Nice tidbit for those with barely any heat

[ericsmith32]

I'd say in Minnesota you'd probably need a grill block. Are you getting good air flow thru the vents?

[yelo festiva]

check this also

Well I did the dual t-stat swap the other day, got more heat and the car warms up faster now, but it still isn't that great of heat, I also flushed the heater core couple of days before the t-stat. What else could be the problem?

Check the seal, which is basicaly a piece of foam, between the heat, a/c box where it attaches to the body just above the air return behind the glove box. I found mine deteriorated and letting air in from outside when the vent door was shut. Also the foam seal on the vent door itself. In the extreme cold you may be getting outside air in and tempering the little heat you have. Here in FL. my problem was with the a/c but after I re-did the seal and door it was much better.

[fested]

Anyone re-routed heat through the dash vents?
Is this even possible?

Canada is cold. looking to maximize what little heat I have.

[wirebrain]

I have read here in the Forums that its not possible to rout heat through the vents....It sure would be nice if you could....

[phyaz91]

well im afraid i have terrible news for everyone here on the forum i just got back from the parts store trying to add good info on t parts figured id get hose and heater core part# to add to this thread an i have been informed by the partsguy ( see master of all things automotive ) that ford has never even sold a car called festiva in the United States ....WHAT?? well what am i driving i asked him ...so to QUOTE him ...the only small car ford sold was the escort the car your driving is either an import from canada or mexico an was never sold in the U.S. so your gonna have to go out of country for parts.....this paticular counter guys language got a lil more than i can print here when he came outside to see this odd import box im driving ( mind you the tank turret on the roof didnt help when the coments started flying ) i have never met a more ignorant person in my life he never looked at the computer in the store just told me what he thought off the top of his head an after this meeting i swear this paticular autozone has lost any money i might have spent there again ....i wish i could have recorded the 15 to 30 minute rant he had about small cars and foreign built cars or the back n forth he had about me sticking ford badges on this non ford car or even kia or mazda for that matter swearing the festiva had never been sold on these shores ....as for me ....dumbfounded in awww at the pure lack of intelegence displayed or the hate for all things automotive ( think he may need a job change ) i was so suprised i forgot to stop at advance auto to see what kinda price i can get on a radiator seeing mine seems to be leaking at the top looks like the top is seperating from it no cracks or breaks just coming apart ....sorry for the rant but my intention was to add helpfull info

i say for the next nc meet everyone drives to that parts store and asks for festiva parts from that guy my car still had the original dealer emblem from greensboro kentucky when i bought it back in april

[sketchman]

No dealers in my area, so instead of spending $25+ for a t-stat online(because this just feels wrong to my cheap self) I went to Lowes and got a 3/4" gate valve from the plumbing section and 2 clamps. Installed it in the upper rad hose, and now when my single stage stat opens up, it still can only flow as much as I want it to.

In cold weather, you will be amazed how much you can cut down the flow and the car still run at the proper temp. Mine is currently almost closed off, and we don't have winters like some of you guys do. Once installed, the valve is easier to adjust than taking a grill block in and out IMO, and you're controlling things very close to the way the factory intended(metering coolant flow rather than air through the rad).

Just a thought.

[Evil D]

I have read here in the Forums that its not possible to rout heat through the vents....It sure would be nice if you could....

Bah...with enough flexible tube you can make anything work. If nothing else you could at least reroute the floor tubes to the vents if you wanted to.

[phyaz91]

i was thinking this..... reroute the floor outlets to go into the middle vents at least

[neanderpaul]

What you want. Part # 41492 @ O'Reilly's

[SuperDaveGulvak]

Mazda Changed Stat #

So I grabbed a T-stat from the Mazda dealer yesterday and the part # has changed from the one listed previously in this thread. They still found it with the old # but figured I would post the new one. The gasket # listed previously in the this thread was the same. Ok figured I'd edit and add the part number up here as well as the pic: 8AK1-15-171-9U

[vectormechanic]

I failed emissions and I suspect the Stant stat to be the primary cause for unburned fuel because of running too cool and so I find the post above very interesting that says they run too cool and cause the O2 sensor not to work right. We shall see...but I won't ever really know because I am also replacing some other things, including the O2 sensor, probably, before I re-test.

[Twistiva]

I've been following a thread on the FML about Festiva T-stats......

Very interesting. My Festiva's heater has run cold for so long I can't even remember if it's always been that way or if it used to run warm. In 22 years I honestly don't think I have EVER changed it. Gotta try swapping it out.

BTW, what is "FML"?

[Twistiva]

OK, one more question: I read on this thread that it is not possible to ever get heat out of the vents on the dash, is that correct? Ford literally designed it that way?

I do remember when I bought my 88 Festiva (used) in 1989 that I was surprised that moving the vent control lever to "face" and the heater on full hot I got nothing but cold air through the dashboard vents.

I thought something was broken but apparently this is actually normal?

[Team Lightning]

Yes! It's actually the it was designed!!

[neanderpaul]

Designed by Mazda.