My zone valve, a V8043E1004 will not engage to open. When I turn on the thermostat the manual control arm is very sloppy and easy to move back and forth. So I move it all the way to the left (looking at it from the top) to the manual side, I turn off the thermostat and come back out and the arm has engaged and moved back to the closed position via the retention spring. The valve I have has only two retaining screws holding it down, so is it possible that the motor inside is bad I can just replace with a new one? I'm kind of in a position to be a little desperate as it is 1 degree today and it's a tad cold in the kitchen. Thanks.

Bryan

I'm pretty handy but in an effort to avoid the 5 day waiting period that my plumber said he could get to me, I wanted to see if I could try this myself with as little brain damage as possible.

The zone valve can be locked open by pushing the lever all the way to the manual open position then pushing the lever up into a small retaining notch. The motor is readilly available & easy to change. Here is one:
Patriot Supply - E180 (http://www.patriot-supply.com/products/showitem.cfm/WESTWOOD_E180)

Here's another:
802360JA - Honeywell 802360JA - Replacement Motor for V8043 Zone Valves (http://www.pexsupply.com/Honeywell-802360JA-Replacement-Motor-for-V8043-Zone-Valves-8634000-p)