I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Guys, I'm at my wit's end.

I originally had issues with my cab heater not working. I was advised to change the thermostat in order to have more heat output from the heater core, but that resulted in my truck overheating. I've changed parts out, and have done what I can, and just can't figure out why the hell I can't get any decent amount of heat out of my truck.

I was originally running a 180 deg thermostat when I first brought it home during the spring. Eventually, I swapped it out to a 195 thermostat, and while I did get more heat out of the core, It also caused me to run too hot for my taste. eventually, my truck overheated, and I pulled that one. I went back to a 180 degree "balanced" thermostat made through Mr. Gasket. It runs cooler than the 195, but now everytime I run the fan, even on medium, the air temp coming out of the heater box is only about 10 degrees warmer than the ambient air temp.

This morning it was about 20*F...

I have replaced the blower motor, the resistor (I was having speed control issues, but it was actually the motor)and back flushed the core. I've sealed the cab as best I can, and used foil tape on the plenum to seal any air leaks. my kick panel vents have been removed and sheet metal covers with foil tape have been put in their place. All of my holes in the firewall are taped over, so I'm not getting much draft from the engine bay.

I'm almost thinking about getting a new core, but all I can find are aluminum cores. Mine is still the factory Harrison copper core.

I'm thinking about trying two things. One, I run CLR through the core, on the off chance that there is some king of flow restriction (doubtful, since I saw good flow out of the core), and two, modify the airbox to pull hot air from around my headers to heat the cab.

Thoughts?

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Another thought is one of those 12v heaters that plug into the cigarette lighter. They can be had cheap and put out a ton of warm air.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I thought about that, but have had nothing but bad luck with them.

I was also trying to figure out a way to recirculate the cab air through the heater box, and block off the fresh air in the cowl...

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

How are the hoses hooked to the engine? If you have those wrong, you will get very little flow through the heater core.

Also, have you checked with a IR temp meter that your whole heater core is getting hot? You might be getting good flow but it's only flowing through one row of the core, which will not get you much heat, if any.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

hoses hooked wrong or plugged core i would bet...... pics of how the hoses are ran would help

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

there are two sizes, one is 3/4, the other 5/8. The 3/4 connects to the water pump, the 5/8 to the manifold.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

That's how mines hooked up. I just got mine running a couple days ago. I'm running a 195 and it's blowing hot. If you're having overheating problems with the 195 in 20 degree weather I'm wondering how well your radiator is flowing? Have you had it flushed?

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I flushed the new radiator when i got it, it flowed very well. right now the temp gauge is just to the right of the gap when the heater is off. When I turn on the heater, it drops to just above the line above "C"

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I just have the econo heater with a low temp thermo, I forget if its 165 or 175 and at 20 degrees I'm still pretty toasty. must be a circulation issue ?

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I too have the econo heater. push pull for heat, twist for fan speed, right?

Well, I guess I better get both the radiator and the core cleaned up again.

would it be safe to run CLR through it and not have any damage to the rubber hoses?

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I'd pull em and have a radiator shop boil em out. I'm real impressed with Frankslagoon getting the results he is in Alaska with the Econo. That's what mine has and here in the Blue Ridge when it's below 20 it takes awhile to heat up.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I'll ask around to see what it'll cost. The new aluminum core would run me about 30-40 bucks. The radiator would definitely be worth doing if it's under 50 bucks.

I'll give that a try and report back.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Last winter I was freezing my buns off, too, so I installed a 195 thermostat and it made no difference. Over the summer I put in a new heater core and the truck is so much warmer now on those cold PA mornings.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

screw it. I'm gonna change the core. it's gonna cost me about the same to have it boiled out. at least I can hold onto the copper one and try the CLR method.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

You are welcome to bring it out to the Tooele area and we can play with it. Sometimes a second set of eyes is priceless.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

You may have plugged too many holes. These aren't flow-through cabs. As the fan tries to push air into the cab, the existing air has to go somewhere. Crack a window and see what happens. I have econo air and 180 thermostat, everything works great with the window down a quarter or half inch.......

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Hell yes. I work until 3 tomorrow

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Well I didn't say it was perfect hee hee, but don't need a coat and I do need to crack a wing cuase I'm sucken the moist cab air back in the heater. I did spring for a new heater core when I put it together. I've had lots of trouble tryen to use old ones.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

are you sure the blend door is moving? Im not 100% sure how these heaters work, but if there is something that allows you to choose hot or cold air in the cab, i would check that.

