02 taurus heater - really?

I would never post a new thread guys and girls, but I have read tons of threads, and watched videos, stood on one leg while howling at the moon, but NOTTA!
Facts;
2002 3.0L OVH flex fuel
Replaced;
water pump,t-stat,coolant.Flushed lines - plugged bypass hose - all water clear. Flushed heater core AT STUBS (no hoses attached)-water clear.New cabin air filter. Removed blower motor - no obstructions.Removed radio panel,and actuator motor-blend door moving with rod-sounds o.k.
Result;
Car starts cold, gets first temp reading - SOME TEPED HEAT. Car gets halfway on temp guage-STILL TEPED HEAT GETTING COLDER.
Shorod and I posted about this a year ago, and I still can't figure it out!
Sorry for another heater thread, but this Ford cannot be smarter than me.............:lol2:

You'll need to refresh my memory, do you get good air flow from the blower motor? Have you tried bleeding the air from the cooling system recently? Have you considered installing heated seats? ;)

-Rod

Hey SHOrod.....nah, about a year ago we were discussing hard starting AND heater....but I blew it off all summer and here I am......real good flow to all settings for air to the cabin......I did just change the wa-wa pump......how are you supposed to bleed air?....I have run it 4 or 5 cycles since....t-stat is opening (temp guage goes down + gurgles in recovery tank w/lid off).......no oil was in bottle and got NO dirt when backflushing......HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM......:runaro und:.....anyway, thanks for the REEEEEply.....

Here's how the Factory Service Manual suggests you bleed the cooling system. I'm assuming you do not have the RADKITPLUS.

2002 Taurus/Sable Workshop Manual
Bleeding Without RADKITPLUS


Bleed the cooling system as follows:

Select the maximum heater temperature and blower motor speed settings. Position the control to discharge air from the A/C vents in the instrument panel.



WARNING: Do not stand in line with or near the engine cooling fan blade when revving the engine.
Start the engine and allow it to idle. While the engine is idling, feel for hot air from the A/C vents.



CAUTION: If the air discharge remains cool and the engine coolant temperature gauge does not move, the engine coolant level is low in the engine and must be filled. Stop the engine, allow it to cool and fill the cooling system.
Start the engine and allow it to idle until the normal operating temperature is reached. Hot air should discharge from the A/C vents. The engine coolant temperature gauge should maintain a stabilized reading in the middle of the normal range, and the upper radiator hose should feel hot to the touch.



Shut the engine off and allow it to cool.



Check the engine for coolant leaks.



Check the engine coolant level in the degas bottle and fill it as necessary.


-Rod

update --- Rod, I did ur air purge and it may have had air but here's the latest; cold start - car gets a temp reading - goes to half on the guage - then after 30 seconds goes down to a quarter on the guage - i can hear the fans running - then they shut off and temp goes back up to half. Same cycle for about 200 miles.
Could the flush/water pump replace/ caused a thermostat to fail?
Or is the CTS faulty?
Anyway to diagnose would be a big help!!
p.s. when temp is up have good heat BTW....

update --- Rod, I did ur air purge and it may have had air but here's the latest; cold start - car gets a temp reading - goes to half on the guage - then after 30 seconds goes down to a quarter on the guage - i can hear the fans running - then they shut off and temp goes back up to half. Same cycle for about 200 miles.
Could the flush/water pump replace/ caused a thermostat to fail?
Or is the CTS faulty?
Anyway to diagnose would be a big help!!
p.s. when temp is up have good heat BTW....

Are you saying that immediately after starting the engine cold the gauge goes halfway up, or after a few miles it is halfway up?

The 2002 uses an Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sensor for the PCM and radiator fan control and a separate sender for the instrument cluster, so if the fans are running AND the gauge is reading higher the probably is unlikely to be a bad sensor/sender as they would both need to fail.

The symptoms seem to indicate there is still air trapped in the system as that would explain the sporadic readings and sporadic heat.... I'm not sure what to suggest next.

-Rod

Here is what has worked for me in dealing with a 2001 Taurus no/little heat issue that many on here have had. Background- this car had a new heater core installed, blower motor and system flush at a Ford dealership 40,000 miles ago, which fixed the problem until now. So to fix again- we first started with a new thermostat and backflushing the heater core. The result of that was just gaining a little heat but not enough to be comfy. I was able to tell just by touching the lines going in and out of the heater core on the firewall there was little circulation through the core. (one line is basically cold out of the core). So, installed a new core, using a VERY HELPFUL METHOD I found online-www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZoFoiJsdw It worked great to remove the heater core. I did not have to cut the bracket as suggested either to get the old core out. If the link doesnt work, search realfixesrealfast and heater core on You Tube. In the process we also replaced the bypass/core steel line assembly, just in case the steel lines in the assembly were plugged- they did not appear to be but were corroded bad on the outside. Fortunate that a local Autozone had the lines in stock, $59. I would suggest you get them on hand before replacing the core. I also did replace the water pump since I had the system apart, however there appeared to be little wear in the impeller and I dont think it was part of the no heat problem- just time to do it, car has 140000 on it. Core removal Notes- be careful when taking the blend door motor and acutator arm off-small,plastic pieces, you need to remove this to get the core out. Check your blend door motor with it removed but plugged in by going hot to cold on the temp selector, the motor arm should turn. Mine was working ok, but quick and easy check before you take the core out. My old core was plugged but not terrible, I could still get some air to go through it, but bad enough to reduce circulation. I think bypass is the least path of resistance for the coolant,- poor design?? After a new core, lines and water pump, heat is back and very warm. Cost was around $200 for everything. I think the main problem was the plugged core and flushing it did not get it clean enough to work well. Hope this helps someone, I have gotten lots of help off this forum over the years and really appreciate it!

HEY ALL--HAPPY NEW YEAR!!...Thanks for the reply's, I have been on "Holiday" as our British friends say.....anyway....update on my heater....I get a temp reading after 7-10 minutes as normal....then temp fluctuates from half on temp guage to about a quarter while driving. I hear my fans coming on early and often, which before the water pump and air bleed procedures, I couldn't beg them to come on!!...GEEEEEZ-All I did was change a water pump and flush stuff out!.....oh well, I guess I just start replacing random parts at this point...this Ford doesn't like me.......

HEY ALL--HAPPY NEW YEAR!!...Thanks for the reply's, I have been on "Holiday" as our British friends say.....anyway....update on my heater....I get a temp reading after 7-10 minutes as normal....then temp fluctuates from half on temp guage to about a quarter while driving. I hear my fans coming on early and often, which before the water pump and air bleed procedures, I couldn't beg them to come on!!...GEEEEEZ-All I did was change a water pump and flush stuff out!.....oh well, I guess I just start replacing random parts at this point...this Ford doesn't like me.......


Just curious, when you flushed the heater core did you flush in both directions?? Some times a a shot of lower air pressure from compressor helps also.