My heater only blows warm air say 65-70 degrees at best. I am running a 185 degree thermostat my temp gauge runs about quarter scale when the engine is fully warm. My air inlets are fully clean and the blower works well enough. My heater valve is fully open and the inlet/outlet heater hoses are hot to the touch. yet the air coming out of the core is lukewarm at best.
It does run a lot warmer when outside temp is higher but on cold days it just keeps my cab above freezing. Any ideas? I'd say maybe air in the core, but I have run that coolant for over a year now and any air should have burped out by now. Does the heater box always pull in outside air? Should I have a door that blocks off the air coming in from the foot vent?
Thanks for any help.
Dodgevanman
12-15-2008, 02:10 PM
Sounds like the heater core is partially plugged up. I had the same symptoms in a Dodge Dart and a few Dodge A-100 vans.
bherder
12-15-2008, 02:26 PM
Sounds like the heater core is partially plugged up. I had the same symptoms in a Dodge Dart and a few Dodge A-100 vans.
I'll 2nd that motion.... Heater cores get rusty/scaley/plugged up, just like a radiator can...
cribbs74
12-15-2008, 02:51 PM
Well that would be the third time I heard that today as my pal here at work suggested the same thing. Any ideas how best to unclog it?
Speed Dragon
12-15-2008, 03:29 PM
Yeah, take it out and install a new one :D
cribbs74
12-15-2008, 03:33 PM
That's not the right answer.:thatfunny
bherder
12-15-2008, 03:53 PM
Well, you've got a couple different routes....
Being as it's probably butt-azzed-freekin-cold out side, kinda' limits them right now ... At least it would for me :D
A: Would be to install a new heater core. But that means at least a couple-three hours freezing you ass off with your hands shaking and you cursing the 12 million screws you need to remove to get to the heater core...
B: Would be to try some chemical radiator flush. But that usually means getting all the coolant/antifreeze out, replacing it with water, using the flush, then, replacing all the antifreeze. Honestly though, I've never had a chemical radiator flush do any good from my past experiance...
C: Would be .... You've got two hoses running to your heater core. The one with the valve in the 'inlet' side and the other is the 'return' side. I would go to your local hardware store and get some PVC fittings, that you can take the 'return' side apart, and plug in a hose bib to it. Then undo the 'inlet' side.
I would undo them at the water pump with some rubber caps (5/8" and 1/2" I think) to keep the green stuff in the engine and not all over the ground...
Run a garden hose to the 'hose bib' side and backflush the hell out of the heater core (This way, you're only losing a small amount of antifreeze, which even these days is pretty expensive)
This of course, is only a temporary 'fix' ... The real fix is to replace the heater core, but it might blow enough crud out of the heater core to get you through the winter.. :D
bherder
12-15-2008, 03:56 PM
Yeah, take it out and install a new one :D
HA!! Easy for YOU to say, 'Mr. It's Still 70 Degrees Outside' ! :D :D :D
GHS
12-15-2008, 04:01 PM
I've had limited success by removing the heater hoses at the core, and running water through from both directions. Sometimes they are plugged with soft, mushy material, and you can get quite a bit of it out.
Also make sure the air is flowing though the core, not bypassing junk-filled fins.
If someone has used a radiator sealer in the past, chances are it's plugged solid. Then the "wrong answer" is the only answer.
cribbs74
12-15-2008, 04:18 PM
It's 29 degrees here today in North Texas. It was 19 degrees this morning hence my post. Yesterday it was 79 degrees until that front blew in. Thanks for the replies I will try the suggested flushing methods. If it doesn't work then I will start dressing a little warmer in the morning until it warms up a bit. Thanks a bunch as always.
bherder
12-15-2008, 04:39 PM
29 degrees!!?? Hell, ya got a HEAT WAVE going on there then!
I thought it was COLD there!
It's been -20 here and actually got up to +2 here today....
I guess I could put long pants on, but I don't wanna be called a 'sissy' by the Townies ... :D
1972-D100
12-15-2008, 04:45 PM
Come on Ron, it wasn't that cold here this morning, the wind chill was above zero! JK, let me know if you need a hand....
