1999 Chevy Tahoe 5.7L - Heater Control Valve Leaking

[OBSTheBest]

Hello TYF,

I am dealing with my original OEM heater valve leaking pretty good on my 1999 Tahoe 5.7L.

Backed it out of the garage last week and noticed a pretty good-sized puddle of coolant on the floor, from the previous time I used the truck a few days prior.

Drove it about 10 minutes to the nearest gas station to fill up and popped the hood.

Valve was steadily dripping and coolant was running along the passenger side frame rail and puddling on the ground.

Just ordered the GM Genuine (15-5533) from Rock (Thank goodness for RockAuto) and will be tackling it this weekend.

Is there any special procedure in doing this?

Seems pretty straight forward when mapping this repair out in my head.

Feels obvious I will need to burp the system, once I get it all sealed back up.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[OR VietVet]

It is high enough in the system that you will likely have no air pocket problems. When I am doing something like that and is on one side or the other, I jack that side up in the air while I am filling it with correct coolant and water mix.

 

[Eman85]

When it leaked on mine I installed it in the trash can and put 2 new heater hoses on. If I felt AC wasn't cold enough I'd put a manual valve in the heater hose to shut the hot water off. Most don't work properly any way.

 

[Fless]

When it leaked on mine I installed it in the trash can and put 2 new heater hoses on. If I felt AC wasn't cold enough I'd put a manual valve in the heater hose to shut the hot water off. Most don't work properly any way.

I was describing the heater hose valves to my son the other day, and how they are vacuum-actuated. We had a good chat about all of that.