"Derek" | | >Hi all, | >
| >We're probably all tired of reading posts about little or no heat. | >It's amazing how our heaters go out only when the temp falls to zero! | >
| >I read all the prior posts but didn't see my issue described: '95 | >Caravan, 3L, new waterpump/thermostat this past summer. Heater core | >hoses pretty hot, top radiator hose REALLY hot, but the lower hose is | >ice cold. It heats up, but takes forever, and the air gets hotter as | >you step on the gas. | >
| >Any ideas? | >
| >Thanks | >Rick K | | Try this, if it's not too late, feel the temperature of the 2 water | lines feeding the heater core as they go through the firewall, when | engine is at normal temperature. They should feel "hot". If this is so | I had a similar problem on my 90 Caravan. The "flap" that moves when | sliding the temperature control from hot to cold was semi seized, and | the cable was just bending. When sliding the lever from hot to cold, | back & forth, you should hear the flap making contact, "thunk, thunk" | against the stops. | | Mine was not, ripped out the whole dash and a few drops of oil and | marine grease fixed the problem. However....there is a much easier way | that I discovered afterwards, I will explain in detail if this appears | to be your problem. Condensation from the air con corrodes the spindle | bushing over time. | | I noticed your comment on the lower rad hose being ice cold. Strange, | unless your rad is really efficient? What does the your temperature | gauge say? | | Good Luck.
We had a similar situation with a GMC S-10 turned out the heater core was blocked. Take the return line off and run the engine to see if there is any outflow on the low side. (heat control full on)
We found that taking both lines off and back flushing the core improved things greatly but ultimately we had to replace the core.