1972-D100
12-15-2008, 04:49 PM
29 degrees!!?? Hell, ya got a HEAT WAVE going on there then!
I thought it was COLD there!
It's been -20 here and actually got up to +2 here today....
I guess I could put long pants on, but I don't wanna be called a 'sissy' by the Townies ... :D
It's not the temp that makes people feel cold here, it is the 60 degree drop that happened in about a 4 hour span yesterday. It is a lot easier to deal with the cold if it was cold all the time, not 80 one day, the next day you don't even hit the 30's, and a couple of days later your starting the cycle all over again. That part of it gets old!
bherder
12-15-2008, 05:45 PM
It's not the temp that makes people feel cold here, it is the 60 degree drop that happened in about a 4 hour span yesterday.
"Global Warming" doncha' know .... :D
It is a lot easier to deal with the cold if it was cold all the time, not 80 one day, the next day you don't even hit the 30's, and a couple of days later your starting the cycle all over again. That part of it gets old!
Hey, I thought y'all were "Tough" down there in the Lone Star State... :D
Hank Hill and T.O. and all that... :thatfunny :thatfunny :thatfunny
acton mike
12-15-2008, 10:07 PM
29 degrees - Hah - shirtsleeve weather
Speed Dragon
12-16-2008, 07:12 AM
HA!! Easy for YOU to say, 'Mr. It's Still 70 Degrees Outside' ! :D :D :D
:thatfunny Hey, it's like in the 40's here now, and the Tercel has no heat due to a water pump going bad, so guess what I get to do soon? :mad:
cribbs74
12-16-2008, 10:24 AM
29 degrees!!?? Hell, ya got a HEAT WAVE going on there then!
I thought it was COLD there!
It's been -20 here and actually got up to +2 here today....
I guess I could put long pants on, but I don't wanna be called a 'sissy' by the Townies ... :D
Yeah, I suppose I should strap on my manpon and tough it out. It really isn't that cold. I grew up in Canada and since I have been in the Southern States. I've turned into a big sissy when it drops into the teens. I remember walking to school in Canadian winters looking down from the snowbanks on the sidewalk at the cars passing by. My kids get snow days here in Texas. I get a chuckle when I hear that. Growing up, snow just meant we bring the sleds to school for recess.
I didn't have a chance to flush the core yet, I will let you know how it turns out, The idea of it being clogged fits as the rad had holes in it when I bought the truck. No doubt some previous owner decided to add something to stop the leaks.
1972-D100
12-16-2008, 10:47 AM
It's not the temp that makes people feel cold here, it is the 60 degree drop that happened in about a 4 hour span yesterday.
"Global Warming" doncha' know .... :D
It is a lot easier to deal with the cold if it was cold all the time, not 80 one day, the next day you don't even hit the 30's, and a couple of days later your starting the cycle all over again. That part of it gets old!
Hey, I thought y'all were "Tough" down there in the Lone Star State... :D
Hank Hill and T.O. and all that... :thatfunny :thatfunny :thatfunny
Man, don't ever call T.O. a member of the Lone Star State! Just because Jerry Jones wanted the drama queen here doesn't mean that we did!
Hank Hill on the other hand is fine....
I also spent some years in the cold up in Colorado, so I know real cold as well. But like Cribbs74 living in a warmer neck of the woods has pretty much made me a little weak as well when it comes to the cold. It would however be a much more enjoyable cold if we could get some white stuff to go play in that is not ice. I miss having the snow to go with the cold. Then again I don't miss having to shovel it!
Megunticook
12-16-2008, 11:22 AM
I miss having the snow to go with the cold. Then again I don't miss having to shovel it!
Forget the shovel, let the Dodge handle it!
