Heating Issue

Hello all,

Ok, first let me say that I have in fact used the search button and found many good possible answers to this question...

That not withstanding, let me give you guys the run down.

When I bought the car it had great heat, although it also ran with the temp gauge between 3/4 and the red zone of engine death... While the car never boiled over, it was clearly running too hot.

I replaced the thermostat and the temp gauge didn't creep past 1/4, and then the car had at best lukewarm heat... I tried bleeding the system a bunch of times. There didn't seem to be any air in it.

I replaced the thermostat again with a 192 temp. Now the temp gauge sits a little under 1/2 which seems like where it should be, and the heat in the car is a little better, but you still won't have to worry about ever feeling "too hot."

When I set the temp to 60, you clearly get outside freezing air. When you set it to 90, you get simi-heat. If you hold the revs up on the engine, the heat starts to get nice and hot (and the temp gauge drops a little) but once you let off the gas the heat goes back to 'not so great'...

Should I start looking in the dash at the blend door and whatever other fantastic magical things live back there.

Thanks for your help!

Try flushing the heater core both forwards and backwards. You'd be surprised at the crap that'll come out of there.

+1 on flushing the core. My caprice had pathetic slightly wamred air when I got it. Flushed it out and a bunch of rusty crap blew out of it. Now it has the best heat out of all my cars!

What is heat for?

Fred Kiehl wrote:

What is heat for?

Heat is that switch we use for the "winter season", you know, the time between MLK day and Valentines day?

Fred Kiehl wrote:

What is heat for?

i,ve seen snow on oranges in florida,.I was at disney world years back and it was a crappy 43 deg,.

Nick

toomanytoyz wrote:

Try flushing the heater core both forwards and backwards. You'd be surprised at the crap that'll come out of there.

That sounds great...

How do you do that?


Actually a better question is, if I bring the car to the local oil change place, will their coolant flush be good enough?

Krzdimond wrote:

Fred Kiehl wrote:

What is heat for?

Heat is that switch we use for the "winter season", you know, the time between MLK day and Valentines day?

Screw you both. I hope you freeze your funnybones off, since they're not working anyway.

Disconnect the hoses going into the heater core on the passenger side near the coolant reservoir. You'll see them. Then run a garden hose in each one, alternating, til it all flows out clear. I use garden hose repair "ends" on them so I can just attach a garden hose to it and let it go.

I also have two large vacuum caps that I use to cover the hoses not being flushed so we don't lose more coolant than necessary.

Ok, so I'm not trying to flush the entire system, only the heater core... gotcha.

The next time everything isn't frozen solid outside, I will take a stab at that...

Why would the amount of heat increase when the engine RPM is higher? Is it because the water pump is circulating coolant faster or with more pressure? (I'm just guessing)

Just checking: have you read the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] yet? It was created for the Impala, but an awful lot of it applies to your wagon. It's old, so the lists of vendors and websites are kind of ragged.

Nick Danger wrote:

Just checking: have you read the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] yet? It was created for the Impala, but an awful lot of it applies to your wagon. It's old, so the lists of vendors and websites are kind of ragged.

thanks.. It's 30*s here today.. All I have is luke warm heat. Wife isn't happy

Nick Danger wrote:

Just checking: have you read the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] yet? It was created for the Impala, but an awful lot of it applies to your wagon. It's old, so the lists of vendors and websites are kind of ragged.

Thanks!

Ok, potentially dumb question, does the car need to be running when I flush the heater core? I would guess the answer is no, but I figure it's worth asking.

The car should be off, because otherwise you're going to pump all the coolant out onto the pavement as soon as you disconnect the hoses.

I haven't done it, because I had to replace the heater core last winter. We had only bought the car in September. Later (when it got warm), I did a full flush, including cleaning the overflow tank.

I do know that you have to make sure that the hose pressure isn't too high. Too much pressure is rough on the heater core.

Here are a couple of related threads:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

BadSax wrote:

Ok, potentially dumb question, does the car need to be running when I flush the heater core? I would guess the answer is no, but I figure it's worth asking.

Um,. did you think this question thru? if the motor is running,. the water pump would be pumping water,.where?

nick

Not everyone knows that it is a constant flow cooling system. Older cars had a hose shutoff valve for the heater

phantom 309 wrote:

BadSax wrote:

Ok, potentially dumb question, does the car need to be running when I flush the heater core? I would guess the answer is no, but I figure it's worth asking.

Um,. did you think this question thru? if the motor is running,. the water pump would be pumping water,.where?

nick

I did... which is why I prefaced what I said with "potentially dumb question"...

I'd rather look uninformed and learn how to do something the right way, then take a guess and screw things up any day

It also helps to almost never feel embarrassment

Well said BadSax.I have felt that the only stupid question is the one not asked.Most here on this forum try to be
helpful and not a pompous ass looking to embarass others every chance they get.
Merry Christmas All
Jim Gordon

90% of what I learned, I learned while earning my PHD in "Blind Squirrel Mechanics" at ASU (Aw sh!t University)

Ask away, rest assured that someone here has already bled all over the parts you are trying to figure out.