Dccv dual climate control valve?

[joegr]

Thanks for the explanation. Owned a lot of vehicles in my life and I've never had an issue with this part before. ...

Unless some of those were particular BMW or Jaguar models, then they did not really have a part like this. They had on/off heater valves that just controlled whether the heater was enabled or not, but did not also control air temperature. Most cars use an air temperature blend door to control temperature by controlling how much air goes through the heater core. The LS instead, controls how much coolant goes through the heater cores (all the air always goes through).
There are, of course, arguments to be made about which way is better. Air temperature blend actuators do fail after long enough too. It was way easier for me to replace the DCCV on my 06 (only one time so far, now at 222K miles), than the blend air temperature actuator on my in-laws' Grand Marquis. I think it is less than 100K miles, and the dash had to come out to replace that actuator.

 

[SultanGris]

Unless some of those were particular BMW or Jaguar models, then they did not really have a part like this. They had on/off heater valves that just controlled whether the heater was enabled or not, but did not also control air temperature. Most cars use an air temperature blend door to control temperature by controlling how much air goes through the heater core. The LS instead, controls how much coolant goes through the heater cores (all the air always goes through).
There are, of course, arguments to be made about which way is better. Air temperature blend actuators do fail after long enough too. It was way easier for me to replace the DCCV on my 06 (only one time so far, now at 222K miles), than the blend air temperature actuator on my in-laws' Grand Marquis. I think it is less than 100K miles, and the dash had to come out to replace that actuator.

Ah. I didn't realize that. Now I understand. have you owned it since new? Or have previous owners replaced it before because if that's the only time in that many miles then that's not bad at all and I would definitely spend the money on a motorcraft one in that case, but if it's only in last less than a year or 2 like the guy above then I'm going cheap. Maybe he was having that frequent problem cuz they were used I suppose, Thanks again.

 

[joegr]

Ah. I didn't realize that. Now I understand. have you owned it since new? ...

Yes, since brand new. (1st and only owner, so far.)

 

[SultanGris]

Yes, since brand new. (1st and only owner, so far.)

Right on, in that case I'll definitely get the good motorcraft one, reading these posts on here it sounds like you gotta replace it every year or sooner. Thanks

 

[AmsterDutch]

Right on, in that case I'll definitely get the good motorcraft one, reading these posts on here it sounds like you gotta replace it every year or sooner. Thanks

I bought a Jaguar S-Type DCCV/Heater Valve...but I'm in a 1st gen LSE ...take these guy's advice with your 2nd gen and go with a MotorCraft i

 

[2005 Lincoln LS V8]

Amen! On using the OEM DCCV.. Could not agree with you More! Look for a deal and/or save up the money..

 

[Robert Crain]

SultanGris, My logic for going with the Motorcraft DCCV and aux pump was twofold. First, I heard about the troubles people were having with aftermarket parts and second, the parts are a real pain to replace and I just didn’t want to do it twice. The LS HVAC system is quite complex and one place not to take shortcuts. You won’t regret spending the extra cash for the OEM parts. Rob

 

[MtnStNomad]

Just changed the dual climate valvle on an '05 v6 base model. I havent had the car long, and i opted for an el-cheapo replacement. The car needs a few other minor things, a set of tires, and i wasnt sure that the dccv was actually going to fix the problem. It did fix the issue, after replacing the blown fuse that goes with the valve. Anyway, i figured that i would go the cheap route for now to free up resources for other maintenance, but if (when) it fails again, i should be able to spring for the OE part next time.

Ive read the horror stories about aftermerket dccv, but it looked like that was already done to the car before i had it. The valve was zip tied to the mounting point. Between that, and what i was saying above, i was like screw it. The part got lost in the mail, so they shioped a new one out. Then the lost part turned up this past week, 6 weeks later. So now i have the new aftermarket one on it, and another identical one on my shelf.

