Bad thermostat housing = lack of heat...

[AzTumbleweed]

That heater core should be good for many years. Sure shouldn't be gummed up yet.

Once I had a Ford Ranger and I thought the heater core was plugged. I got the engine up to operating temp and disconnected the heater hose from the outlet side of the core. Nothing came out. So I knew this was the problem. Big difference is that it took 30 minutes to put in a new one!

They have electric heaters somewhere that plug in to your lighter socket. Those would be nice to have.

There's one other thing that will cause these symptoms and I'm sure you've already checked, but, if the radiator is low on coolant then the heater won't work. I'm not talking about filling the reservoir. I'm talking taking off the radiator cap and making sure it is completely full. There should be no air pocket at the top of the radiator.

Long shot, but I've seen rubber hoses so old that they collapse when the water pumps sucks on them.

[twlunn]

There's one other thing that will cause these symptoms and I'm sure you've already checked, but, if the radiator is low on coolant then the heater won't work. I'm not talking about filling the reservoir. I'm talking taking off the radiator cap and making sure it is completely full. There should be no air pocket at the top of the radiator.

Rad is topped off.....

Long shot, but I've seen rubber hoses so old that they collapse when the water pumps sucks on them.

New hoses a year ago too.

Yeah my thoughts exactly on the opening of the 2 stats Dougand 3


Now get this, its 41° out right now. I'm in crawling traffic thru a construction zone and the temp gauge gets to the M-A in normal!!. Ive crawled thru these sites before, albiet it was colder, but I've never seen the gauge this high.

Must be the higher ambient temps and the cardboard.

I think im going to fab up a knife gate to the front of the rad with a few holes in it. Weld or fab up some brackets, seal it up better than the c-board for the wintewr season

Tom

[AzTumbleweed]

Sounds like a plan. I'm still curious about this one though. Did you check the door in the heater box?

[twlunn]

Havent checked the door, Wrapping gifts and Xmas stuff tonight ....
Maybe later in the week, before the next ARCTIC blast!!

[dougand3]

Used expandable anchors from ACE hardware to plug holes. Worked pretty good. Didn't make much temp difference tho.



Spent 3 hours today backflushing the heater core. Put a short 5/8" heater hose on the OUT tube (pass side) with a garden hose connected. Put a 6' 5/8" heater hose on the IN tube (driver side) and put this hose in a trash can. Ran 50 gals thru it. Then, I filled heater core with CLR cleaner with a little water. Let it soak 10 minutes and ran water to get it totally clean. Repeat CLR x 2. The flow thru the core seems like NO restriction whatsoever. Now, when gauge gets up to N in C--[--NORMAL--]--H, I'm getting hot air out the heater. The temp still doesn't behave like ANY other car/truck I have/had but it is better. A mechanic told me the inside of the core gets a film on it and doesn't transfer heat well - makes sense.

Tomorrow, I'll try a road trip.

[dougand3]

30 mile road trip - getting up to N in C--[--NORMAL--]--H. Getting hot air out of heater. Much better than being below left bracket. So, I think back flushing the heater core helped.

[Davescort97]

Glad you got it fixed.`