have a 98slt 318
cannot get interior heat during the winter
can drive 150 miles in winter an still no heat ( daughter lives 150 miles away from me )


been told to flush heater core an put a in-line pump in for heater core to boost coolant to core
also been told to put grille inserts in

have put new thermostat in also


any help would be appreicated

live in the "great white north"


Steeltown
Omemee,Ontario Canada

 

Your core might be plugged up with something. An easy way to free up the flow is to disconnect the heater core hoses and get an old hose, cut off the end and place it back and forth on the core turning the pressure all the way from the house up a few times on each insert. You might also have a bad thermostat housing like me. You can buy a new one from the dealer for $7 bucks and some change. Also my housing to the intake manifold had some small 2 **** on it I had to drill into my intake 2 very small holes for them to sit into because my thermostat was not properly seating down and coolant was getting by.

 

Another easy way to know if you got hot anti-freeze going to your heater core is checking the 2 hoses going to the core from the firewall. If one hose is hot and one hose is cold, that means your core is plugged and if flushing did not work, you may need a core replacement. One way to try to unclog your core is to reverse flush the core.

1. Find your two heater hoses coming from engine and into the firewall. The hoses should be 5/8 to 3/4 inch in size. Feel both hoses, if one hose is HOT and one is COLD. That is an indication that your core is plugged and common method of flushing may not unclog a core. Remember, try not to run the water thru the supply side, you will just end up pushing the debris deeper into the core and make it nearly impossible to remove.

2. The hose that is hot is the supply hose and the one that is cold is the return hose. Mark these hoses so you will know which hose to reconnect back to the engine. Disconnect both hoses from the engine side. Hang the supply hose out and away from the car or engine. Connect a waterhose to the return side of the hose and turn on the water slowly to let the pressure gradually buildup within the core. Monitor the supply hose where the water is coming out to see if there is debris coming out. Hopefully this will breakup some or all of the debris.

3. Once you see that water is flowing freely at full pressure out the supply hose, you can proceed to put everything back together and see if you get heat now.


I would monitor the core and prepare for possible replacement. If you need an outside mechanic to get this core replaced, it will not be cheap. Labor wise, will eat you alive as it will require tearing down the steering column and dash assembly to get to the core.

The core costed me $150 at dealership. So far, after alot of research, the OEM is the best core out there. However, before you walk out with the core or purchase the core and let dealer install, please manually and visually inspect the core in person!!! I made the dealer searched 3 times before they were able to find a core that is in brand new shape. First couple cores look like it has been used or rusted. Also, Dealer cores have longer warranty than aftermarket cores. 3/36 warranty on the part.

Labor costed me $500 as it took the mechanic (personal friend of mine) over 10 hours to teardown and replace the core.

 

thx for the advice guys

going to try it this weekend


will let you know how it goes


Steeltown

 

ok

'better half ' just got home from work

checked heater hoses

supply line is HOT !!!!

return is warm


just putting this forward for ideas

still going to flush heater core on weekend


Steeltown

 

You should not have too much in temperature differences between the supply and return hoses if the heater core is flowing freely. If what you said is true, definitely plugged heater core. If you flush it, just remember to reverse flush it, otherwise, you'll just push the debris deeper into the core.

 

well i flushed the heater core today

an it certainally made a difference

getting heat now

will wait an see what happens when it starts to get real cold at home

thx for the help guys


Steeltown

Omemee,Ontario Canada