I think i spent $40 thru Ebay. The part swap was real easy. It took longer to get the wire harness disconnected than it did anything else on the job.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

With as much of a PITA it is to change the DCCV... I don't understand why anyone would want to install a cheap part there.

Aftermarket only lasts about 3 years... if that long. OEM will last 7-10 years... maybe more.

 

[MtnStNomad]

I dont know what the rest of you people are doing, but the dvvc on my '05 v6 was very easy to change out. I was in and out of the engine bay in half an hour. Quite literally open the hood and look down, to the left of the radiator, there it is. One attachment point, one wiring connector, and 3 coolant hoses. Thats it. Then changed the corresponding 10a fuse in the engine bay box, which is also right there.

I dont know. Maybe cutting my teeth on japanese tuner cars and european luxury brands has me spoiled, cause the dccv swap was like a 2 out of 10 on the difficulty scale, in my book. Ive spent more time changing oil on other vehicles than it took to do this valve swap pn the LS, and thats no exaggeration.

Fwiw, if the thing lasts 3 years, im cool with that. Plus i have that spare one that showed up, so that puts me at least 5 years to the good!! For 40 dollars and maybe a total of an hour labor? Seems fair enough to me. Seriously tho, the car has 150k. I bought it to use for work and get a blow n go put in for a while. Im not trying to restore the thing, or sink a boat load into it just to keep it on the road.

 

[joegr]

I dont know what the rest of you people are doing, but the dvvc on my '05 v6 was very easy to change out. ...

It's harder to get to on the 2nd gen V8, but not unreasonable. I believe that it is much more difficult on the 1st gen LSes due to the hydraulic fan stuff taking up a lot more room than the electric fan.

 

[MtnStNomad]

Ah, that would make sense. I figured the v8 would be tighter, but judging by the engine bay, and where the valve is located, it looked like there would still be enough room for a fairly easy part swap. But the old gens having the belt driven fan, the shrowd, etc .. i could see that making it a little more of a hassle. But what are we talking about then? Taking off the upper fan shrowd to gain access? Thats pretty much expected on any older rwd setup if working around the front of the engine. I just wouldnt consider this valve swap to be anything more than moderately challenging for a weekend diy'er. Easy for a mechanic. Def not the mountain people seem to make of it.

 

[MtnStNomad]

Hey while im here, on the subject.. i lost a little coolant pulling the hoses on the valve. Probably not even 8oz. I recall reading about a bleeder valve on the water neck or something, i think. Shoukd i be consirned with the minor coolant loss, and if so, how should i blled the system?

Thanks. Great forum btw. Glad to see interest in the car cause it is a fun car to drive for a midsize luxury sedan. I like the low profile, wide stance, and even weigh distribution. Has a european feel, for sure

 

[joegr]

... But the old gens having the belt driven fan, the shrowd, etc .. i could see that making it a little more of a hassle. But what are we talking about then? Taking off the upper fan shrowd to gain access? Thats pretty much expected on any older rwd setup if working around the front of the engine. I just wouldnt consider this valve swap to be anything more than moderately challenging for a weekend diy'er. Easy for a mechanic. Def not the mountain people seem to make of it.

The 1st gen has a belt driven hydraulic pump (a 2nd power steering pump, basically), a hydraulic reservoir, some hydraulic hoses, an extra section of oil-to-air cooler, and a hydraulic motor driving a fan. The fan, fan motor, and shroud are an assembly. If you remove the shroud, you have to drain the hydraulics and disconnect the hoses, then correctly bleed it when you get it back to together. All doable, but not trivial.

Anyway, I agree that some here do overstate the difficulty, and it is way easier than replacing an air temperature blend door/actuator on a panther.

 

[SultanGris]

Yeah I'd bleed it, likely got air in the lines going to heater core, and Im no expert but I think that screw let's the air out of the heater cores. Though for what it's worth I drove for about a month and a half with some pretty bad leaks just dumping water in before I even knew about that bleeder valve, ha

 

[joegr]

Hey while im here, on the subject.. i lost a little coolant pulling the hoses on the valve. Probably not even 8oz. I recall reading about a bleeder valve on the water neck or something, i think. Shoukd i be consirned with the minor coolant loss, and if so, how should i blled the system?

