Heat not very effective

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tboy160
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Heat not very effective

Post by tboy160 »

I have a 1994 Z26 and a 1992 Entry model 4 banger. The heat isnt very great in either. I replaced the blower motor in the 1994 years ago. My dad just gave me this 1992. I was curious if there is anything that restricts the flow? Does the motor just need replacing? I replaced the heater core in the 1994 (was tons of fun) and the heat still doesnt crank very hard, in spite of it having new core and blower. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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Koots
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by Koots »

Usually gunk and crap builds up in and around the heater core, which can be flushed out.

I'd try it with radiator flush and run it through, flush it out with a garden hose, then refill with new fluid. That should help any older vehicle with a less than stellar heat transfer.

If it's still unsatisfactory, I would try removing the heater core itself and cleaning it out that way, to ensure you get all the gunk out of it. It's probably easier to replace it, at this point, but sometimes these replacement cores aren't made very well, so I would stick with OEM or cleaning your old out...unless it's leaking, then replace it immediately.

If that doesn't help, I would next look into the thermostat, as they can get sticky and allow too much coolant flow to the radiator (which quickly cools it down) and keep your coolant from getting hot enough to warm anything up. This also keeps your engine out of closed loop, which will usually cause the engine to run rich and get horrible mileage.

Anyway, those are main places to look for :D


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themixer
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by themixer »

I always found the total opposite in my cars. lots and lots of heat, and quick to warm up. other than thermostat replacement i have no idea


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Styluss
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by Styluss »

The heater core isn't the problem. It's all of the gunk/leaves/dirt/much built up on the front of the condenser that all of the air coming into the car has to pass through. It's a bitch to get in there and clean it, but it can be done in one of two ways: pull off the blower motor and housing and spray a cleaner down the line towards where condenser sits or go in the car and under the dash and remove everything, just like you did when you replaced the heater core, all the way to the condenser and then clean it. I found this one out the hard way and when I pulled out the condenser it had nearly a literal 1/4 inch worth of much on the front of it. Before that my blower put out about the force of an old man breathing his dying breath. After I cleaned it, it was like a friggin' tornado was coming out of my vents.


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Koots
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by Koots »

Must be me, but I've seen some urine-grade heater cores in my time lol

I never noticed much of anything built up in that area of my Corsica, so I didn't really think about that as an issue...maybe I'm just lucky.


heavywoody
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by heavywoody »

When Ryan is talking about the condenser, he actually means evaporator core.


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tboy160
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by tboy160 »

The heat seems hot enough, just seems the overall airflow rate is too low. I will take out the blower motor and see if any crap is down there. Where does it draw the air in from? Thanks for all the comments tis much Appreciated.


tboy160
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by tboy160 »

Also, another issue I just discovered, I filled the fuel tank, drove about 50-80 miles and the gauge started getting crazy, dropping way low, then back up. I have about 180 miles on the tank now and it stays on E and bounces up to 3/8 or so intermittently.


88corsica5spd28
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by 88corsica5spd28 »

tboy160 wrote:Also, another issue I just discovered, I filled the fuel tank, drove about 50-80 miles and the gauge started getting crazy, dropping way low, then back up. I have about 180 miles on the tank now and it stays on E and bounces up to 3/8 or so intermittently.
Bad sender...
You could try running some techron through it... might clean the contacts...


tboy160
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Re: Heat not very effective

Post by tboy160 »

I took out the blower motor and OMG the face of the heater core was almost completely plugged with some dark gray moist/dustlike material. I did my best to vacuum it off. Heat cranks way harder now. When it gets warmer out I will look at removing more parts to do a more thorough job of cleaning it. Thanks for all the comments.


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