Need some help with my heating.

adsm08 · Nov 15, 2018

mywhip said:
The heater core hoses get hot, so hot coolant is definitely pushing through the heater core. The bypass valve doesn't actually have a vacuum line hooked up to it right now, so I don't see why it would do anything in this situation. If i've ready correctly then it only activates when I turn on Max A/C. Still, I should look into getting the vacuum lines fixed and will do that. Thank you.

The heater core hoses are definitely getting hot, so I believe everything is fine with that. I may have installed the thermostat incorrectly and will be taking a look into that. I've purchased a new thermostat and gasket from the Ford Dealership today, so I might take that on this week at some point. I appreciate the advice and will follow up

I've gone ahead and done that tonight. It's supposed to be raining and snowing tonight, so i'm gonna see if that makes a difference tomorrow. Thank you for the advice.

So unclogging the heatercore the first time was after I did everything else. The blend door actuator, thermostat, and other items had already been replaced with no luck but with improvements. I definitely think the heater core needs replaced, I just don't have a weekend to do that myself right now and can't afford to pay someone to do it for me. There is hot coolant running through the heatercore though, as the hoses get hot after running for x amount of time. I did replace the radiator cap, and have "burped" the system properly as I haven't been able to add any coolant since the installations. I think i'm going to install this new thermostat and gasket from the ford dealership, and ensure i've seated it correctly before going towards anything else. I really appreciate the comment.

Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it.

I've just blocked the radiator tonight so i'm going to see if that makes any difference tomorrow. I appreciate the advice.

The cooling system definitely was just water before. After doing a few coolant flushes and running clean coolant, it's still bright green. The first time I unclogged the heater core I got about 10 gallons of gunk out of it. The second time (this year) I did it I only got one gallon out of it until it was clear. I believe the heater core needs to be replaced, but I do not believe that is my problem at this time.

I do not have a temperature gauge to stick in my radiator, but I will purchase one and find out. Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it.

To test heater core function you can just use your hands. Once the engine is at temp you should be able to grab both heater hoses and if you can't feel the difference it is flowing.

Unless you are like my grandfather who is so desensitized to heat that he can and has put his hand on an active stove burner and not noticed.

pintobobster · Nov 15, 2018

I noticed you said you replaced the blend door actuator,
Are you sure it is moving the blend door itself??
Could be the motor is working but not moving the broken blend door...
Had this exact same issue on my 1995 Ranger 4.0.
Make sure that the door is moving to provide heat or A/C if the truck is so equipped.

mywhip · Nov 15, 2018

pintobobster said:
I noticed you said you replaced the blend door actuator,
Are you sure it is moving the blend door itself??
Could be the motor is working but not moving the broken blend door...
Had this exact same issue on my 1995 Ranger 4.0.
Make sure that the door is moving to provide heat or A/C if the truck is so equipped.

Yes, the door moves. Last year I dremmeled out a small access panel to ensure it moves. That's what prompted me to replace the actuator.

Today I took some cardboard and put it between my AC condenser and radiator, and I also took the grille off and put some coardboard between the grille and ac condenser. My truck was able to warm up a lot more than usual, but still not hot. It's better than nothing, though.

Is there a proper way I can block off airflow into the radiator to get me better results?

tomw · Nov 16, 2018

If your thermostat worked, and blocked coolant flow until the coolant reached 195F or so, you would not need to block airflow over the radiator.
I would suggest checking that the thermostat is good, and is installed such that it will seal against the housing and block coolant flow as it should. Once that is done, then worry about other things. You cannot find troubles without knowing that basic system controls are working properly. You could waste time on blend doors, flaps, heater control valves, heater cores, hoses, bypass hoses, water pump and so on only to find that the thermostat is not working. You'd have a lot of new parts, and nothing else, until you fixed the original problem. Don't waste more time on other things until that part is working properly.
tom

rangerenthiusiast · Nov 19, 2018

Hey, @mywhip. Any luck?

mywhip · Nov 20, 2018

tomw said:
If your thermostat worked, and blocked coolant flow until the coolant reached 195F or so, you would not need to block airflow over the radiator.
I would suggest checking that the thermostat is good, and is installed such that it will seal against the housing and block coolant flow as it should. Once that is done, then worry about other things. You cannot find troubles without knowing that basic system controls are working properly. You could waste time on blend doors, flaps, heater control valves, heater cores, hoses, bypass hoses, water pump and so on only to find that the thermostat is not working. You'd have a lot of new parts, and nothing else, until you fixed the original problem. Don't waste more time on other things until that part is working properly.
tom

rangerenthiusiast said:
Hey, @mywhip. Any luck?

I plan on replacing the thermostat with a new, OEM Ford Part and Gasket this weekend. Will update this thread once I do with the news.

Thank y'all for the help.

tomw · Nov 21, 2018

Too many pages... I forget, but here goes again(perhaps). The legs on the thermostat may have to be 'adjusted' so they hold the thermostat tightly in place. You can bend them to bind against the inner surface of the housing. As I remember, the 'legs' may have a flat pad at their end(towards the block). If so, the pads should be bent such that they lay flat in the machined recess on the gasket surface of the thermostat housing. When they are there, they will hold the thermostat in place so it seals well and cannot wiggle its way loose. The gasket would then be placed over the 'feet' and the housing bolted to the engine. The main thing is to keep the thermostat in place so it can do its thing.
tom

mywhip · Nov 21, 2018

tomw said:
Too many pages... I forget, but here goes again(perhaps). The legs on the thermostat may have to be 'adjusted' so they hold the thermostat tightly in place. You can bend them to bind against the inner surface of the housing. As I remember, the 'legs' may have a flat pad at their end(towards the block). If so, the pads should be bent such that they lay flat in the machined recess on the gasket surface of the thermostat housing. When they are there, they will hold the thermostat in place so it seals well and cannot wiggle its way loose. The gasket would then be placed over the 'feet' and the housing bolted to the engine. The main thing is to keep the thermostat in place so it can do its thing.
tom

That's very good advice, I appreciate it. When I installed the thermostat I don't think it seated correctly because I didn't know this trick. Because it has to go in at an angle, what I believe has been happening is I knock it a bit out of the seal when I place it on the engine. I will follow your advice. Thank you.

rangerenthiusiast · Nov 23, 2018

mywhip said:
That's very good advice, I appreciate it. When I installed the thermostat I don't think it seated correctly because I didn't know this trick. Because it has to go in at an angle, what I believe has been happening is I knock it a bit out of the seal when I place it on the engine. I will follow your advice. Thank you.

