97 Taurus Help No heat and its cold

[taurusgirl97]

I have a 97 Taurus GL with 160,000 miles. The heater does not get warm at all. I have replaced the thermostat and I have had the whole heating/cooling system flushed professionally, there was a blockage in the heater core. The heat worked for only one week then went cold again. I called the ford dealership and they told me to replace the heater core. Does anyone know that this works? I mean I flushed it and it helped temporarily, is replacing the heater core going to be a permanent fix or will it get a blockage in a few weeks again?

[motoarts]

Keep re-flushing the heater core. Mine does the same thing, even after cleaning the entire system out myself.

Disconnect the heater lines, one on the passenger side and one on the drivers side, just below the throttle body. You will only need a pair of pliers to remove the spring clips on the hose(s). Put a freshwater (garden) hose on the drivers' side rubber heater hose to backflush, and let it run for 15-30 seconds or so.

Reattach the heater hoses and top off the tank with antifreeze.

[sfontain]

Originally Posted by taurusgirl97

I have a 97 Taurus GL with 160,000 miles. The heater does not get warm at all. I have replaced the thermostat and I have had the whole heating/cooling system flushed professionally, there was a blockage in the heater core. The heat worked for only one week then went cold again. I called the ford dealership and they told me to replace the heater core. Does anyone know that this works? I mean I flushed it and it helped temporarily, is replacing the heater core going to be a permanent fix or will it get a blockage in a few weeks again?

Prestone makes a product, something alongs the lines of Radiator Clean (not Radiator Flush) that is supposed to help clear out badly restricted cooling system passageways, e.g., your heater core.

Be mindful that if you have Ford replace your heater core, it can be *very* expensive. And, sadly, stock heater cores tend to suck. The part itself isn't horrendously expensive, but the labor is quite intensive and will take several hours at the dealer's ridiculous prices. Unfortunately, clogged heater cores can crack and leak (sometimes profusely)--a big giveaway that this has happened is that your heater fogs up your windows, since the hot coolant turns to steam. Or perhaps you can smell antifreeze, especially when you run the heat. If this is the case, you're stuck with getting the heater core replaced (or trading cars).