Nice tidbit for those with barely any heat

[neanderpaul]

Yep Jim ftw again. He's always taking us to school. Thanks Jim! I'm doing the cascade NOT lemon treatment asap!

[FB71]

you gentlemen are too kind with your words of praise!!!

[bhazard]

Excellent to know, much cheaper than a "real" coolant flush too.

My subie has the most awesome heat Ive ever felt in my life, like put you to sleep because your car is so cozy heat. Even better than my dads single cab ranger, that got so hot because theres no space to heat.

[sc72]

Mensa

Jim, you give of your knowledge freely, to that i say thank you.

[my03devilz]

I had my 91 to the ford dealer a few years ago... they replaced the thermostat, still no heat. Defroster works, takes a bit but it eventually gets there. I was then told by the Ford dealer that there is no warm heat that comes from the vent, it was made that way, that's just a fan only with cool air. I called Ford themselves, and they confirmed it, that it doesn't have heat???? Anyone else hear this? I am having my husband take the thermostat out and going to try a Mazda one cuz I'm getting older, and getting colder, lol.... I can't go another winter without a warm car. I also recall a thread once where you can put insolation in, so after work, going to dig that one up!!

[neanderpaul]

Here you go my03devilz...

The PROPER fix is to flush the cooling system with a stripping chemical, to remove all the silica sediment that's lining the coolant passages, and preventing the heat from being transfered to the coolant! Otherwise, you're just aggravating the problem by blocking airflow from the rad. Silica sediment is thermally non-conductive, and prevents the excess heat in the cylinders and head from being transfered to the coolant. This causes localized overheating within the cylinders, and a low temp reading on the gauge and low heat output in the cabin. Flush the cooling system with Cascade powdered dish detergent. First drain all the coolant and flush with clear water. Then fill the system with clear water and one cup of Cascade. Let it idle till it reaches operating temp, then run it a 2k RPM for 2-3 minutes. Shut it down, and let it cool till pressure is releived from the system. Drain while still hot/warm. Allow to cool more, then fill with clear water only, and repeat the heat cycle. Drain and flush with clear water, then refill with 50/50 coolant/water.

[neanderpaul]

And that is correct, the heat only comes from the defrost and floor vents.

[walth]

cool you got some info for her. I think defrost heat is better than floor heat generally. seems "stronger" lol

[htchbck]

Probably because the foam seals inside the box on the flapper doors are shot... So even when you put it on floor setting its still leaking some through to defrost and loosing that strength

[wirebrain]

If you are getting cold air coming out the fresh air vents with the heater or defrost on then the foam has definetly gone bad on the flapper door. Mine has that problem and my solution is Duct Tape over the dash vents in the cooler months......Otherwise you will have to tear the heater assembly apart and glue on some new foam to the door....

[Darlo]

How long does it ACTUALLY take to replace a heater core on the Festiva? Book time I am told is 8hrs! :eeeeeek:

I would love to get this done before this winter because I am in a Catch-22:

My heater core leaked so I added "no leak rad sealer (or similar)"

Now it doesnt leak (well it does a drop or two, lol) AND I have barely any heat now due to low flow! BECAUSE OF THE THICK LEAK STOP!

Makes me want to :cry_smile: cry, especially when it is -10C (14F).

[fastivaca]

The entire dash has to come out to replace the heater core. I did mine a couple of years ago and it took about 4 or 5 hours I think. I installed the inside bits of the A/C system at the same time . If you're looking for a core I probably have one lying around; let me know.

[my03devilz]

thank you much!! am printing this all out for hubby.... (he keeps saying how he hates working on this car, but I won't part with it).....

[my03devilz]

Can anyone help me out with a question that will probably sound dumb? My husband ran hours away to get a dual stage mazda thermostat but he has a question, and I'm hoping I get it right.... does the hole with the little butterfly thing go at the top? I told him I read that the small valve goes at the top... but he wants me to double check... Hope I worded that right, and thanks for your help!! He also bought some brake pads, and some little nut things that he had to run all over for.... so of course I haven't heard the end of how he ran all day just to get the parts for this car he absolutely hates to work on because everytime he does something to it something else breaks on it....

[Bert]

I will be flushing the cooling system and installing a Mazda B6-type 2 stage t-stat this weekend, as an experiment, and will report back. Last winter I was commuting 140 miles every day and sure did experience the absence of cabin heat when it was really cold. Festys are bizarre in that they take 15-20 minutes to 'warm up' (?) when it's below zero and yet cool right down to nothing within minutes when you stop for a pack of smokes or gas fill up. Not much thermal mass in that tiny little engine block.
I covered the front of the radiator (every square inch of it!) with thick cardboard during a real cold spell (-22F) in January and still did not discern any improvement in heat, even when stuck in traffic. It was only in early spring that I realized the cardboard was still in place, and removed it.