Help!!!! No heat in winter land!!!!

[northernexp]

Hey guys I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out, for some strange reason I have absolutely no heat in my truck, I fixed an issue with the overflow bottle, the pace where the hose for the overflow connects to the rad was broken, so I bought a brass connector and drilled out the hole used gasket maker on the threads and the problem was solved.

But for some reason after I fixed that issue I went for a car wash, and parked it for a cpl hrs and the next trip I made, I had zero heat at all. I topped up the coolant after the repair, so I went and picked up a high flow thermostat and that didn't fix it.

I dropped the glove box and used a dremel to cut a access hole to get a look at the blend door, and I turned the ignition on and went from full heat to full cold and the door moves and seals up very nicely, so I am totally stumped, can someone please give me some suggestions on where to look next??

I need the expedition to take my 10 month old daughter around and winter is in full swing, so I really need my heat back.

The rear heater isn't working either.

 

[northernexp]

OK I went for a Lil highway ride and the front heat came back, that was my first trip with the new thermostat. It's a prestone high flow 195. I had a stant 190 in it before that. The front heat is back which is good but can anyone give me some suggestions as to why the rear heat isn't working? The heater core isn't leaking I checked the drain hose in the rear, the house that feeds the heater core feels warm but I don't feel a anything on the return line. Could the core be plugged?

 

[northernexp]

Well I went ahead and pulled the rear heater core, it wasnt leaking but I am going off of the assumption that since the inlet hose was hot that it was feeding or attempting to feed the heater core, but the return hose was cold. My guess is that it has to be the core or the inlet line that i was plugged, I removed the rear core and gave it a good rinse and then a good wash but it's pretty late over here so I'm going to finish in the morning, I really hope this fixes it

 

[Bedrck47]

I would say if you felt heat on the inlet hose and none on the outlet that the core is clogged

 

[northernexp]

Well I went ahead and pulled the rear heater core, it wasnt leaking but I am going off of the assumption that since the inlet hose was hot that it was feeding or attempting to feed the heater core, but the return hose was cold. My guess is that it has to be the core or the inlet line that i was plugged, I removed the rear core and gave it a good rinse and then a good wash but it's pretty late over here so I'm going to finish in the morning, I really hope this fixes it

Thanks for the reply, I was sure it was the core but when I rinsed it out I didn't see anything come out that looked like it might clog the core, just some ugly coolant. I still haven't tried it yet because Im still not done putting the rear back together. I'm actually going to get some shut eye I started up real late getting the rear core out


After I get it put back together I'll post up the results. The rear blend door was in the right position, so I don't think it's a blend door issue either, l I'll post up my findings in a Lil bit

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

I will just leave this here, just because it's not coming out, doesn't mean it's not clogged. I had flushed this core before and it came out clear when I was done, it eventually started leaking so I replaced it. this is just pumping some water through it, much more came out but not as fast as I kept reversing the flow back and forth... I also had cooler heat in the front than I had at the rear

 

[northernexp]

I will just leave this here, just because it's not coming out, doesn't mean it's not clogged. I had flushed this core before and it came out clear when I was done, it eventually started leaking so I replaced it. this is just pumping some water through it, much more came out but not as fast as I kept reversing the flow back and forth... I also had cooler heat in the front than I had at the rear

Thanks for the input, I really flushed it good, reversing the flow and dumping it hard etc. I still haven't put it back together but I'm really hoping that this fixes it, the return line was child and I could tell that no coolant was in it when I was checking things out but the inlet line was super hot all the way to the heater core.

 

[stamp11127]

If the heater core(s) are clogged then there is a problem in the entire cooling system. Not only is the core clogged the radiator is also, it just hasn't let you know about it.
Simply flushing the core isn't going to solve your problem. The system needs to be flushed in order to get all the crap out of it otherwise the core is just going to clog again.

 

[northernexp]

If the heater core(s) are clogged then there is a problem in the entire cooling system. Not only is the core clogged the radiator is also, it just hasn't let you know about it.
Simply flushing the core isn't going to solve your problem. The system needs to be flushed in order to get all the crap out of it otherwise the core is just going to clog again.

Thanks for the input. I did an overhaul back in August, intake gaskets and valve cover gaskets, spark plugs coils etc. In hindsight I should have probably flushed all the coolant then, in times past I have used a garden hose and ran it through the cooling systems on some of my other vehicles after dumping the coolant. When I repaired the overflow tube connection I'm sure a bunch of plastic shavings made their way into the system also.

Running water through the system is no longer a possibility with it being winter. Im probably going to have to take it to a shop for servicing, due to the circumstances.

Thanks everyone for all the info, I appreciate it very much and if anyone else might have any suggestions please let me know I am open to to ideas.

I'm headed back out now to button up the rear.

 

[stamp11127]

Just a heads up, never use tap water in a cooling system. The mineral content conducts electricity. If there is a problem with the grounding to chassis/battery you have now provided a nice path for the current to flow through the cooling system. The problem now is your are also allowing electrolysis to each your aluminum radiator and heater cores.

Picked up my Expy for that reason. Idiot mechanics kept mixing the coolant with tap water and the original owner had to keep dumping $ into it due to their mistakes.