Hey, whip.

Not to overwhelm you with theories, but I had one final thought, based on something that recently happened with my Jetta. I was a little low on coolant recently, so I used a gauge to check and see how cold a temperature it could tolerate before adding any fluids. My gauge indicated that it was good to -10 degrees Farenheit. I probably should have accepted that and topped it off with some distilled water, but in an extreme winter, it will get down to -30 degrees for a day or two around here. So instead, I added about 3/4 of a liter of coolant.

We had a bit of a cold snap the next day and now the car only gets up to about 170 degrees, rather than the 190, which is where the thermostat opens up on mine. When I take the car out on the freeway, the heat is now only lukewarm. So I’m thinking that maybe I have too much coolant and not enough water in there.

Maybe I have an issue with my thermostat staying stuck open instead (it’s old and extreme temp shifts seem to be when they go bad), but I’m going to try the cardboard in front of the radiator trick first. Anyway, the only reason I mention it to you is just in case you didn’t do a 50/50 mix or use pre-mixed coolant when the water pump was changed. If that’s not the case, please just ignore.

Good luck! :icon_thumby:

tomw · Nov 23, 2018

The temperature developed in the cooling system of all engines that I am aware of is regulated by the thermostat. Some coolants may have surfactants(soap more or less) that allow them to 'touch' the metal of the tube better, and conduct more heat through the tube to the fins. BUt. The coolant can only flow through the radiator if the thermostat has opened. If the stat is installed correctly, there will be NO FLOW until the temperature is reached. All thermostats have some sort of bleed hole or slit or leakage to allow air to escape from the engine cooling jacket when coolant is being installed, but that's about it as far as allowing coolant flow. It should not, if it is working properly.

Rangerenthusiast, your Jetta may have a sensor that is now bathed on coolant more than it was when the coolant level was below optimum. It would report different temperature than if part was exposed to an air pocket in the system. Changing the antifreeze:water ratio should not affect cooling capability significantly, unless you go to the extreme of using almost 100% antifreeze. A pure antifreeze mixture won't freeze, but the boiling point is lowered from that of diluted mixtures. You can read about it on the antifreeze container where most will recommend against 100% coolant in the system.
Whenever I have to add coolant to a system that has good mixture installed, I use a pre-mix of 50:50, actually mixing it myself before adding to the system. That way I mostly know that what is in there has not been diluted or over-concentrated for the most part.
tom

mywhip · Nov 24, 2018

tomw said:
Too many pages... I forget, but here goes again(perhaps). The legs on the thermostat may have to be 'adjusted' so they hold the thermostat tightly in place. You can bend them to bind against the inner surface of the housing. As I remember, the 'legs' may have a flat pad at their end(towards the block). If so, the pads should be bent such that they lay flat in the machined recess on the gasket surface of the thermostat housing. When they are there, they will hold the thermostat in place so it seals well and cannot wiggle its way loose. The gasket would then be placed over the 'feet' and the housing bolted to the engine. The main thing is to keep the thermostat in place so it can do its thing.
tom

Got the thermostat replaced today, and correctly. I took your advice and made sure it was correctly seated before installing. On my drive home, maybe 15 minutes on the highway, the engine coolant temperature reached around 185 consistently and it felt like I had really hot air. It is, however, 49 degrees outside today so the real test will come when it's cold.

I am a bit confused, though. Shouldn't the truck get hotter than that?

adsm08 · Nov 25, 2018

mywhip said:
Got the thermostat replaced today, and correctly. I took your advice and made sure it was correctly seated before installing. On my drive home, maybe 15 minutes on the highway, the engine coolant temperature reached around 185 consistently and it felt like I had really hot air. It is, however, 49 degrees outside today so the real test will come when it's cold.

I am a bit confused, though. Shouldn't the truck get hotter than that?

Final engine temp should settle about 5-10 degrees above the thermostat temp, but as has been said, the 2.3 is small, doesn't make a lot of heat, and uses a lot of coolant for it's size. Especially in cold weather it may never even open the thermostat, or get it just barely open.

mywhip · Nov 25, 2018

adsm08 said:
Final engine temp should settle about 5-10 degrees above the thermostat temp, but as has been said, the 2.3 is small, doesn't make a lot of heat, and uses a lot of coolant for it's size. Especially in cold weather it may never even open the thermostat, or get it just barely open.

Sorry for the constant questions, but y'all have been really helpful and I just want to understand.

So even if the truck doesn't get up to the 192 degrees that it takes to open the thermostat, the truck's heat should still work?

kimcrwbr1 · Nov 25, 2018

Yes the heat circuit is like the bypass tube it circulates cooolant in the block from the thermostat housing to the input on the corc pump. Do you have a heater control valve in the heater hose would be the only thing that restricts coolant through the heater core. Do you have A/C you could have issues with the diverter door it is possibly stuck in the vent position? Are the heater controls cable or vacuum controlled? If both heater hoses get hot then you have a ducting issue.

Need some help with my heating.

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