Radiator/Heater Problem
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Radiator/Heater Problem
1998 1500 5.9 auto 4x4 extended cab
So, my heater quit blowing hot air three days ago. I've only been driving twenty minutes, thru the city at low speeds, each way, to and from work.
The coolant temp, as indicated by the stock gague, heats up to, and remains at, 210. No problem there. The heater fan is running normal. No weird noises or smells, just no heat. A heater core, I figure.
Im driving home, wet and cold, last night, with the heater and defroster running, hoping itll magically fix itself and start blowing hot, and as I pull into a parking spot on the street outside my house, steam starts coming out from under my hood. I look at the temp gague: 210. I shut the truck off and pop the hood. Steam, which smells of coolant, is jetting out from the top/front area of the radiator. It was dark, cold and raining, and I couldnt make out where it was leaking from, so I went in the house and grabbed a flashlight.
I return a few minutes later, light in hand, and no more steam. Fire the truck up and run for 5 min, but it doesnt happen again. Head inside intent on messing with it come daylight.
Today, I top off the coolant, which was a little low, and fire the truck up. Runs fine, heats up to 210, heater blowing cold, but will not leak. Ran it for an hour and even took it for a spin. Only odd thing I saw was air percolating up thru the coolant reservoir occassionally.
Any ideas?
So, my heater quit blowing hot air three days ago. I've only been driving twenty minutes, thru the city at low speeds, each way, to and from work.
The coolant temp, as indicated by the stock gague, heats up to, and remains at, 210. No problem there. The heater fan is running normal. No weird noises or smells, just no heat. A heater core, I figure.
Im driving home, wet and cold, last night, with the heater and defroster running, hoping itll magically fix itself and start blowing hot, and as I pull into a parking spot on the street outside my house, steam starts coming out from under my hood. I look at the temp gague: 210. I shut the truck off and pop the hood. Steam, which smells of coolant, is jetting out from the top/front area of the radiator. It was dark, cold and raining, and I couldnt make out where it was leaking from, so I went in the house and grabbed a flashlight.
I return a few minutes later, light in hand, and no more steam. Fire the truck up and run for 5 min, but it doesnt happen again. Head inside intent on messing with it come daylight.
Today, I top off the coolant, which was a little low, and fire the truck up. Runs fine, heats up to 210, heater blowing cold, but will not leak. Ran it for an hour and even took it for a spin. Only odd thing I saw was air percolating up thru the coolant reservoir occassionally.
Any ideas?
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Record Breaker
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From: Southern Massachusetts
Truck shouldn't run at 210. I would use a scanner to confirm that it is actually running that hot. Correct temp with stock 195 tstat is 195 degrees.
Trucks running hot, heater wont work, losing coolant, and coolant bubbles...head gasket is blown?
If that's not the case, your heater core is clogged or your water pump is toast.
Trucks running hot, heater wont work, losing coolant, and coolant bubbles...head gasket is blown?
If that's not the case, your heater core is clogged or your water pump is toast.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Gainesville, Ga.
close to the heater core, feel both hoses to see if they are hot or not. this confirms you have hot water circulation or not.
if coolant was spewing out, you are probably low, and the slightly elevated position of the heater core is prone to air lock. however, spewing coolant is not normal and you need to fix this pronto.
as said, 210 is a touch hot, and plenty hot enough for heat, but you need to solve your spewing radiator first, and the heat might fix itself once that's done.
if its spewing out the overflow, its due to overpressure, maybe over-temp. radiator cap is rated at something like 16 psi. a common place for our radiators to fail is the seam of the aluminum/plastic material, or maybe a crack in the plastic.
if coolant was spewing out, you are probably low, and the slightly elevated position of the heater core is prone to air lock. however, spewing coolant is not normal and you need to fix this pronto.
as said, 210 is a touch hot, and plenty hot enough for heat, but you need to solve your spewing radiator first, and the heat might fix itself once that's done.
if its spewing out the overflow, its due to overpressure, maybe over-temp. radiator cap is rated at something like 16 psi. a common place for our radiators to fail is the seam of the aluminum/plastic material, or maybe a crack in the plastic.