Heater loses 'umph'...

Hi all -

I have an 89 acclaim, my late grandmother's car, 4 banger, with only 25K original miles... She never went anywhere but the store, bank, and gas station with it. I've found that ALOT of the replacements over the past year are due to the car NOT being used enough... I say with confidence that you will all agree!!!

Nonetheless, I ended up changing out the stat over the summer due to it finally failing. I ended up flushing the entire system out (Yes, completely), refilled with a 50/50, ran it for a good hour, drove it, all with success - until 2 days ago when the temp dropped to the single digits...

Now mind you - I know this car has a small engine and it always ran on the cool side; however, when my gauge is in the center, then quickly drops to the cool side, plateau's, then moves quickly towards the hot, then the heat cranks out like it should, it tells me that I have an issue. This happens at both stand-stills and while driving. At idle, you get 'nominal' heat and goofy temps. If you hit the gas, you'll see it change quickly as well (idle and/or driving).

My first guess was the water pump, given the behaviour and knowing that the thing is full & I changed the stat in the summer. Pump is great and stat is doing it's job as I can feel it opening & closing via the upper hose... So I think it could be a bad mix now, so I drain and refill using more antifreeze this time around - just speculating that I could have more water than antifreeze and these temp's require more.... Still no change....

I suppose my question(s) are 1) What is the proper mixture for this car in this environment? I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, but not in the auto field, so I'm sort of at a loss here. 2) If all is what is should be, is it more/less safe to assume that the frigid temps are affecting the engine temp? As I said above, you can tell physically and via the gauges when the stat opens - and it cools the thing right down to the "C" at times... The total loss of heat at any 'gauged' temp leads me to veer towards the pump still, but again, that's in good shape and is properly circulating.

Thanks to all in advance who assist in this matter. I hoep you all have a great holiday as well; wish me luck so I don't freeze on my trip to Indiana in a few days :):)

Its sounds like your coolant level is going low, if so you would get
readings like you are, cause for this might be a head gasket starting to
leak(normal in this engine). Keep an eye on the coolant levels and
make sure that the over flow bottle (resavoir bottle) hase coolant in
it at all times. Also you might have to bleed the air from the system

Thank you much Mr. P.... I have been watching this like a hawk since this posting - and the level does not change. Apparently as well (from another 'friend' - LOL), this engine runs cool to begin with and is a known issue.
Nonetheless, putting a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator took care of the issue - at least for now...... Temp stays pretty much steady slightly below center. I'd say this is the kind of fix that cost the less and actually worked.... Obivously when it gets warmer, the cardboard will have to be yanked.

Thanks again and you have a great new year!
Niko

I have a 93 acclaim, 2.5. Gee...sounds like the same problem. I found that I was extremely low on coolant. Resevoir was good but radiator was low. Obviously was not taking coolant from my resevoir. Anyway I had to purge the system, and add the proper level of coolant. My temp gauge would do major swings until it warmed up. Also the other symptom was loss of heat when it warmed up. I believe I have a head gasket failure. It is bubbling in the radiator. Take the cap off, start it and look for bubbles. A classic problem with this car. I went through this 2 years ago. There are several ways a head gasket can fail and this is one of them. Combustion gas is leaking through the cooling system. Yes...no water in the oil, and no white steamy smoke from the exhaust. I plan just making sure I do not get low on coolant, and purging the system with air. I will hold off on the fix until Spring if it lets me. I might even try an aftermaket additive fix. Several out there that claim to do it. It is an old car. I feel I have nothing to lose.
This link will give you the procedure for purging air. Good luck!

http://www.allpar.com/fix/radiator-purge.html

Brian
Missouri

I happened on your problem looking for answers to mine. I've got a 96 Ford ranger that didn't heat well. Took it into the shop where they replaced the fan coil (said it wasn't turning right) and put in a new thermostat. (I had already replaced it a couple of months before) I had put in a standard 180 degree factory replacement, but they said it wasn't the right one. Anyway, the upshot is that the vehicle warms up O.K. when you're rolling down the highway, but come to a stop for more than a few seconds, and the heater is blowing cold air. Called the repair shop on this, and they said it was because of low compression (lots of miles on the engine) Never heard of this before, my 87 ranger doesn't do this, and its got more miles on it than the 96. I'm going to post this in another forum, but I just thought you might be interested...Roadbum :2cents:

Thanks Roadbum -

I truly do sympathize with ya.... I'm telling ya though, the cardboard in front of the radiator has SERIOUSLY been the fix I need to get me through this Winter... Heck no one even knows unless you open the hood.... Of course, makes no sense and doesn't truly 'fix' the problem, but for oh - 3 weeks now I've been as warm as they come....

Again, thanks for the post... least i'm not alone :):)
Niko