Could also be an air lock or not enough coolant. been a while since i looked at my truck but i recall the heater hoses being pretty high up, close to the top of rad.

also if your truck over heats when it shouldnt ( like with a 195 t stat in 20 deg weather), then i would check for a possible water pump problem, or i have seen bad head gaskets/ cracked heads cause no cab heat and over heating. The cooling system pressurizes and that can restrict flow. That usually also has other sytpoms like leaks etc

My 65 with basic heater is rarely off of first or second fan speed cause the cab is so hot

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I have the econo air option. Pull the knob for heat, and twist the same knob for fan speed control. I can frel warm air, but it doesnt warm the cab enough.

I bled the air out of the system, and checked the coolant level.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

There is a fresh air vent that might be stuck open. The control for it is on the drivers side top of the heater box. Try messing with that.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

You guys live in a beautiful area.. I went trout fishing up in Roosevelt, Utah twice, once in the 1990's, and again in 2012.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Tomorrow would be better for me........todays kind of booked. Or next Fri-Sun works too. I will PM you my #

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Thanks man. I have had the best fishing of my life living up here! I guess that's to be expected growing up in SoCal.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

The basic air box does not have a controllable flap to direct air. The only heat on/off is a flap in the plenum that closes and doesn't allow heat to be directed into the cab. The true heat on/off option heaters had a valve inline with the 5/8ths hose and had a cable that opened and closed it.

I'm going to swap out the core later today, and if it's not a significant improvement, I will end up modifying the box to allow air to be pulled in from around the passenger side exhaust manifold.

All that waste heat has to be good for SOMETHING, right?
KJSR, I will call you up sometime this next week, or next weekend.

thanks for the offer!

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I've trout fished (and salmon) all over the world, and I will got there again!:thumbs:

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Check out ecklers.com they have a great sale on a heater core til 5th of Jan. I ordered one for 10 bucks. It is alum but can't beat under 20 bucks shipped.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

water pump may be an issue that would prudent to diagnose, as you state with the 195 tstat you are running hotter than you are comfortable running, and yet you are not getting enough heat in the cab

IMHO that trying to capture heat from the exhaust manifold would A) not be practical
, B) may capture more cold air in the process anyway, and most importantly C) if the problem is the water pump, or some other cooling system component, modifying the heater box would be redundant.

Let us know what the result is of changing the heater core.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I got a radiator core from autozone a couple of years ago (2008??) and it was a copper core.. Not sure if they still have them or not. also mine was with A/C.


My project has the heater off of the firewall (there is a giant hole there now) and electric radiator fans. Driving it around so far I have to crack the windows in 40* weather when i have the fans on because there is so much warm air coming off of the radiator through the firewall :lol::lol::lol:

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

crgrs, you're absolutely right. I really should get the pump checked. It's at least 11 years old, and the truck did sit for a long while. I'll have to get a pump installed in the next few weeks.

I've been sick, and still haven't gotten the heater core installed, but I will hopefully do that in the next few days. (head colds suck...)

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Hope you get to feeling better, bad flu out this way , no Zombie sitings yet! 8 people dead from the flu in NC.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Wow, that sucks. Lets pray it's not Captain Tripps...

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

My truck was a home to gophers for many years. They had completely taken all the seat material apart and packed it into the heater ducting all the way into the heater box and fan. I cleaned it all up and put in new ducting. Can't say the heat is that good though. Certainly not quite as good as in other vehicles I've had of the same vintage but still tolerable. Also the heat control levers were off or broken so had to get those working. Do your levers work and is it blowing lots of air where it is asked for?

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

vince,

I pulled the airbox apart, cleaned it, cleaned the core, replaced the blower motor, cleaned the plenum box, and made sure the two flaps both work. I can select between windshield defrost, and floor. The hot/cold flap works. The only issue here is not enough heat coming from the airbox. Don't get me wrong, It's relatively warm, just not warm enough. I get 50 degree air when the temp outside is about 40.

I have to run the truck for about 15 minutes to get the coolant warm, and then turn on the fan to get any effect out of the windshield defroster.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Like jtrichard said "some pics of how your hoses are ran" from the water pump to the heater box under the hood and back would be good. I had this issue when I was 15 years old with heat in an old Nova, I had put the TStat in upside down causing it to run hot along with no heat. My Dad laughed his ass off at me for a week or so. :hm:

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

i asked for pics because i have seen them hooked up totally wrong and NO hot water was going through the core

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Understand, guilty of that one too in my youth. :smoke:

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

I noticed a good question that I don't believe was asked previously...

Vince1 asked if the blower was blowing air where it is asked for. Are you getting strong air flow from the fan?

Still think you need to look at the water pump, but just wanted to clarify that the fan is blowing ample air.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Yes, the blower works very well. I tried posting photos, but i cant seem to get them to upload.

Re: I'm COLD. NEED HEAT. GOING MAD
 

Lets see if this works. Posting fro my phone.