No Heat

[nosam420]

ok im sure you guys have done this before, but i didnt see the post anywhere. my truck, 88 2.9 4x4 extcab ranger, doesnt blow hot air. my dad said it might be the thermostate so i replaced that. didnt work... then my uncle who, is a backyard fix it with ducktape kinda guy, said "well maybe its just stayin too cool, refering to the engine, since the heat comes off there,,, so we put a peice of cardboard up in front of the radiator, that worked a little bit, but its still very cool when i get the heat on..... i can drive the 60 miles from school to home and it still be blowin cold air... can anyone help me plz? im tired of freezing my buns off all the time...

thanks
nosam420

[MAKG]

Check whether the cooling system is full, then test it for blockage (you can feel for cool spots or use a garden hose).

Check the crankcase for signs of coolant.

[swamprat]

Might also flush your system. My heater core was clogged with black crude. Looked like grit off of shingles.

[nosam420]

ya ill try the flushing thing the next time i get the chance to go home,, for some reason the college doesnt like ya workin on your trucks in their parking lots.. lol,, who woulda guessed.. lol

[Harris]

Your school is lame...I was changing a buddy's water pump and the campus police came by and asked if everything was OK. When we told him we were fine but needed a two-gallon jug filled with water he went and filled it for us.

I have made a little chunk of change doing odd jobs for people in the parking lot.

If your blower is working, though, and no hot air is coming out it can only mean your coolant is low like MAKG said or your heater core is clogged up a la swamprat. Or you're forgetting to switch the system over to heat.

[BobbyB2300]

I had this problem too after putting in too much stop leak in radiator...it clogged the heater core. A mechanic reversed the hoses at the firewall to the heater core and bingo, cleared the clog.

[nosam420]

the coolent is full, i filled it back up when i changed my thermostat. my dad had me drive it around and then check the hose that goes from the thermostat to the radiator to see if it was hot, and ya, it was very cool to the touch, so im just guessin its clogged sumwhere or sumtin...

[MAKG]

That means your new thermostat isn't opening. Reasons might be installing it backwards or not filling it up completely. The latter will usually make distinctive irregular knocking sounds when a warm engine is turned off.

If it were plugged (or the lower hose were collapsing), the upper hose wouldn't be completely cold. And if it IS completely plugged so as to prevent any flow at all, this engine has almost certainly been repeatedly and severely overheated. Even if the temperature gauge says it's cold.

[nosam420]

ok ill take all this into mind the next time i make it home and be able to do this. thanks for the help guys,,,, if none of this works im sure ill be right back here askin more questions... lol

[nosam420]

ok well i got into my truck today to go to work and what do i see? COOLENT in my passenger floorboard. so could this just be an easy fix such as a hose or sumtin, or do i have to replace the whole heater thingy?

[skippy]

ok well i got into my truck today to go to work and what do i see? COOLENT in my passenger floorboard. so could this just be an easy fix such as a hose or sumtin, or do i have to replace the whole heater thingy?

sounds like the heater core is leaking,needs replaced.

[nosam420]

thats what i was afraid of... that really suck.. college= no money.. lol,, but im sure i can find a way, thanks guys for all the help

[skippy]

don't take my word for it,dig in and verify with a visual inspection.

[MAKG]

On an '88, you can fix it for the cost of a decent (not even really nice) date and 30 minutes.

Unless you leave it be. Then it will cost more than a new (to you) truck of comparable vintage.

[Mark_88]

Heater cores can be replaced very easily and if you go to a junkyard you can usually pick one up for less than $20...if you go the JY route, you also get to learn how to remove and install one without damaging your truck because you can't damage a wrecked truck in the JY...just handle the core with care and it should work fine for you...if you take it to a rad shop they can test it for you if you want to be sure, but that's not usually needed...

Good, easy learning without paying someone to do it for you...all you will probably need is a good screwdriver to remove the clamps and a bit of climbing under the dash...

[kunar]

Heater cores can be replaced very easily and if you go to a junkyard you can usually pick one up for less than $20...if you go the JY route, you also get to learn how to remove and install one without damaging your truck because you can't damage a wrecked truck in the JY...just handle the core with care and it should work fine for you...if you take it to a rad shop they can test it for you if you want to be sure, but that's not usually needed...

Good, easy learning without paying someone to do it for you...all you will probably need is a good screwdriver to remove the clamps and a bit of climbing under the dash...

you can get a new one for $20. removal and installation is nothing on these trucks. 5 screws and 2 hose clamps. i could do mine in 10 mins now that i know how.

and makg, where are you going on dates for $20?? :tease:

[Mark_88]

Maybe in Ohio...I priced one for my Ranger 6 years ago and they wanted $80 Canadian...that's, like, what, $80 USD these days!

But it is easy...:)

[MAKG]

It's been a while since I did it, but back then it was around $35 for a new heater core, plus $8 or so for a gallon of coolant (mustn't forget that).

A $45 date is a bit on the cheap side, but not all that bad. Local night at the Boardwalk plus dinner at the not-very-expensive Italian restaurant down the street can be done for that.

But $28 is pushing it. McDonalds doesn't make for a very good date....

[nosam420]

ya i did a price check at the local Auto Zone, and its only $22 for a new one,,, while im there i think im gona get a few new hoses and small tinkerments i may need. hopefully this will be a quick job...

ohh and i forgot to mention, i should be gettin my ride sprayed this weekend, ill make sure to put some pics up, im sure u guys will enjoy the color scheme as it is now. my friends call it the lego truck, if that gives you any ideas....

[colinrmitchell]

When the heat in my truck went out, I found out it was the blend door. The mechanism that moves it from hot to cold was broke, and it was stuck on full cold air. I would check that first.

All it takes is a little glue to stick it open on hot. :clapping:

[colinrmitchell]

Didn't really check if this was mentioned, or not. But anyways...

I don't know about the older trucks exactly, but on my '97 there's a vacuum-controlled valve that allows hot coolant to enter the heater core. You could check to see if the vacuum line came out of that, that would cause it to not allow any heat into the cab. It should be right outside the firewall, follow the coolant hoses from the heater plenum.

Had this happen while fumbling around my engine bay once. My meaty paws lose control sometimes.

[nosam420]

well got the new heater core put in,, filled her back up and drove around a little bit... and guess what, i was actually warm, well hot, i actually had to turn down my heat, thank god.. lol... thanks for all the help guys,, i thought bout takin pics of the shiny new core but it was gettin dark pretty fast on me....

[Mark_88]

skip the pics of the heater core and show us a naked chick in the cab to prove how hot it gets....LOL!

Glad to hear it's working now...