hey, i dont have heat in my truck also. idk if it is just because i put my thermostat in backwards(no im not an idiot, it was just very cold out and my dad took it out) or if there is such thing as a heater control valve, but did you figure out what was wrong with it? im about to go check my thermostat right now to make sure it is in the right way.
any help is appreciated, and sorry for reviving the thread after 7 years..

 

Welcome to the forum Hustlenomic!

There is no heater control valve in a 2nd Gen Dakota.

What year and engine do you have?

I moved this into it's own thread.

 

Did you have heat in it before you changed the thermostat? If your thermostat is stuck open that would affect the temperature of your heat outflow, but there are plenty of other potential causes to choose from as well (unfortunately a plugged up heater core is one of the usual culprits).

What model and what engine? How many miles? Has the heater ever blown hot air? Have you flushed the core? Let us know details and we'll try to help...

 

alright let me update you guys, i was in a bit of a rush before. First off i have a 2000 dodge dakota, v8 4.7l. My heater core was leaking fluid so i replaced it myself. i drained all the coolant because it needed to be changed anyways. then my dad suggested i replace the thermostat because the truck has about 140k miles and probably never changed. i put that in (it was in correctly) and then i had no heat. when i went to go check if it was in correctly today i had to drain all the coolant, and when i re put it in i drove it for about 20 minutes and then burped it and i seemed to have some heat at least. i wont know how much heat i have until the morning when i take it to school. thansk for the help so far, i still think it has problems and will update tomorrow after i drive it

 

alright, still only mild heat. i got a lot of air out, but i think it still think it is air in the system because iv only put about 2 gallons of coolant into it(i think it takes 3.5). but i still have another problem with my vents. my foot/defrost vent blow warm heat, while the "face" vent blow very luke warm air. when i change it from hot to cold it does change a bit(this is for all the vents, not just just face ones)

 

I got a new heater core.the didn't hook up the vacuum line

 

The capacity is 13 quarts including the overflow tank.
Here's how to bleed it, from the FSM:
REFILLING 4.7L ENGINE
CAUTION: Failure to follow the procedure outlined
below, can result in engine overheating conditions
and sever damage to engine.
(1) Tighten the radiator draincock and the cylinder
block drain plug(s) (if removed).
(2) Fill system using a 50/50 mixture of ethyleneglycol
antifreeze and low mineral content water.
(3) Fill coolant reservoir to FULL mark.
(4) Install radiator cap and reservoir cap.
(5) Start engine and run at 3000 RPM for 10 seconds.
(6) Shut engine off.
(7) Remove radiator cap.
(8) Fill radiator to full level.
(9) Install the radiator cap.

 

wouldn't filling it up, letting it run to open the thermostat up, then keep give it gas to circulate the coolant do the same thing and work better? because it isn't going to circulate that well if the thermostat is closed... that's what i did at least, but i can certainly give that a go!

 

Remember, the 4.7 is different than most vehicles. The radiator being full is no where near as important, at first, as the block and heads being full. Starting the truck and running fast it helps purge the air out of them.

Aluminum heads warp easily.

Then you top it off and you're all set.

I have the 4.7 and have used the FSM procedure every time I do the coolant. No problems.

 

wait a second now. if i already filled it up and iv been driving it for the past week or so now, i cant really do what you said can i? cause what i did was pour as much down the radiator cap/resivour as i could then i started it while making sure it was never low and kept doing that... but iv only got about 2 gallons in there, and that is all i have had in there for the past month now(leading me to think there is quite a bit of air still in the system).