1996 Ford Ranger 2.3L - no heat - cannot locate heater control valve

[RangerSon]

I was wondering if anyone here could help me out here. My son got a 1996 Ford Ranger 2.3L from his friend in great running condition (99,500 miles) except that it doesn’t warm up when the engine is hot. It was sitting for approx. 6 months only being started once every two weeks during the summer and fall months for a few minutes before he got it. Being colder now here in PA he is driving it, but asked me if I could check it out. First thing I did was replace the thermostat and anti-freeze thinking this may be the problem, but that would be to easy of course. The hoses do get hot after about almost 10 minutes of running. One thing I was surprised at it has a clutch fan and not electrically controlled. Not having A/C it isn’t as complex as my car to work on. I was trying to locate the heater valve to see if that may be stuck, but I could not locate it anywhere. The heater hoses look like to go from the core to the engine and stat housing only. I pulled the glove compartment down and noticed when I turn the heater control from cold to hot there is a cable control and I can here a door shut (maybe the blend door?). At this point I think I guess I will flush the system to see what happens. If anyone knows if this model even has a heater control valve could you let me know and where it would be located? Also since it has a cable control instead that sounds like a door is shutting when turned instead of electric does it even have a blend door? By the way I am not real familiar with Ford’s if you couldn’t tell by now. Any other suggestions that may resolve this would be great.

[v8318cid]

Odd, I was under the impression that the temp control changed to eletrical operation in 95. If its cable driven, I would suspect it has been modified, though I can't confirm that. Either way, if there is no h-valve with a vacuum line attached connecting the heater hoses by the firewall, it most-likely doesn't have one. My advice would be to check both heater hoses at the firewall once the truck is warmed up. If there is a temperature difference of more than a few degrees, I would suspect a plugged core.

[hondaxr650]

I was under the impression that they were all electric too, I don't see many non-a/c equipped rangers. According to the Ford manual, the non-a/c trucks do have cable operated blend doors. If you can hear it clunking back and forth when turning the knob, it's probably working and isn't likely to be your problem. I'd be looking for a plugged core also.

[IRKillroy]

um, have you thought about checking the lines going to and from the heater core???

maybe disconnect them and see if fluid is in the line... I've had some lines get clogged at one end from rust and other crap and then there is no flow. Give that a shot instead of tearing everything apart to look for a valve. Keep it simple stupid!!!

it's similar to trouble shoot an electrical problem for days only to find out you have a dead battery/corroded terminal.

[marprts]

Sorry to see such a young man go. He really didn't have much to enjoy on this earth. Hopefully he's in a better place though and enjoying his time.

[exbass94]

Originally Posted by marprts

Sorry to see such a young man go. He really didn't have much to enjoy on this earth. Hopefully he's in a better place though and enjoying his time.

^^Umm, what? Reading comprehension FTL.

Napa lists a heater control valve for that truck, so I'm assuming it's supposed to have one. Part # 660-1294.

That being said, I don't think that would cause a no-heat situation. The valve just prevents coolant from going through the heater core when you DON'T want heat. Since you don't have a valve, that means coolant is going through the heater core all the time, so you should have heat. I would disconnect the hoses from the core and blast water through it and make sure it's clear. I would also make sure the linees are clear like IRKillroy said. If those things seem to be working ok, then the engine must not be getting up to temp. Check thermostat and fan clutch.