I got a question about the heater in my car. Its not getting very hot. Its working, kinda but compared to my truck i have its not very hot. I can have it on full blast and its just not up to par with the cold weather were having lately. My car runs cool could that be part of it or is the heater core just going bad?
Heater not working up to par
- Thread starter Brando8912
- Start date
Usually a bad heater core just leaks. How cool does your car run. If the thermostat is jammed, then the water might not be getting up to temp. Are you running a high flow thermostat?
Kurt
Kurt
Yeah, once you put the high flow Mr. Gasket thermostat in there the heater becomes useless. All the water flows to the radiator, and nothing gets up into the heater core. The only way to fix it is to put a stock thermostat back in, or put an electric pump in the system to pump water up to the heater core.
Kurt
Kurt
Most folks recommend you don't go lower than 180 - stock is 190. 160 usually doesn't let the engine heat up enough to operating temp, and supposedly can cause excessive wear to the engine over time. If your stiock gauge is reasonable correct, being on the "o" is a good operating temperature.
The heater works directly off of coolant temperature. So by putting in a higher-flow thermostat, the coolant doesn't heat up as much thus reducing the heat output from the heater. I live in Los Angeles so I have no proper comparison to the cold most of the rest of the country is having, but it's entirely possible it's just so bitter cold that the heater just isn't putting out enough heat.
I can verify it is that thermostat. I've had both a 160 and a 180 in the car, and it made no difference. I have to wear a jacket when I drive my Mustang in the winter.
Kurt
Kurt
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