98 Windstar Heat Problems

[HBtheBull]

OK, I read alot of threads here tonight. Nothing really fits my problem. Here goes.

At first no heat when sitting at idle only when car is moving with a vacuum leak (hissing) noise from behind the front AC control panel.

Checked the front AC control Panel. Found left "fan" sw. workd fine, 2nd sw. "Temp control seemed the move things by the noises I heard, 3rd sw AC/Heat selector sw. worked fine 4th, hissing only in the rear Heat mode on the 4th sw. "rear control switch"

Brought it into Buzzy at Sunoco, he checked it out and replace a "defective" rear control switch. said that fixed the problem. Wife and kids tell me a day later that it's still not working.

Next, drove the van myself. I only get heat when the car was warmed up and in motion. Why only in motion?

By the way, no more hissing noise. (That's a good start)

Went through the motions. Checked the coolant level. Guess what, NO coolant. Filled it way above the Fill level mark. How bad does this affect
the heater operation? Should I drain som out?

Next, NO heat at all from the rear heater. It gets a little warmer in motion but still very cold.

When in AC mode, the rear unit does shift to the top vents and back to the bottoms in heat. Good right?

I think thats all I know. Anything specific to check next?

[Dngrsone]

The engine provides the heat for the interior heating, so it will take a little while for the engine to warm up the coolant and therefore provide heat for the cabin.

You might want to an eye on the coolant level. The system is pressurized and it may take a couple trips to work all the air out... don't remove the cap. Just fill the reservoir to the line and take a look at it between trips, preferably when the engine is cold.

If you are still filling the reservoir after a few days, then you may have a leaking hose connection somewhere.

[HBtheBull]

Thanks for the tip. I think it already did work some air out, it's a bit warmer at fast 1500 rpm.

Buzzy toldd me to run the engine with the cap off for a while to allow the air to escape.

He also metioned about checking the level to ensure no system leaks.

[LeSabre97mint]

HB

When you had your headgaskets replaced was the thermostat replaced? How high does your heat gauage go? Mine gets up to say around 1/4 of the way up. My kids ask for the heat to be turned down in MN! That's heating.

Do you smell anti freeze? If you do that means there is a leak in the cooling system meaning that you're loosing coolant and allowing air into the system when it gets low. I'd have your cooling system preasure tested. They can pump the system up to 30 psi and find the smallest leaks. How old is your water pump? They develop leaks after awhile.

Regards

Dan

[NightSongz]

I have a 95 Windstar and the heater will only blow hot air if I am up around 2000 rpm. It sucks because I live in Maine and I basically have to be doing 60 to 65 in order to get warm air. I was beginning to think maybe my muffler had something to do with it since a section of it needs to be replaced, anyone know if a bad muffler can have anything to do with the heater? As far as the other suggestions on here, I'll check into those, too.

[12Ounce]

Night..
IF your engine water is getting hot at low engine rpm but the heater is not, there is probably some flow issue. Two possibilities come to mind:
1. Poor functioning water pump ... one that's only effective at higher rpm. I've seen erroded pump vanes that would cause this.
2. Plugged heater core. This is more likely. Caused by poor coolant maintenance. Not as easy to clean as one would think....certainly not while still in-place. More effective just to replace with aftermarket core.

[BaddAndy]

Does your engin idle a litle high? Mine did and hardly any heat. I pulled the thermostat and it came out in 5 pieces. Engine now purrs like a kitten and the wifes feet are hot!

[fisherman292]

do the cheap fix first ,change thermostat,it work for me ,your may be stuck on open thats why you get some heat when running,like mine did also i too was refilling coolent like you now hot stuff
fisherman292

[HBtheBull]

It's been a while since this problem reared it's UGGGGGLY head.

2 words. WATER PUMP. Thanks to all who helped.

[HBtheBull]

You hit the nail on the head. WATER PUMP.