no heat ?

[mikemounlio]

So i had a problem with my car over heating after i changed the tstat to a 190 degree tstat from autozone. I know its not the real tstat. So the car keep overheating on me with it in. I took it out and now after i drive it about 30 minutes it geets a bit warm but not hot. The air temp out of the vents never getts warm at all.

Something to note
i didnt have heat when i went and got the car. At that point the tstat was the right one just all rusty.

What can i check to see if i need to change the heater core?
What is the right way to burp the collant, so it doesnt build up and steam over?
Is the core hard to change on a 91? (i changed a core on a 96 cougar)
Can i get a new tstat and burp the system to get heat again?

[TominMO]

So i had a problem with my car over heating after i changed the tstat to a 190 degree tstat from autozone. I know its not the real tstat. So the car keep overheating on me with it in. I took it out and now after i drive it about 30 minutes it geets a bit warm but not hot. The air temp out of the vents never getts warm at all.

Something to note
i didnt have heat when i went and got the car. At that point the tstat was the right one just all rusty.

What can i check to see if i need to change the heater core?
What is the right way to burp the coolant, so it doesnt build up and steam over?
Is the core hard to change on a 91? (i changed a core on a 96 cougar)
Can i get a new tstat and burp the system to get heat again?

1. Make sure you get either a stock thermostat from the dealer or the best one offered by the McParts store.
2. You do know that there is no warm air coming from the center vents above the radio, right? Wasn't sure which vents you were referring to.
3. Getting warm but not hot is what I would expect with driving without the thermostat.
4. To "burp" the system, just make sure that the side the radiator cap is on, is uphill from the other side. Either park it kinda sideways on a slope or jack up the side with the rad cap. This will let bubbles travel to the highest point, where the cap is, and then burst. Of course you have the rad cap off the radiator when you do this.
5. I would recommend a good flushing of the system before you just stick in the new thermostat and fresh coolant. Make sure you have the heater's heat-selection switch all the way over to hot, to circulate coolant and radiator flush thru the heater core.

[drddan]

^^^ Stick with the T-stat from a dealer. It is a 2 stage stat and the ones offered @ McParts stores are single stage. A single stage will not heat up correctly.

[TominMO]

^^^ Stick with the T-stat from a dealer. It is a 2 stage stat and the ones offered @ McParts stores are single stage. A single stage will not heat up correctly.

I've got the better of the two Stants offered at Advance Auto, and it works fine. It's a 180 degree one. I have a brand new dealer 192 degree two-stage, but Greg thought it would be better to use the 180 due to the turbo.

[htchbck]

^^^ But then again, what does Greg know about heat? Isn't he more an A/C fanatic? :lol: :lol:

That said, all I've ever used is the 180 Stant from AZ, the more expensive one like Tom said. Never had a problem with my heat in any of my Festie... except this one time during the summer when I filled my rad with straight water to drive it home after replacing a bottom radiator hose on the side of the highway. Wasn't too worried about it since I was getting ready to swap in another motor anyway since the one in it was about shot. Well the motor ended up in my other car, and the car with water sat all winter without being touched... oops it froze and blew out the heater core lol.