Car doesn't get warm in winter

dorlow · 01-18-2013, 05:05 PM

I have a 2004 Impala LS with a 3.8. A few years back, I was getting sick of the car not getting warm in the winter, so I went to the auto store and bought a thermostat that had a higher temp. This winter, it seems to be worse. My car's temp gauge never gets much past 1/4 the way up. It blows luke warm air. I stopped at Autozone today asking if they sold a thermostat that was a higher temp and they said no.

Tech II · 01-18-2013, 05:27 PM

Is the coolant level ok? In radiator and reservoir?

When the car has run for awhile, feel the radiator hoses and the heater core hoses......

Is the upper radiator hose hot?

Are both heater core hoses hot, or is one hot and the other cooler?

j cAT · 01-18-2013, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dorlow

I have a 2004 Impala LS with a 3.8. A few years back, I was getting sick of the car not getting warm in the winter, so I went to the auto store and bought a thermostat that had a higher temp. This winter, it seems to be worse. My car's temp gauge never gets much past 1/4 the way up. It blows luke warm air. I stopped at Autozone today asking if they sold a thermostat that was a higher temp and they said no.

when you install the themostat make sure it is in the bore tight and no coolant can go around the mounting bore on the intake. there should be a tight fitting gasket on the outer edge.

purge out / flush the heater core /// remove the hoses at the engine ..

LiqiuidWrench · 01-20-2013, 08:23 PM

When you car is stopped and warming up does it blow cold air my 2005 was doing the same thing ended up being a accuator door above the glove box was sticking and not letting warm air blow thru. Replaced mine and now works great hope this might be your problem it was an easy fix.

dorlow · 01-20-2013, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiqiuidWrench

When you car is stopped and warming up does it blow cold air my 2005 was doing the same thing ended up being a accuator door above the glove box was sticking and not letting warm air blow thru. Replaced mine and now works great hope this might be your problem it was an easy fix.

Some reason I was suspecting that. I guess I just need to rip the car apart and see if I can see what's going on.

dorlow · 01-24-2013, 07:32 AM

Well, an update. Last night, I changed out my thermostat. Also, my coolant was about a gallon low. I topped it off. Today, my car's engine did seem to get a little warmer on the gauge... not much. My car's cab didn't get hot though driving it. After the car runs for about 45 minutes, it gets tollerable inside the car with the heater running full blast. When putting my had in front of a vent thats blowing out "hot air," it isn't as hot as I remember it used to be when the car's heat used to work well.

It doesn't make sense to me that it's the hot/cold adjustor actuator, because my car is dual climate, so there are two and I get the same temp out of both of them. Whats the chances of both going bad?

Both the top and low hoses to the radiator are hot when the car has been running. Also the hoses going to the heater core, both are hot when the car has been running.

Any ideas? The maintenance guys at the school I work at think I might just need a coolant flush.

j cAT · 01-24-2013, 09:31 AM

well I would have flushed out that heater core when I did the thermostat. disconnect the heater core at engine ...

flush out with water hose both directions then blow out all water. do this until the flow is with no restrictions.

dorlow · 01-24-2013, 10:15 AM

I'll try flushing the heater core tonight. Should I flush the whole coolant system or just the heater core? I'd rather just the heater core, but I'd also like the chances of best success.

j cAT · 01-24-2013, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dorlow

I'll try flushing the heater core tonight. Should I flush the whole coolant system or just the heater core? I'd rather just the heater core, but I'd also like the chances of best success.

even with the coolant upkeep I do the heater core is like a vacuum cleaner bag. debris gets traped in there. I have done this at every coolant replacement cycle 3-4 yrs and even though the coolant is still clean and looking good the NEWER the vehicle the more the debris.

so see how much debris and the condition of the coolant is . if its dirty and the heater had a lot of material then flush out the system AFTER the heater core is clean and flowing freely.

place the heater core discharge hose in a pail to catch the coolant when purging/flushing to observe and contain the coolant then reverse.

Tech II · 01-25-2013, 07:51 AM

The fact that your system was a gallon low, means you have a leak somewhere, which can cause an air pocket that can restrict flow through the heater core, or if it was low after installing the thermostat, you did not properly burp the system......

Does your coolant gage have numbers, or just 100F and 260F with lines in between? If the latter, how many lines does it go up when it's at it's hottest?

Do you know how to burp this system? Since you opened it up, you have created an air pocket, and if you don't get rid of all that air, it restricts flow through the heater core......a good tool for this is the Lisle funnel that has adapters that attach to the radiator(cap off), you run the engine with minimal coolant in the funnel.....as the engine gets hot, the level of the funnel goes up, and the funnel capacity accommodates this......when the thermostat finally opens, the level will drop quickly and any air will be burped out, top off fluid, remove funnel, attach radiator cap.....

You said that BOTH heater core hoses were hot, that indicates that there is flow though the core, but it wouldn't hurt to back flush it....just remember, by opening the system, you create an air pocket.....

If both heater core hoses are hot and you have no heat, then there could be an actuator or programming problem with the control head.....

So, if you backflush the core, burp the system correctly, get the system to normal operating temp, and the upper radiator hose is hot and BOTH heater core hoses are hot, but the air coming out is not 140-155F, then I would remove one of the electrical actuators on either side(whichever is easiest), and manually move the temp door to see if you can get max heat.....

dorlow · 01-30-2013, 11:30 AM

So I ended up paying someone else to flush it. It's too cold right now to be working on a car outside and getting all wet with coolant... Especially after getting over being sick. My heat works now.

dorlow · 02-01-2013, 10:11 AM

Ok, I think my heat is still having a problem. The heat is hot that comes out. I like my heat to blow out the floor and I keep thinking when I have it full blast, it doesn't feel like it's blowing that well. If I turn it to the vents, it blasts out, but I don't want heat blasting in my face. (I replaced my AC blower a year or two back when that went out. I hear it blasting now, so I know it's not a fan issue.)

So, today I noticed when I had it on the floor setting, it was also sending heat out the defrosters, which explains why it gets stuffy yet my feet are freezing. But neither the floor or the defrosters have a ton of heat coming out of them. If I switch to vents, I wish I could get that same air flow out the floor.

I thought I would just look up a blender type device at Autozone and that would fix my problem, but I don't seem to see a device I can just buy and replace to fix this. I see some people saying it could be a vacuum line. Does anyone know how to troubleshoot this, where I need to look and what I need to look for that would cause my car to not send the heat to the floor?

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