98 taurus heat

ok i have had no heat in my 98 ford taurus for 3 years. Its time to fix it. My coolent is brown, even after all the flushes and stuff. I am goin to replace the heater core this weekend. Im also going to replace the thermostat while im in there.

Iv also heard the benld door can be a problem. If iv already got the whole car torn apart how hard would it be to replace blend door?
and where is it located?

Thanks

Oh and one more this.

how do i discharge the cooling system?, i believe i have to do this in order to replace the heater core.

and if u discharge it how do i charge it?
thanks

Did you try back flushing the heater core separately from the cooling system? This may fix your problem. Clogged heater cores seem to be a common Ford problem. If you really to change the heater core, I would reccomend going to a shop to have the a/c discharged and charged.

i dont know, we had a mechanic work. all he said was he tried flushing it several time with no luck. I did one regualr flush and could never get the water to stop coming out brown.

what about the blend door?

If i wanted to discharge my a/c my self how would i go about doing that?

ok i have had no heat in my 98 ford taurus for 3 years. Its time to fix it. My coolent is brown, even after all the flushes and stuff. I am goin to replace the heater core this weekend. Im also going to replace the thermostat while im in there.

Iv also heard the benld door can be a problem. If iv already got the whole car torn apart how hard would it be to replace blend door?
and where is it located?

Thanks
I've worked with several Taurus vehicles and usually the passages in the heater core stop up. Replace the core, but before hooking the hoses on to it, flush the radiator and block with clean water until it runs out clear. the thermostat should be replaced because of age if it's original. good luck, hope this helps.

I appear to be having the same problem with my 98 taurus. I too haven't had any heat in 3 years. The top hose remains cold and the bottom hose is hot on the fire wall. Is there a valve under the dash or is it only the heater core which can prevent water from flowing? Also, can the core be flushed successfully or is it better to replace the core?

drummerb86- properly discharging and charging the a/c require special equipment. If water in your cooling system isn't running clear, you're not done flushing. Get a Hayne's or factory repair manual and it will spell out the procedure for removing the heater core. Many libraries have repair manuals that you can make copies from. The blend door is operated by an actuator, before taking the car apart check to see if the door is opening and closing when it should be.

haroldriley- Your heater core is clogged. Try back flushing it separately from the rest of the cooling system. Replacing the heater core is not an easy task, it requires removing the dash, discharging and recharging the a/c (not cheap). There is no valve.

[QUOTE=KimMG]drummerb86- properly discharging and charging the a/c require special equipment. If water in your cooling system isn't running clear, you're not done flushing. Get a Hayne's or factory repair manual and it will spell out the procedure for removing the heater core. Many libraries have repair manuals that you can make copies from. The blend door is operated by an actuator, before taking the car apart check to see if the door is opening and closing when it should be.

haroldriley- Your heater core is clogged. Try back flushing it separately from the rest of the cooling system. Replacing the heater core is not an easy task, it requires removing the dash, discharging and recharging the a/c (not cheap). There is no valve

Thank you, I flushed the heater core and everything works fine.

what about the blend door?

THE BLEND DOOR IS BEHIND THE RADIO AND ASH TRAY, ITS ABOUT 4X6 INCHES , WHITE BOX, 4 SCREWS HOLD IT ON, ITS A FORD ONLY PART , ABOUT 60 BUCKS. ALSO YOU CAN DO THE CORE WITHOUT DISCHARGING THE A/C, AND YOU DONT NEED TO REMOVE THE DASH JUST LOOSEN THE SCREWS VERY CAREFULLY, NOT EASY BUT CAN BE DONE.

You may find this as hard to believe as I did, but don't overlook the water pump. The '97 I bought last summer, in south Texas heat, didn't show any signs of overheating until it had been driven above 60 for more than an hour. Even then, a new radiator cap [Oops, I mean expansion tank cap] "cured the problem" for months. When winter rolled in, I had NO heat, but just before I scheduled to tear the dash apart, it started overheating and spewing from that tank cap again. Another new cap didn't help. The upper radiator hose got hot indicating the thermostat was opening. You can't look down into the radiator to see water flow, with this model, and the other typical water pump failure signs were not there: no leakage from the pump or wobbling fan blade. Only feeling for heat on the lower radiator hose gave it away. When it was overheating, the lower hose stayed too cool. Do be careful where and how you put your fingers trying to get to it. It's most accessible under the car, in front of the front passenger wheel. After removing the water pump, I was shocked to see how thin the impeller blade was, AND that it had been eaten away to a point where no pumping had been occurring for a long time. It wasn't doing anything more than churning the water. The way I figure it, because of the expansion tank type cooling system AND the fact that there are good sized bypass hoses, and maybe too because what was left of the impeller was so far away from the water pump body that some water was allowed to flow by convection, these factors together with NOT driving it over 60 for very long, kept the overheating problem hidden for months. I was so amazed that the car went as long as it did while the water pump was obviously not pumping that I took pics of the old and new pump together. Email me if you want to see them. Oh yea, THE HEATER STARTED PUMPING HEAT just great now. FORD should be ashamed for using such a potentially engine life shortening part. Hope this helps someone.

The brown coolant in 98 tauruses is common. The way I fix them at the dealership is to remove the thermostat housing, water pump and heater core lines. Now knock out the freeze plug forward of the oil filter and insert a garden hose in the t-stat housing and let 'er rip. Flus until it runs clear and then another 15-20 minutes. Now remove the garden hose and put it in the water pump area and do the same thing, then the same thing for the heater lines. Make sure to inspect the water pump because the brown coolant will literally eat the vanes. Then replace the heater core and let her go. If you check at your Ford dealership, they may still have some of the old chem flush you can run through it while before starting but it's been obsolete for a year or so now. It sounds like a pain but it's only a weekend job, or a day job if you're experienced.