No Heater

[Casey.T]

Ok, so it was 2F this morning when I went out to leave for the office this morning...

No frost, some left over snow, give her the 5 min of idle time to get everything started in the warming direction and off I go. (Speed limit all the way in is 40mph or less)

 

About 10 min into the 20 min morning commute I note that the temp gauge still has not moved and the Heater is still blowing extremly COLD AIR. Then all of a sudden the temp gauge spikes and its way above normal.

 

I find a safe spot to pull over in the bright sunshine and now the gague is maxed, I pop the hood and crack the rad cap to let off the steam.

 

I know that I have had a small leak hiding some where within the cooling system, it looses about 1 liter every week. I just have not been albe to identify where or what.

 

This morning Im not sure if it was just the sudden cold, that my mix got to thin on the anti-freeze portion. Or if the T-stat stuck.

 

It seems that she boiled all the coolant in the system

 

I got her cooled down enough to add new coolant and get into work(ya I know I should have went back home).

 

Get into one of my many parking spot, pop the hood and start looking for any leaks... None to be seen from the top, bottom or sides.... Heater was still not functioning????

 

I will be making space in the garage next to the 91 this afternoon....

[88pathoffroad]

Jeez, you knew it was low on coolant and you still drove it without checking? Ouch...

 

The heater core might still be empty, make sure you get that puppy filled all the way up. You can bleed air out of the heater core by using the coolant bypass hose valve on top of the motor near the front.

[mws]

From what you described, I can theorize three possible causes:

 

1) The coolant level was so low it the water pump could not circulate it. What little was present in the block eventually overheated. When it flashed to steam, then the temp gauge would read it. But it was obviously way too late.

 

2) Water pump is no longer functioning properly.

 

3) The coolant was frozen somewhere and blocking the lines to the heater core and the radiator.

 

1) seems the most likely. I hope you didn't warp the heads or anything serious...

[Casey.T]

I topped off the coolant on wednesday and I have not had any wet spots... I just came back in from checking it again... motor running coolant level appears normal. Ran her for about 15 min... Still no heat and no wet spots or areas.....

[mws]

Can you see coolant circulating in the radiator once the temp gage comes up to normal?

 

Obviously, take the cap off when it's cold and then leave it off while you start and run it. It may burp a cup or two while it heats - that's normal

 

There should be very little circulation in the radiator when cold, then as the thermostat opens it should start moving around a bit, and then increase in flow as it gets hotter. As cold as it is where you are, you may have to block off the radiator or remove the fan to get it to warm up.

 

If it doesnt show any signs of movement, and you're sure the system is properly purged of air, then the water pump rises to the top of the suspect list. Could also be the thermostat, but the heater core should be getting hot even if the thermostat was stuck....

 

If it is circulating, then you have a blockage in the heater core or piping. Most likely a big air bubble...

[Mookie]

...You can bleed air out of the heater core by using the coolant bypass hose valve on top of the motor near the front...

Like '88 and MWS said, open that valve (bolt) up a few threads and bleed the air out of the system. Good luck!

[Casey.T]

T-stat, T-belt and water pump ordered:(

 

Just need the space in the garage and a space heater.

 

I will try bleeding it and making sure the heater kicks back in...

 

Got to find that little leak... its not any where obvious, or the upper bypass(Slick), got to be some where on the front end.....

 

Thanks for the help as always

Edited February 17, 2006 by Casey.T

[Mookie]

Try taking a flash light and taking a peek at the front of your rad. Look for white or dried up spots. You might have a very small leak, (won't leak to the floor or a cross member) that dries up before it hits bottom of the rad and only leaks when the Pathy is started up. I did, and it drove me nuts for years until I replaced the rad.

[Casey.T]

Ok, got the font in stripped down, still no obvious leaks.

 

Replaced with new: Water Pump, 180F T-Stat, new TimingBelt(95 has Rounded Teeth).

 

Put it all back together.. no leaky... Heat works... Got to play with the Distributor to fix the no power thingy... Need a timing light -bounce-

[94extreme]

Need a timing light -bounce-

no you don't! do it by ear and it will truly be in time while using the light is close.. you're in time when revving up and down, the engine should be very responsive and run very smooth. any coughing, backfiring, pinging, dieseling, hesitation and you're off some... tweak, tweak till she purs. you're welcome and you can send the saving to me asap.

[Casey.T]

MZX,

 

By the time you had posted about the savings being passed on to you.... I had already adjusted by ear, feal and test drive:)

 

Im still going to monkey around with it, to see if it can be improved. Cold to warm is a big difference too....

[mws]

Yeah, it's getting harder to adjust by ear on modern cars. On my old Ford, the timing marks didn't match so I tuned by feel. And even if I advanced too far, it would ping. Not far enough, it would run hot. So lots of feedback!

But modern cars with knock sensors and the like make it much harder. I can usually get it to within a degree or three by ear, but that's about as close as I can do. And being off by that much can negatively impact emissions. So I do it by ear as a personal challenge, but then throw the light on it...

Edited February 21, 2006 by mws