[mopar4u]

91 voyager 3.3

does the mixture % of coolant and water affect the heat output in the cabin?

reason i ask is the heat output is so so. On a scale of 10, 10 being the max heat output of my other two cars (neon and dakota), the van is about a 7. It's more than luke warm but it's not hot either. i just replaced the thermostat with a 195 deg thermostat, didn't help. current coolant water mixture is good to -20f. no leaks, temp gage stays steady at almost center.

 

[acton mike]

the short answer is no - not so you would notice anyway

pure water might make a difference as would pure antifreeze but when you have them mixed, the ratio does not really make a noticeable difference in heat output- to the best of my knowledge

 

[RickMN]

Acton Mike is correct to a point. A 50/50 mix of coolant and water actually does a better job of transferring heat to the radiator fins than does plain water or pure coolant. But as Mike said, I doubt that you would be able to notice a difference in the feel of your heater temp just because of a difference in concentration.

I'd check out the operation of the blend door and actuator. (I forgot if the '91 blend door was cable or actuator.)

 

[mopar4u]

cable operated I believe.

how do i check to make sure it is functioning? The cold to hot lever is smooth and goes from side to side with no problems. I don't feel any binding.

 

[RickMN]

Go under the dash and watch to see if the cable is attached to the blend door. Or, unhook the cable and move the blend door by hand to see if the door is intact. It may have broken away from its hinges.

 

[mopar4u]

Hey rick

do I need to remove the dash to do these checks?


fyi, thought I would try the easy option first so i back flushed the core, heat isn't any better, water was coming out of the core clear and at good pressure (city water pressure). Maybe I'll get an actual temp reading of the heat coming out of the vents, maybe I'm being picky. What is typical heat output temperature at the vents?