Help! No Heat, nasty cold Chicago weather

[chicago96ranger]

1997 Ford Ranger XLT 3.0 V6 4x2 Extended Cab 170,000miles


So my moms Kia died and I have to let her use my truck for however long she needs. This is the first winter experience with the truck as I bought it in the summer as my second vehicle. She has the truck some distance from me and has been troubled by the no heat situation. The blower blows out cool air when truck is at operating temperatures (it didn't bother me because I didn't drive it much but she is driving almost an hour and visibility through windshield is dangerous on the highway) I told her to bring it to the shop and they say it's an issue with the lower intake manifold. They couldn't take it off because one of the bolt heads was broke off. They say since nobody makes this part anymore that I have to find the part in a junkyard. They will do it for $350 if we bring in the part. They said there is no danger of overheating or anything so it's not causing damage, just that you won't have heat.

Anyone familiar with intake manifolds that can shed some light on what could be wrong here or if this is the actual reason for the 'no heat' situation. I'm just wondering how they know the problem is the intake manifold when they couldn't even take it off. Do these things crack? As you can probably tell, I'm not mechanically inclined.

And if I find this part in the junkyard, how do I know it's any good? And what year model Rangers are compatible with 97? I'm assuming any 93-97 3.0 V6. Is that correct? For someone who knows this engine, what would you do?

 

[adsm08]

Sounds odd to me. I would start by checking and topping off the coolant, then get the engine warm and grab the heater hoses, see if they are both hot.

It could be that the vacuum supply to the system is not hooked up, and that is the part at the intake that is damaged.

 

[wizkid00104]

I had this problem in my 94 about 3 winters ago. My heater core in the cab was plugged up and no hot coolant was getting into the cab. There is a very simple test for this. Get the truck up to operating temperature and check the temperature of the two hoses that go through the firewall into the cab. In my case, one was hot and the other cold telling me that there was little or no flow through the core. It was about a 30 minute swap in my truck and it worked again, but I though in 95 and up it requires the dash to be disassembled which takes a lot longer.

You could also test this by disconnecting both coolant hoses at the firewall and connecting a new piece of clean hose to the heater core and try funneling water in or trying to blow air through. Using this principle you could also make an attempt to back flush the heater core to remove the gunk. Just feed liquid in backwards from what the engine does and see what comes out.

You could also try flushing the coolant system really well. I've never tried this mix, but I've been told that draining the coolant, refilling with 80% distilled water/20% distilled vinegar really helps clean the rusty dirt and sludge from the coolant system. Rinse with distilled water and then refill with new coolant.

 

[RonD]

Yes, sounds odd to me as well.

Heaters in general have two hoses coming off the engine.
One from the water pump
One from the intake manifold

The intake connection could be part of a separate housing, maybe with the t-stat inside, and that could be what they are referring to, but this connection doesn't have a valve or anything that could clog up.
And a broken bolt would usually mean a leak, either coolant out or air in, so.........puzzled??

The two engine heater hoses run to a Heat control valve near the back passenger side of the engine compartment.
The heat control valve is often a By-pass valve as well, so there will be 4 hoses connected to it.
The two from the engine
then two going to the heater core(small radiator) inside the cab.

The heat control valve is operated by a cable OR a vacuum diaphragm.
'97 is probably a vacuum operated system.
When valve is closed the heater core is by-passed and coolant flows back to the engine.
When valve is opened coolant flows thru the heater core and back to the engine.
Back to the engine is an important part.

If one of the hoses was clogged, like at the intake manifold, you would get random high coolant temps, not overheating HOT, just temp gauge would go up above 1/2 then back down to "normal".

Common problem for no heat in the cab is that the heat control valve is not working, so either the vacuum control is not working or the valve inside the by-pass is broken and not moving.


Not being there it is hard to make the call, and the shop may be on the right track to fix the problem, but from what you have said, and may be you misunderstood, they seem to be looking at the wrong thing to fix a "no heat in cab" problem.
Second opinion might be worth the time.

 

[hondaxr650]

Broken blend doors are also a big problem on these trucks, I've replaced mine. The blend air door is operated by an electric motor and when the door binds, it breaks the shaft on the top of the door. If both hoses are hot, this could be your problem.

 

[chicago96ranger]

Thanks for all the responses! I just spoke with my mom and she told me something she didn't the first time. She said they told her some valve on the intake manifold is closed and that they didn't want to touch it because someone previously tried to take it off and broke the bolt. I guess they didn't want to make it worse. How they know a valve is stuck closed without taking out the lower intake manifold? I don't understand. My mom mentioned they want to replace a thermostat in there. Did they even check the heater core and hoses, I don't know, but per someone's advice I think I'll send her to get a second opinion to rule out a heater core, hose, blend door problem. I'm sure the shop is correct that the lower intake should be fixed but it may not fix the no heat problem. I will still be keeping an eye out for someone parting out a junk ranger to get a manifold and the bolts. I read somewhere that guys found bolts at lowes but maybe it's best to stick with original parts. Thanks, I'll continue researching.

And yes, when I made my way over there more coolant was added and the reservoir still looks empty but I see no leaks under the truck. I'll tell her to keep adding more, just to be safe

 

[chicago96ranger]

So I'm doing my research and wondering if I have a blend door problem as I'm finding out its a pretty common problem on ford rangers. In my search I come across a compromise heater repair product where you don't have to remove dash, supposedly simple to do and inexpensive. It uses a steel door instead of plastic. It sounds too good to be true.. Anyone ever install heatertreater? I'm intrigued and found an affiliate garage 8 miles away that installs these. I wouldn't do this if the problem is actually the lower intake manifold. I just don't know. Like I said, I'll get a second opinion

 

[RonD]

Before spending time or money on the Blend Door, check to make sure BOTH heater hoses going into the Cab(thru firewall) are hot when heat control selector is in the HOT position.

 

[chicago96ranger]

Before spending time or money on the Blend Door, check to make sure BOTH heater hoses going into the Cab(thru firewall) are hot when heat control selector is in the HOT position.

I'll check that when I get over there. I'll find a pic of what they look like and feel em up