Thanks. Great forum btw. Glad to see interest in the car cause it is a fun car to drive for a midsize luxury sedan. I like the low profile, wide stance, and even weigh distribution. Has a european feel, for sure

If you have any trouble (lack of heat, cooling fan running fast, ...) then you will have to bleed the system, and it does have to be exactly by the book. Do it with the nose of the car lower than the rest (opposite of most cars). The factory procedure is in the tech articles, I believe.

 

[oddball]

It's harder to get to on the 2nd gen V8, but not unreasonable. I believe that it is much more difficult on the 1st gen LSes due to the hydraulic fan stuff taking up a lot more room than the electric fan.

It's the way it's mounted in Gen 1. It's on a bracket. Can't really get it removed from the bracket while installed. The bracket is mounted to the subframe using fasteners that can't really be reached. Plus the Gen 1 valve has 5 hoses, so 5 spring clamps and stuck hoses to deal with. One of those hoses goes out the *front*, and there's no room there to mess with it either.
All doable, just takes time. I think I intentionally left out a fastener or two when I did that R&R. I mean, I normally have parts left over (save weight!), but this time is was on purpose.

 

[MtnStNomad]

Good lord! Yeah thats a damn mess. Haha. I figured u meant a regular old fan clutch and belt drive type of setup. All that is just ridiculous

The 1st gen has a belt driven hydraulic pump (a 2nd power steering pump, basically), a hydraulic reservoir, some hydraulic hoses, an extra section of oil-to-air cooler, and a hydraulic motor driving a fan. The fan, fan motor, and shroud are an assembly. If you remove the shroud, you have to drain the hydraulics and disconnect the hoses, then correctly bleed it when you get it back to together. All doable, but not trivial.

Anyway, I agree that some here do overstate the difficulty, and it is way easier than replacing an air temperature blend door/actuator on a panther.

 

[MtnStNomad]

So far no niticable issues with any hvac or eng temp readins, but i thought i read the car was finicky about air in coolant system, and something about a bleeder. Thanks for the tip about the bleeder being lower than the rest..def not intuitive. Ill look into it further and check it just to mark it off the list. Reminded me of my acura gsr. If they get air in the system it can wreak havoc with the cookant temp sensor and cause rough idle and all types of weird random stuff. Also have a bleader on the thermostat housing / water neck area

 

[SCXJ]

I will throw my experience in on it.. I buy and sell car parts, and I prefer used items I can rebuild, I went thru 3 dccv this year early on, I did research for weeks on best approach to save some money for this item (I have already dropped 10K into a new engine for my truck,) so finances are tight.. I bought one off eBay, from this guy who is a new store owner- I paid $38 for this heater valve and think it had Bosch solenoids on it, looked new, or could've rebuilt I'm not sure nor worried. I'm going on 6 months of perfect operating A/C and heat system as well as no run hots, car will not go over 221.8 degrees ever. This unit has a 2 year warranty with labor!!!!! Haven't experienced having to use it I'm just glad its there in the event. I had to go this route, $38 every 2 years is worth a chance to take for me.. If anyone interested ill give his name, and tho I don't endorse aftermarket parts at all I have to vouch for this one and only.

Y'all might think I'm crazy but I don't have an emergency brake, I willfully got mad one night at the huge lack of console room in my gen 1, so I took the whole ebrake assembly out the cabin and disconnected it from the rear wheels, and made a custom console that holds 2 32oz drinks as well as lid for items and another storage bin for stuff like a laptop even. I don't endorse this change either but for what its worth its so nice having all the extra space.. if my service brake light comes on (doubtful on gen1) I would have a nice chuckle and

carry on.

Hello Linc.
I'm interested in the rebuilt dccv if you are still around and if it's possible to get one. I have a 2000 V6 LS. Thanks for your efforts