Beefing up my heater

[1972GMCsierra4x4]

My heater does not blow very warm right now and I live in north Kansas. What can I do to make it to where its hot enough to drive around in January in a tshirt? Can I put a bigger blower in it what can I do?
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[clemsonteg]

I have the same problem but I think my heater core needs some tlc. She probably needs a good cleaning and I imagine there is a leaf or two in the heater box that needs to come out
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[71K20chevy]

Ditto to the cleaning, it can make all the difference. Also make sure the blend door is working properly

[LockDoc]

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After I took the one in the '67 apart and cleaned out the leaves and mouse nests it will run you out of the cab...

LockDoc

[Mister-B]

There are so many components to check. I was having the same problem, and ended up replacing virtually every heater component possible.

The heater core and hoses were missing when I bought the truck, so I replaced them. Now, the problem was that my blower made noises, didn't blow very hard, and the defroster vents didn't work. Discovered the hoses that go to the defrosters were cut in half from age, so I replaced them. I also replaced the blower with a new one from Autozone. The new motors from them are a tad larger, since I think they just sell the one now for both AC and non AC trucks. I also discovered I needed to run the larger fuse that can be run in that slot, because the blower is bigger and would fry the smaller fuse. And, yes- there were lots of leaves and crap in the system I had to clean out. To top things off, one of the heater control switches broke, so I replaced the entire unit.

Needless to say, it was a lot of work, but I now have very good heat. These trucks heat up really well, once everything is working
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[Husker]

make sure coolant level is full. I had to have my radiator repaired and I did not have coolant level full and for that reason it would not flow to heater core. Filled up and it started blowing hot. Sounds strange I know, I thought I had it full but did not.
Also this is a 6 cyl 250.
Ron

[rkn463]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

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After I took the one in the '67 apart and cleaned out the leaves and mouse nests it will run you out of the cab...

LockDoc

Same here. Mine had broken controls, bad switch, etc. so I pulled the whole mess, cleaned and painted the inner and outer boxes, new cables and a control repair kit and it rocks now. At 25 degrees I have the heat lever way toward the cool side to keep from running me out of the cab.

- Richard
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[chvtrkman]

After my truck sat in the woods for a few years,when I decided to put it back on the road,I basically re-did the whole heater box,new blower motor,new fan, new control switches,new heater core,hoses to defroster...I must have messed something up cuz the heat isn't that good.It gets plenty hot,but it doesn't blow the heat into the cab with much force.It does get warm enough to be comfortable...eventually.I remember my Dad's '71 Blazer would just about cook us out when we were kids.

[Stocker]

Make sure you have a good thermostat. IIRC, 195* is stock and will give you great heat, and it won't make your truck overheat in summer either.

[pritch]

Originally Posted by chvtrkman

After my truck sat in the woods for a few years,when I decided to put it back on the road,I basically re-did the whole heater box,new blower motor,new fan, new control switches,new heater core,hoses to defroster...I must have messed something up cuz the heat isn't that good.It gets plenty hot,but it doesn't blow the heat into the cab with much force.It does get warm enough to be comfortable...eventually.I remember my Dad's '71 Blazer would just about cook us out when we were kids.

Make extra sure the cables are going to the right places. I redid mine a month ago or so and the PO had them hooked up wrong. The fan speed cable was hooked up to the heat door, and vice-versa. Then, to make matters worse, he welded the cables on.

An original fan motor will run circles around a re-pop, too, IMHO.

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by pritch

Make extra sure the cables are going to the right places. I redid mine a month ago or so and the PO had them hooked up wrong. The fan speed cable was hooked up to the heat door, and vice-versa. Then, to make matters worse, he welded the cables on.

An original fan motor will run circles around a re-pop, too, IMHO.

That's amazing the guy didn't notice that moving the fan speed cable didn't increase or decrease the fan speed lol
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[pritch]

Originally Posted by Mister-B

That's amazing the guy didn't notice that moving the fan speed cable didn't increase or decrease the fan speed lol
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I'm hip!

I just figured the fan was stuck on low, or that the box was so plugged up no air could come through. I guess the PO did, too.