Anyone know anything about the Ford Taurus?

[stang1986GT]

I know this is way off topic, but does anyone know anything about the heater in a Ford Taurus? I bought a used one for my wife...nice little car, but the heater doesn't work. The thermostat isn't stuck, and I thought that maybe the heater core was plugged, but every once in a while the heater works really well (if you're sitting still...when you start moving, it starts to cool down.) I wonder if the electronic blending motor or door isn't working correctly? It goes to the air conditioning fine, but when you turn it to heat, you can barely feel a little heat coming out of the vent.

Again, sorry for the off topic question, but I can't find any other boards or any information. Does anyone know any other resource to pose this question?

 

[dragnazz5.0]

what year is it? its probably a cracked vacuum line that controls the blend door.

 

[stang1986GT]

It's a 98. I don't hear anything that sounds like a leak, but I'm not sure that I would be able to hear it. Isn't the blend door on the passenger side behind the glove box? It moves when you put it on air...I just wonder if it's not going all the way to heat each time? Any way to check this?

 

[dragnazz5.0]

if you can get up in there and see if the door is opening all the way. thats really the only thing you can do. its probably stuck

 

[stang1986GT]

Ok. Is it behind the glove box?

 

[dragnazz5.0]

yeah....it should be in there somewhere

 

[stang1986GT]

Thanks...I appreciate it.

 

[dragnazz5.0]

no problem...let me know what you find. thats kind of ironic actually i just took my a/c climate control ASE test last night and there were a couple questions just like yours on there

 

[stang1986GT]

Really? That's interesting. I'll let you know what I find out. I may have the car tonight, so I may check it tonight.

 

[Darkwriter77]

By chance, it might be the same stupid idea Ford came up with on the Lincoln Town Cars and all of the other Panther cars that had Automatic Climate Control on 'em. Instead of a vacuum-actuated door used to control the heat allowed into the HVAC system, they used a little electric motor called a Blend Door Actuator. It's a $45 little black box lookin' thingy that's buried way the heck under the dash, and they're prone to crapping out at the most inopportune time. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, but never when you most need 'em.

Replacing them is about as hard as changing out the heater core, which basically means you're gonna have to rip the entire dash assembly out just to get to the little bugger. You're probably better off taking it to a shop to have 'em do it and just paying the labor, unless you really like PITA projects like that.

I'd make absolutely sure that it isn't just a vacuum leak first, though. Had that on the 'Stang when I first got it, and I couldn't hear a hissing or anything, but there was a vacuum line just hanging there in the passenger foot area - someone must have snagged it accidentally at some point and never reconnected it. Plugged it back in and ta-daaaaa! Vents worked again.

 

[dragnazz5.0]

yeah, it very well could be an electric motor that controls the blend door with it being a 98 but i figured checking to see if it was a vacuum problem first would save some hassle

 

[stang1986GT]

Welp, I checked the electric motor, and the arm seems to be moving all the way with no binding. When I let the car warm up, one of the hoses going to the heater core is warm, the other one isn't. What do you think...heater core?

 

[89lxsport50]

Your heater core is plugged up. You can try to backflush it. That may work for a while, but it will likely clog up again soon. How do I know? I just got through having the heater core replaced in my wife's 99 Taurus.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Is there a heater valve on those? Some Fords have a vacuum-controlled heater valve (usually a plastic piece of crap that tends to split and leak, like in Explorers and Rangers), and others an electronic one that prevents the coolant from flowing into the heater core before it reaches a certain temp ... although I'm not entirely sure what benefit there is to doing that. (I dunno about y'all, but if I'm freezing my butt off, I don't care if the heat is all the way hot or not, SOMETHING is better than NOTHING when you're sitting there those first few minutes with your teeth chattering. )

If not that, then probably a plugged heater core ... although when that happens, I'd expect the pressure/corrosion would rupture the heater core and cause a mess at some point.

 

[stang1986GT]

Your heater core is plugged up. You can try to backflush it. That may work for a while, but it will likely clog up again soon. How do I know? I just got through having the heater core replaced in my wife's 99 Taurus.

How much did that cost, if you don't mind me asking. I may just do it myself...not sure.