'02 Sebring Convertible Limited - Heater blows cool at idle

Something's wrong. Probably air trapped in your heater core and/or upper regions of your cooling system, but could be another fault (heater hoses improperly routed/connected, blockage in system, etc.)

DS

ah, you're both right... I checked the coolant and it was a tad below min when the engine was cold. Should have kept a better eye on that...

No the bad part - the car has the 2.7L engine that requires a "complex" bleeding to fill the system, not like the older cars I'm used to where you just top the reservoir...

Now the even worse part... the bleeder valve is stuck. The base turns with it in the plastic casing... dealer tells me that the hole part ("water outlet connector") has to be replaced at a cost of ~$100 for the part and ~$150 for labor... ARGH.

Has anyone experience with replacing these? Maxpower, I know you posted a service bulletin in this group about the bleed procedure a ehile ago which I found interesting, but I could not find anything about the actual part replacement procedure anywhere. I got quite a few "ah, we replace a lot of these" type responses from different people - even the guy at AutoZone (which of course do not have the part) was well aware of the "issue" with that part.

Thanks! Yves

if the valve is not leaking, dont replace it. just add to the bottle, using the proper coolant and sterile water, you dont have to open the bleeder screw, add to the full mark while it is runnjing, close the cap untill the level stabilizes, at idle just raise it to about 1500 to get it circulated in the system

The owners manual warns like all over not to just fill - I guess though that since it's only low and not being flushed / refilled, I might be OK? There are no leaks that I have found so far... Maybe I'll just try it... a gallon of Mopar anti-freeze and sterile water are $20 vs $250 for the repair... probably worth the try when you put it that way... Thx! Yves

Before you let the dealer install the water outlet..... This is a very easy fix for you to do since the Intake manifold and water outlet both have silicone gaskets.. The Intake manifold has I think (8) 10 or 8 mm screws, and there are 4 for the W.O. dont take the manifold completely off just loosen the screws.. and loosen the "Y" bracket on the Throttle Body. (after removing air cleaner duct)After doing so lift up the Manifold on the Water Outlet end and insert a socket with an extension..loosen the screws... (after removing the hoses) and install the new part....reverse order to assemble... run, open bleeder and add coolant.... should not have lost that much.. make sure all air is completely gone out of system, then close the bleeder. Should only take about 20 minutes.. I have changed them out in about 10.. GOOD LUCK!

Wow - thank you - I have decided to wait - I added coolant without bleeding and things seem to work just fine now. Once the weather is not so grueling cold anymore, I may attempt it as it does sound easy and because it uses silicone gaskets - I was afraid of what I would find if I were to remove the intake manifolds.... Thanks!

Yves

I have a 2000 that had the same problem. In the morning when the engine was cold I removed the radiator cap and added about a quart and a half of coolant. That did the job. When the engine is low on coolant the high point of the system, the heater core, is starved.

-Bill

This is slightly unrelated, but it may be of limited interest. I fould tthat Wal Mart (probably others as well) carries a 50-50 mixture of coolant and water (premix) perfect for topping off a cooling system (no need to measure in a bucket, just pour in).