Heater not working as well as previous years

1999 Ranger 2.5L 2WD 5spd 182K black (except for the rust)

It has been plenty cold lately, make no mistake. (It is 12F right now according to weather.com). The heat in my truck used to be STELLAR. It always took a little while to warm up from cold, but once I drove it about 10 miles or so I could only turn the temp 'dial' for the heater to about 50% or 60% in the cold:hot ratio. Anything else would cook me out, year after year through all these winters, no matter how cold it got.

I noticed last year and especially this year, I've got it on 100% all the time, and while I can still make the cab comfortable, there's a definite reduction in the level of heat coming out. Some quick observations:

1) Coolant level is correct.

2) Coolant is nice and green. It has been changed regularly and has never been rusty.

3) Heater valve (on the heater hose) seems to be working through its proper range when I turn the heat dial.

4) Heater fan works as it always has on settings 1 3 and 4 (2 has been 'burnt out' for years)

5) The temp gauge in the cab acts as it always has- rises and falls to the same spots as the thermostat opens and closes. This is notorious and normal on 2.5L Rangers.

5) No engine miss, frothy oil, white smoke, external leaks or anything to indicate coolant is compromising a gasket or (perish the thought) water jacket.

The only thing that is wildly different is that I put a new thermostat in it last spring. It was OEM spec (IOW identical opening temp), and I can't imagine the 5 or 10 degree differences that thermostats have would make this much difference in heater performance anyways. Also, it was doing this for the year prior the thermostat change.

So what gives? I've had older cars that I've gotten second hand where the heat doesn't work so great, but most of those had rusty coolant (and likely a clogged heater core). Is this just something cars do when they get older? I can't imagine so.

Thanks. Stay warm.

Reply to
phaeton
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Many things. First is probably crud build up in the core itself. Both in the coolant passages as well as in the air flow areas. Dirt and dust plus bugs and crud all block airflow. Second could be that a blend door isn't closing all the way or the seals are crushed enough that cold air is getting through them.

The last major item is age. Not of the vehicle but of the operator. As the body ages you will notice temperature changes MUCH more. Even a few degrees will make a difference.

Reply to
Steve W.

Backflush it and see what happens. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get some of these systems partially clogged. Flush it now and you won't have to replace it later.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Also, check the procedure for clearing an air bubble out of the heater loop for your vehicle.

Another thing to check is; if you have vacuum operated doors in your heating system, make sure they all work properly.

Reply to
Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm answering a tad late, due to school, work, girlfriend and other timesinks.

All else checks out (air bubbles, heater door operation, etc). Looks like it is time to do the backflushing.

I presume the "radiator flush kit" where you drain your system, put the T-fitting into the heater circuit, attach the garden hose and blast it all in reverse is the way to go? Is this good enough to get out all the gunk?

Thanks!

-J

Reply to
/dev/phaeton

time to do the backflushing.

T-fitting into the heater circuit, attach the garden hose and blast it all in reverse is the way to go? Is this good enough to get out all the gunk?

No, although that's not a bad idea to do on an annual basis anyway as a preventative measure.

You need to disconnect the hoses from the connections on the firewall. Make sure the valve is open if you can't remove it. (On some cars the valve is open when power is removed, on some cars it's mechanical, on some cars you need to apply power to open the valve).

Then take a garden hose.... just a cut-off hose without any fitting on the end, stick it up into the exit line on the firewall and hold your hand on it. If you're lucky, a huge amount of crap will come out of the input line and then clear water will start flowing. If this happens, put the hose on the input and flush forward for a bit, then flush backward for a bit, then hook everything back up and make sure you have clean coolant in the system.

After you have flow, you _might_ try the acid flush. Prestone sells it, a number of other companies do. It's citric or phosphoric acid, and it clears a lot of the deposits out of the cooling system. However, with a lot of older cars, the deposits are the only thing keeping the system sealed, and if you use the acid flush everything will start leaking in every direction. A clogged heater is bad, a leaking heater is far worse.

I am personally a believer in the acid flush because my feeling is that if something is that far gone, I want to know immediately so I can replace it. However, after three days spent changing a heater core once, I did have some doubts about this philosophy.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

I feel about the same. If you have a transmission, or radiator, or gas tank that is just being held together by corruption (hmm...sounds like congress, doesnt it?) then you dont have a car that is reliable enough to put on the highway.

Reply to
hls

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