Heat... I want some heat!

[amigaguy]

The winter is fast approaching and with it comes the memories of last year... I was unable to get much heat in my hachi... barely enough to melt the inside ice of my front window...

With -15C temperatures I'm lucky to get the temperatures up to about 5C...

Anything I can do to improve on this?

[Ivan141]

emmm... your thermostat should take care of most of the work, make sure it's good. I dont know if there are any tricks that might help to get more heat into the interior, exchanging the heater core is too damn difficult.

I have seen radiator covers that shield part of the radiator from the cold air for speedier warm-up on cars driven in the colder countries, but I think you probably know more about that than me as your from norway.

[amigaguy]

Ivan141 Wrote:emmm... your thermostat should take care of most of the work, make sure it's good. I dont know if there are any tricks that might help to get more heat into the interior, exchanging the heater core is too damn difficult.

Sounds plausible... My engine never ever climbs above the half way mark on the temperature gauge... after googling around a bit it sounds like a problem with the thermostat...

Ivan141 Wrote:I have seen radiator covers that shield part of the radiator from the cold air for speedier warm-up on cars driven in the colder countries, but I think you probably know more about that than me as your from norway.

I tried that last year, didn't really help much...

I guess I'll try to locate a new thermostat and see if that helps...

[jamiemirror]

Flush the cooling system (with heater lever on "HOT" position).
If you still have problems - maybe your heater core is blocked.
PS: Check the tube leading to the heater core (via engine side of the firewall) - is it hot ?

[oldeskewltoy]

If temp gauge registers at normal or near normal, the you have either a heater core/heater valve problem, or a blend door problem.

The easiest way to check if the heater core is getting heat is to check both hose fittings coming from the firewall. If both are hot/warm, then your heater core is allowing coolant to pass and heat the core.

If the hoses are both hot, then you likely have a blend door, or blend door cable issue. Is your "TEMP" slide difficult to slide? Often the cable that loops under the dash to the blend door binds do to its routing. When this happens the blend door is usually stuck closed... or partially closed only allowing a minimal amount of heat. The blend door lever that the cable operates is under the left side of the console/dash.

[-Mister2-]

I'd like to bump up an old topic...

I have heater issues too. My thermostat is working and the temperature slide slides easily from side to side. Also i cheked that the cables move too.

I have no heat what so ever at the moment. Heater blows only cold air trough.

How can I frush the cooling system with the fluid? What if those hoses coming from firewall don't warm up?

[firehawk]

-Mister2- Wrote:I have heater issues too. My thermostat is working and the temperature slide slides easily from side to side. Also i cheked that the cables move too.

I have no heat what so ever at the moment. Heater blows only cold air trough.

Did you check that the cable from the heat knob also moves the water tap in the engine bay, behind the engine on the firewall?

If the tap moves OK, try to first bleed the coolant system in case there is air trapped in the heater matrix. Fill the coolant expansion tank to the max level, push the heat knob fully to hot and run the engine until it's warm (thermostat opens, lower radiator hose warms up). Then let it cool down again and see where the water level in the expansion tank settles. If there was air in the system, the level should now be lower.

You could also at first try, after starting a cold engine, running it for a while with the radiator cap off to see if any bubbles come up. Close the cap once the water expands enough that it starts to flow over.

If this doesn't help, the heater matrix may either be so clogged on the inside that the water just doesn't go though it or it's full of dust and leaves on the outside and air doesn't pass through. Either way, you'll need to drain out all the coolant and pull out the whole heater system under the dashboard. Some compressed air through the matrix may help in unclogging it but if it's in a really bad condition, replacing it may be the only choice.

[-Mister2-]

Thanks/Kiitos

I'll check those things you mentioned...