Seriously, though, I lived with minimal heating/defrosting in my truck for years until I totally rebuilt the heating system a couple years back. It's not so much the heat as the defroster and windshield visibility that's the issue. In certain conditions (plowing snow, for one!), you want some serious hot air blowing on the inside of that glass, along with rock-solid wipers. Otherwise you're an accident waiting to happen...
bherder
12-16-2008, 01:38 PM
Forget the shovel, let the Dodge handle it!
Seriously, though, I lived with minimal heating/defrosting in my truck for years until I totally rebuilt the heating system a couple years back. It's not so much the heat as the defroster and windshield visibility that's the issue. In certain conditions (plowing snow, for one!), you want some serious hot air blowing on the inside of that glass, along with rock-solid wipers. Otherwise you're an accident waiting to happen...
Heh heh heh ..... You got that right... ;)
It looks funny (And I know Ed knows what I'm talking about) because you'll see guys driving around with the defroster on 'high' with the window cracked open (Ya need to keep the heat on the windshield, but it gets so hot in the cab, you need to open the window.. :D )
bherder
12-16-2008, 01:41 PM
I didn't have a chance to flush the core yet, I will let you know how it turns out, The idea of it being clogged fits as the rad had holes in it when I bought the truck. No doubt some previous owner decided to add something to stop the leaks.
Yeah, must be the pot roast and taters and carrots thing.. :D :D :D
bherder
12-16-2008, 02:07 PM
Man, don't ever call T.O. a member of the Lone Star State! Just because Jerry Jones wanted the drama queen here doesn't mean that we did!
Hey, don't y'all execute guys down there, for like jay-walking tickets and such about every other day? There must be some way you can get that guy on "The Gurney" ... :IDEA: :D :thatfunny
cribbs74
12-16-2008, 04:44 PM
I didn't have a chance to flush the core yet, I will let you know how it turns out, The idea of it being clogged fits as the rad had holes in it when I bought the truck. No doubt some previous owner decided to add something to stop the leaks.
Yeah, must be the pot roast and taters and carrots thing.. :D :D :D
Possibly that or a couple hard boiled eggs will pop out when I flush it.
cribbs74
12-16-2008, 04:49 PM
Come on Ron, it wasn't that cold here this morning, the wind chill was above zero! JK, let me know if you need a hand....
Thanks's Ron I should be good. If anything we can get together and complain about the cold. No sympathy from this forum.............:D
Speed Dragon
12-16-2008, 09:26 PM
It was 50's-60's here today :D A bit rainy though.
cribbs74
12-16-2008, 11:07 PM
29 degrees - Hah - shirtsleeve weather
Well, I used to feel that way once! How are things up in Ontario? My entire family lives up that way. I have been through Acton before as a youngster don't remember much about it. I do faintly recall a radio jingle about the "Ole Hide House and something like "It's worth the drive to Acton" Stay warm. Later
Speed Dragon
12-17-2008, 07:27 AM
Heh, that's funny, most of my family lives in Ontario also :D mostly in Richmond Hill, Aurora, around the Toronto area .
cribbs74
12-17-2008, 08:05 AM
Heh, that's funny, most of my family lives in Ontario also :D mostly in Richmond Hill, Aurora, around the Toronto area .
Mine are in Burlington, Kitchener/Waterloo and Barrie area. I do have a sister in BC, but she is a tree hugger so we don't really relate. Small world
Speed Dragon
12-17-2008, 12:32 PM
I know where Kitchener is. I have other, more distant family living all over the world, but all immediate family is in either Ontario or Nova Scotia.
cribbs74
12-18-2008, 09:46 AM
Well I flushed it last night. It was 45 degrees out so I ran out of excuses. Man you should have seen the crap fly out of it. Rust and scale and what not. It does run hotter now that's for sure however it won't boil me out of the cab. I guess it needs replacing. But like Bherder said it will get me through the winter.
Thanks for all who replied
bherder
12-18-2008, 05:05 PM
Did a whole pot roast with all the trimmings come out of it? :D :D :D
cribbs74
12-18-2008, 06:19 PM
I guess you could say that, although definitely not edible. More like pot roast prepared in 1976 and left to ferment like Korean Kimchi.
