Heater core troubles
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 257
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From:
i talked to my friend who is a tech at a dodge dealer, and i was having the same problems as everyone is stating. i had very low heat at colder temps, but it seems fine once the outside temp rises above 20.
what he told me is to grab a hold of both of the heater core lines, the in and the out, if one is colder than the other your core is most likely pretty plugged. but like mine, both hoses were still too hot to grab a hold of for too long of a time.
he told me that if that was the case, the coolant was only flowing through a couple of the rungs of the core, causing both hoses to get hot, but not being able to throw enough heat.
he said that i can either bring it in and have it backflushed at a local place for around 70 bucks or if i felt like tackling it myself it shouldnt be too bad. he said to go to your local hardware or home depot like store and buy some LIME A WAY. first disconnect both hoses that go into the core and drain out and fluch out as much as possible with a hose then drain out as much as you can. then pour the lime a way in the core and let it sit for 20-30 min. once done rinse with hose again. if you feel like repeating by all means go ahead.
once finished just do your regular steps to fill the system all the way back up again
Good Luck
what he told me is to grab a hold of both of the heater core lines, the in and the out, if one is colder than the other your core is most likely pretty plugged. but like mine, both hoses were still too hot to grab a hold of for too long of a time.
he told me that if that was the case, the coolant was only flowing through a couple of the rungs of the core, causing both hoses to get hot, but not being able to throw enough heat.
he said that i can either bring it in and have it backflushed at a local place for around 70 bucks or if i felt like tackling it myself it shouldnt be too bad. he said to go to your local hardware or home depot like store and buy some LIME A WAY. first disconnect both hoses that go into the core and drain out and fluch out as much as possible with a hose then drain out as much as you can. then pour the lime a way in the core and let it sit for 20-30 min. once done rinse with hose again. if you feel like repeating by all means go ahead.
once finished just do your regular steps to fill the system all the way back up again
Good Luck
Veteran
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 469
Likes: 0
From: Oxford, MI
A heater core is for all intents and purposes a miniature radiator. You flood it with hot coolant, use a fan to push air past it and warm up the air. This has to result in a temperature loss from the coolant. Therefore one line should be hotter than the other.
Now if it is a huge difference like one being ice cold and the other blazing hot, then yeah, you've got problems.
Retired Moderator - RIP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 18,729
Likes: 17
From: NH
The return hose should be only slightly cooler than the input, if the core is working properly. If they are both hot than it is clogged. Because, if only a couple tubes are clear, not only will you not have good heat, but the heat is resonating back through the return hose to the heater core. Due to the fact that there is not much flow.
