Weak Heat?

[redhead316]

Is your check engine light on?

Mine takes forever to heat up too, and I have a P0125 code : Insufficient Coolant Temperature For Closed Loop Fuel Control.

AutoZone will check for codes for free

 

[Andy D]

That is the latest cap? Is it rust or stop leak ? Either or. I would at least get a flushing tee and back flush the system. For now though, make sure the coolant has enough anti freeze in it so as not to freeze and break stuff. You may want to carry a jug of coolant too. The cooling system is plugged up with rust or something. This isn't the time of year to deal with this. wait til May.

 

[koda6966]

That cap is grungy as hell. Definitely had stopleak in it at some point. Nine times out of ten that stuff doesn't fix your leak and clogs your heater core. Lets hope that didn't happen.

Now, when you grabbed the new cap did you make sure it was the correct PSI rating for your truck?

 

[Mojavekid18]

Cap said 16psi, which is what my old one said. The PO didn't use distilled water so the system had tons of rust which is why the old cap looked like that. I already flushed the system 2x now and the heater core flows very nice with no sign of blockage. If there is a problem with it it's from a hole in it not a blockage. And no codes on, i have a scanner and everything is good.

I did put a 12x17 peice of cardboard between the shroud and the rad today, we will see if it works any better. If so i might try yet another thermostat, and maybe something more than a 195 this time

 

[koda6966]

I've never used distilled water in any vehicle I've ever owned, and I've never had it look that bad. They must have had some evil tap water, hope they aren't drinking it. Haha.

Can you get the dash apart enough to feel if the heater core is getting hot? While you're in there it might be a good idea to throw a new one in to fix that leak you were talking about. I've never done one on a Ranger so I can't tell you how hard or easy it is.

Don't just think a can of stop leak will fix the heater core either. It will fix it, but it will also plug it up so bad that it's useless.

 

[Mojavekid18]

OK so last week i finally got around to attempting to fix this shit again before it got cold. Pulled out the dash and found that someone had already hacked up the heater box to move the blend door by hand because the actuator must have broke. . They also managed to snap the blend door when they did this. So i had to go to the yard and pull a whole box.

Got the new box, put a brand new heater core in along with a new blend door actuator and bolted everything back together.

MY HEAT STILL DOSEN'T WORK. Im really really stumped now. My fan clutch IS stuck for sure now, so that will be the next thing i do, but my coolant is still around 180-185 with it stuck on and i have zero heat being put out. My heater hoses are hot on one side and cooler on the other, and i know the blend door is working because i can hear the air change direction when i flip the switch and also put my finger on top of the actuator to feel it move. Im still trying to run enough flush through the system to get whatever stop leak was put in there making the coolant that orange color. Im wondering if all that stop leak screwed up something else that would cause this.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I know it is too late now... but I would have completely flushed the system before putting in the new heater core. it may have had enough crap to clog the new heater core. I would take it back out and flush it by hand in the opposite direction and flush the system without the heater core.

while you have the in and out hoses connected to each other, see if the coolant is even getting as far as the heater core. there is also a vacuum controlled switch that may not be opening all the way, and I think it is fairly cheap and very easy to get to to replace.

AJ

 

[black_demon69]

couple of things could cause your symptoms

1 water pump or rather a rusted out impeller (this is why we use antifreeze boys and girls) on the water pump (start with this)

2 i have seen engines with bad head gaskets act like this


my guess is the water pump. when you do pump do a flush again (to remove rust) if heater core is leaking replace it and the rad cap..

 

[AgPete139]

My three points to contribute:

1.) The heater hoses should both be hot and "less hot" to touch. If one is hot and the other is cool, then you have a blockage in the heater core. FYI.

2.) There could be flow, but not sufficient flow in the system. If the water pump is bad, water would leak out of the weep hole or the truck would overheat (from the lack of fluid flow to cool the engine block). I think the water pump is fine, but it can't hurt to check it as this point.

3.) I would look to the fan clutch. It is a coiled spring temperature gauge itself, and when it heats up to a certain point, it relaxes/extended and turns on. If this is old & worn out, it could be spinning too much of the time (cooling the radiator too much). Some vehicles overheat when the fan clutches go out.


INFORMATION: Your cooling system is a closed loop system.
If you are losing coolant, the engine will overheat.
If you have a bad radiator, the engine will overheat.
If you have blocked hoses or no flow in the main loop, the engine will overheat.
If you have a blocked heater core, you will not have any heat at all in the cab.
If you have a bad water pump, there won't be as much flow & the engine will overheat.

If you have a bad water pump (seized), there will be an excess of cooling.
If you have a bad fan clutch (seized), there will be an excess of fan-radiator cooling.
If you have a bad switch/fuse on electric fans...well, that's not your case.

I think this is it...

 

[naford]

My little experience. I had a Dodge Dart way back that wouldn't produce any heat. I took and cut a garden hose and clamped the hose on one side of the heater core. I had the other side open. I hooked it up to hot water from the house and turned it on full. There was a lot of bad water that came out of the heater core. I then turned the car on accessories and turned the heater fan on and could feel actual heat. Problem fixed. I guess the house water pressure is greater than what the engine produces.

 

[AgPete139]

My little experience. I had a Dodge Dart way back that wouldn't produce any heat. I took and cut a garden hose and clamped the hose on one side of the heater core. I had the other side open. I hooked it up to hot water from the house and turned it on full. There was a lot of bad water that came out of the heater core. I then turned the car on accessories and turned the heater fan on and could feel actual heat. Problem fixed. I guess the house water pressure is greater than what the engine produces.

Wow, great contribution.

I've never thought about cutting the garden hose and directly clamping it to the heater core. Never even thought that they could be the same diameter. I'm tempted to do this to my heater core now, and it doesn't even need it! lol

And yes, city water pressure (garden hose) is typically 45-60 psi.

Pressure in the coolant system is typically 12-16 psi.