Completely baffled with temps/tstat/heat etc

[Evil D]

Well...a month or so ago i replaced the tstat because my heat sucks. I usually start there before i hit the heater core. No change. So today i got a hair up my ass in 20 degree snow and decided to pull the new one out and boil it with a thermometer and see when it opens, along with the one i pulled out which i believe is OE. They both opened right around 195-200 degrees which i figure is about right for a 195. So, the OE tstat looked like the 2 stage everyone talks about, and after testing it several times to make sure it opens and closes, i put it back in instead of the new one because it seemed like my heat was better before hand.

So, i get it all back together and i'm topping off the coolant and decide to stick my thermometer down in the radiator to see what temp the coolant is. My gauge had just barely started to move...so i was shocked when my thermometer pegged at 220 degrees. My heat was still cool, the fan hadn't kicked on yet, and it didn't appear that the tstat had opened yet. So, i tried another thermometer and got the same results. I let it run and the gauge eventually got up in the normal range and the fan eventually kicked on, and my heat came up to a so-so level...nothing spectacular but enough to warm it up and defrost the windows.

I am, totally confused.

Oh, and Advanced wants $101 for a heater core :roll:

[fastivaB6TG25MR]

just replaced mine... was $108 out the door... new heater core works awesome!

[Evil D]

Damn man! That's insane! That's 1/8 of what i paid for the damn car. I'll try flushing it out with CLR first.

[tulsacarman]

Try flushing the core by pulling both the heater hoses and running water hose into one side. You'll at the very least be able to see what kind of flow there is through it.

Do the heater hoses get hot at the fire wall?

[Evil D]

I haven't checked but like i said it does eventually get decent heat but not great. It probably does need flushed out.

How hard is it to pull the core out?

[Charlie1717]

I haven't checked but like i said it does eventually get decent heat but not great. It probably does need flushed out.

How hard is it to pull the core out?

A pain! Whole dash has to come out. Best to try all the other options first!

[Evil D]

Wow yeah i just saw that in another post. Screw that.

[200KGPGTP]

Not to interrupt, but where is the needle on y'alls gauges when the radiator fan kicks on? I'm either crazy or the one in my car kicked on when the needle was barely 1/4 of the way into the little bracket. Is this right?

[Evil D]

Mine is probably around that area. A little before half way. I just don't understand how the thermometer says it's 220 degrees yet my heat sucks and the fan hasn't kicked on yet, and then the car gets even hotter so the heat does start getting warm and the fan eventually kicks on. If i hadn't tried 2 thermometers i would think it read wrong.

[shadetree]

The thermo in the rad trick is not going to read true by far because the fluid is not under pressure so your getting incorrect readings from the start. Might as well pitch the thermo. A good coolant system flush and clean will work wonders and the expensive two stage thermo stat will fix your problem. If the heater core is leaking that would be the only need to replace. Just my opinion

[hotfordcat]

When you flush the core, flush it in the opposite direction of flow.

[Evil D]

How does pressure in the system change the temp of the coolant?

hotfordcat thanks for the tip. I talked to a buddy and he has this awesome little electric water pump that he uses to flush cores that i'm going to use.

[GenevaDirt]

two stage thermo stat will fix your problem.

the regular t-stat works just fine....numerous people have said that it has not made a difference either way.

[Pu241]

How does pressure in the system change the temp of the coolant?

Pressure in the system increases the boiling point of the coolant.
Without the pressure in the system the coolant would boil at a lower temperature.
Possibly creating steam voids in the cooling system and causing hot spots in the head or cylinder walls.

[200KGPGTP]

I finally got my Festy winter/heat worthy. Filled coolant system with coolant(bought with none, was leaking at thermo housing), tested thermo(had a dual-stage ), replaced housing gasket, and lastly I blocked the radiator with cardboard. Now I have heat weather I'm in a parking lot or going 60 MPH!!