Cold Start Valve Leaking and repair..

[wizard124]

I discovered a fuel leak at the cold start valve. Hose clamp was tight; then noticed the leak stopped after a bit. I figured the leak must be internal to the valve itself and only leaks when the valve is energized . I found there was a bit of movement between the plastic body and the metal housing:


I swapped it out with a spare of unknown condition. Resistance checked the same as the leaking one (4.8 ohms) so I figured it was worth a try. Car starts right up and no leaks

Well, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see its innards and if there is a seal or some way to repair this CSV. At almost $200 new, what the heck

I took a Dremmel disk to the crown and crimp spots on the metal housing:


Then pried out the blue body. These are all the parts involved


There is no gasket or O-ring. Not even a coating was evident to me. I think the base of the blue valve is a press seal against the bottom of the inside of the metal housing; held firm by the crimps in the metal housing. I suppose if I had simply used a hammer and punch on those 2 crimp marks, I might have fixed the leak.

I mixed up some epoxy and carefully dabbed it around the inside bottom of the metal housing. There are 4 small impressions that align the blue body. This should seal it and prevent fuel from leaking out the case. I also applied the epoxy in a full circle around the crown to seal and fix the body and housing together. I'll keep this as a spare. My one concern is the epoxy and its resistance to gasoline and ethanol.

[bradartigue]

Funny the Bosch part is cheaper than the aftermarket ones that don't fit correctly. Weird. $189 for a part that lasts 20, 30 years isn't so bad...too bad you have to live in Siberia for the thing to fire for more than 2 seconds at a time.