No Heat

[latinowarrior]

Well, My son has been driving the car all last year and I took it out for a spin this past weekend. It was cold as h*ll and I drove it around waiting for the heater to warm the car. Two hours later and the car was still COLD. I set the controls on auto to set the temp to 90 degree. No luck, I checked the actuator and heard it flip when I switched from heater to AC and back, but still as cold as a ****. Need HELP, whats WRONG

[latinowarrior]

Forgot it's a 1997 Town car..

[Towncar]

Sounds like it could be the Blend Door not functioning.
Here's an article on that problem:
http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article20.html

[latinowarrior]

SORRY, its a 1994 TC with 167,000 miles. I hear the door switch from A/C to heater mode and I get warm "slight" air when I switched from a/c to heater. I get the most warm air in the Max a/c mode. DO I need to flush out the radiator and maybe replace the thermostat?

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by latinowarrior

... DO I need to flush out the radiator and maybe replace the thermostat?

With 167k miles the flush and thermo change won't hurt. If you are saying the engine never warms up either, then I have to agree the thermostat is stuck open and that would definately effect the cabin heater.

If your engine is reaching normal operating temp. then there's either a problem with the hot water getting to the heater core (like a bypass hose, or stuck water flow valve) or the Blend Door adding too much cold air to the airflow.

[latinowarrior]

The engine warms up and it's temp is within the nomal range. Where is the bypass hose and water flow valve? The Blend Door does switch back from A/C to heater mode with no problem. I still get some heat but not much..

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by latinowarrior

...Where is the bypass hose and water flow valve? ...

Well, if your engine is warming up, and you have proper coolant level, something is preventing heat from flowing.

I mentioned a bypass hose because some people bypass the heater core if it starts leaking water inside the car. It's a simple process to add a bypass hose.
1) There's a heater hose coming from the engine to the heater core, through the firewall.
2) There's a heater hose coming from the heater core back to the engine, through the firewall.
If the heater core leaks water inside the car and you want to stop it, you can pull both the heater hoses OFF the heater core, and connect them together. This sends the hot water from the engine, around the looped heater hose, back to the engiine. This is a bypassed heater core.

Rethinking this flow valve comment >> I dont think there was a water flow valve on the cars with automatic climate control as the temperature is regulated through air flow doors.

You need to make sure HOT water is entering and exiting the heater core before ruling out blend door problems. There are several doors in the system, the main one "blend door" handles the temperature. When you say "I hear the door..." it may not be the blend door you're hearing.

Hot water flow:
Check the 2 water hoses. 1 going in and 1 coming out of the heater core after the car warms to operating temp. They should both be HOT to touch.

If their not BOTH hot, there's a water flow problem.
If their both hot, there's a problem related to the blend door.

Water flow problem:
1) Completely flush cooling system. A pre-additive (cleaner) can be added to the cooling system and run for the specified time prior to flushing it out. This is supposed to loosen stuck on shit that accumulates in the radiator and heater core.
2) Flush the cooling system completely, refill with plain water, run at operating temp. for 10 to 30 minutes, and re-flush.
3) When your satisfied all the shit is flushed out, add premium grade coolant, then refill the remaining system with water.

Blend door analysis:
I have the 1996 "testing" process here. Look for the links related to "blend door".

If the blend door is proven to be the problem, there's other links available describing repair process.
As mentioned previously.

I believe the process is relatively the same for 97 and 94 however, now would be a good time to get a 1994 Service Manual.

[latinowarrior]

Ok I'll check it all out and let you know the results..

[latinowarrior]

[quote=Towncar]If their not BOTH hot, there's a water flow problem.

Well it turns out that the return hose is cold to the touch, I'll do the flush and thermo change and hope for the best.


Thanks Towncar for the headsup

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by latinowarrior

Thanks Towncar for the headsup

No problem.
Let's keep our fingers crossed the core dosn't blow while your flushing it.
Keep the heat controls set to the highest possible heat setting while flushing.
In this case I recommend using a "cleaner" additive and several flushes prior to the coolant refill.

One more thing, I've uploaded the removal and bypass process to my freebee website if you're interested.


Look Here.

[latinowarrior]

Well I got a little money back from the tax man and I'll do the work this weekend if it doesn't snowagain..

[latinowarrior]

Towncar,

I am using a cleaner and have to drive around for about 5 hours for the cleaner to do its thing. I think my TC has not been flushed since 1994. I have a marking on the fan guard stating 11/94 -40 degree. It was completely brown and muddy. Well when I'm done with the flush I'll replace the thermostat and hope for the best.

P.S. I also cleaned out the overflow tank, the radiator is a sealed unit how do I fill it with antifreeze after the flush?

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by latinowarrior

Towncar,
...the radiator is a sealed unit how do I fill it with antifreeze after the flush?

NOTE:
BE SURE TO KEEP THE HEATER ON FULL WHILE YOU'RE DOING THIS, OR THIS WHOLE JOB IS FOR NOTHING!! YOU NEED THIS CLEANER TO RUN THROUGH THE HEATER CORE TOO.

Another note:
The horrible condition you describe will definately NEED several flushes before finally adding the coolant/antifreeze.

I posted the service manual instruction for Radiator: Drain, Fill, Purge (or burp)
Remember this link....

Basically it says:
Fill the overflow bottle to the max line with premixed coolant.
Set heater to maximum hot.
Run engine 10/15/20 minutes till coolant burps through system.
Refill overflow bottle as needed.

However, watch out! When it does burp, it'll need another 1.5 gallons or so immediately, so be ready.

Having the coolant premixed is recommended, but I just dump the one gallon coolant/antifreeze bottle in first, wait for the burp, then fill the rest with water.