1997 ford escort no heat

[Ranger_5.0]

so i have a 1997 ford escort i got cheap to drive thru the winter while my truck is up for the season. however, ive changed the thermostat (the old one was in a few diff pieces when i got in there), the water pump (a piece of the afore mentioned thermostat in the fins) and finally today i changed the radiator (i noticed a leak when i was at lentz getting the exaust on my truck finished). i have not had a free weekend to sit and be lazy since ive owned this thing, and the heat still gets lukewarm at best. i am not losing antifreeze so i figure my thought is that the heater core should be fine, or have a blockage of some sort. should i just say screw it and change the heater core and see what happens? any help is greatly appreciated. thanks

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

before you replace the core, pull the heater lines off and use a garden hose to flush the core against its normal flow. you might even try switching back and forth a few times to see if you can dislodge enough crap to get the core flowing again.

if that doesnt work then you'll probably have to replace it.

 

[Danger06Ranger]

You can also fill it with water and blow through it lightly with short bursts of compressed air, and you can also yet some drano sit in there for a minute or so to break everything up.

just my $0.02