heat problems in 95 Dodge Spirit

Started out with no heat and temp guage reading hot. Thought it wa

thermostat and had hubby change it.

I had heat for a short time, about 50 miles, then it again quit. Blowing cold air and temp guage reading hot.

Took it into the garage as they said it needed the air bled out. H siad the sensor to the fan was not working right and unplugged it. Told me this would keep the fan running constantly, and it wouldn' overheat anymore.

Drove it 18 miles and the guage again went to hot and no heat. The guage would drop to normal for a few seconds and I would have heat. A the guage bounced, my heat bounced back and forth from cold air to ho air.

Did I get a bum thermostat or is there something more going on? M husband isn't a mechanic by any means, and I felt like my mechanic wa just placating me because I am a woman.

Mechanic didn't do a whole lot of looking, but said head looked fine no leaks in system

-- spog

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spogg
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How would a thermostat cause this? A thermostat stuck open would also make it read cold; a thermostat stuck closed would also give you lots of heat.

Find a new mechanic. This one has no business being anywhere near a car, let alone charging money. You don't fix a problem by breaking something else.

I can think of several things....

When you can find a real mechanic, have the system pressure tested and have a compression test run on the head. First guess is the system isn't holding pressure, either because of a head gasket leak or a leak someplace else. If it doesn't hold pressure then it doesn't pull heat away from the engine properly and you've got nothing but steam in the heater core. Did your husband notice the coolant level before he did the thermostat swap?

Might be a bad water pump. Water not circulating properly also leads to not pulling heat away from the engine, and cold water in the heater core.

Might be a blockage; same reasoning as the second guess. Except the blockage would have to be someplace that would affect both the path through the radiator and the path through the heater core so it doesn't seem as likely.

Reply to
Joe Pfeiffer

Was the system filled to the proper level when hubby checked it?

If this is a 4 cyl, the chances of a stopped up heater core will cause both of these problems. Your husband needs to feel the hose going into the firewall and the other one coming out, they should both be almost the same temp (hot). If one is cold and the other is hot the heater core is stopped up.

If you unplug the sensor, all you are doing is putting the engine controller in a default mode which will now cause a driveablity problem (running bad) and the fan running all the time. Not a good idea to do this... Find someone who knows how to work on your vehicle. If the head gasket is leaking causing compression from the engine to enter the cooling system it will also cause this problem but you will notice that the coolant level is always going low and never seeing a leak......its going out the tailpipe, A cylinder leakage test will have to be done to check this

The fact that the gauge flucuates from hot to cold tells me the core is stopped up or head gasket bad

Im going to agree that the mechanic did absolutely nothing

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...

when hubby checked it?

of a stopped up heater core will cause both

engine controller

I am going through the same thing with my 1990 Spirit. All indications are pointing to a failed headgasket. There appears to be an exhaust leak near where the temp gauge sensor is located. Gauge is reading high, while top radiator hose is cool. Sensor on thermostat housing not turning on fan. No coolant in oil, and coolant in recovery tank is remaining at a fairly constant level. Shop says that exhaust presence in coolant is reading *49.* Not sure what that means, but they say it is above normal.

It's frustrating because the gasket was changed in 2003/15,000 miles ago. As far as I know, the shop followed the correct procedures by resurfacing the head, using new headbolts, proper torquing, etc.

They have since sold their shop/land, so I know they can't be any help to me. Looks like the end of the road for this vehicle.

-KM

Reply to
kmatheson

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...

level when hubby checked it?

chances of a stopped up heater core will cause both

putting the engine controller

Why not post what engine this vehicle has????? Are the hoses hot going in and hot coming out??????

Glenn

Reply to
maxpower

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