Posted: 12/11/2009 3:22:26 PM EDT
| Just as the title says, the wife's Taurus has no heat. Temp gauge reads in the normal range, but cold air is being blown out of the vents and defrost. If you get up to 2500 RPMs or so, you can get some luke warm air for a minute, then it goes back to cold. Steady cold air when idling. We had the cooling system flushed this past spring, no blockages. Both the hoses going into the heater core are warm, with the one coming off the water pump a bit hotter, so I don't think the heater core is at fault. I replaced the thermostat tonight, no help. I'm down to thinking this is just a worn out water pump now. Anyone have any other ideas before I start to tear into this thing? |
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Does your Taurus have an aluminum pipe that bypasses part of the coolant flow throught the heater core? If it does, try forward and reverse flushing the heater core on it's own. Try to force water pressure through the core and not the bypass. Wrap a rag around the garden hose to keep from getting very wet. I personally had a Ford with a clogged core that was forcing all the hot coolant through the bypass tube. I think the core was clogged with sealer. Back and Forward flushing fixed the problem.
If your Taurus has a heater control valve try to figure out it it is flowing. Remove it if necessary and operate it manually or with a vacumn pump. The flap should move open and closed. There usually is a small hole to let a small amount of coolant to flow when the the valve is closed. When the coolant is at operating temperature the heater hose going into the core should be uncomfortably hot with a bare hand on it. The outlet hose temperature should be noticably cooler with the heater fan running. Check to see if there is a flap in the heater box that guides air flow over the heater core. Make sure it opens and closes. I do not believe that the water pump is weak. If the temperature changes a little with engine rpms it is pumping. Try all the simple tricks first before spending money on a new water pump. |
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Thanks for the tips. I've read about the door on the heater box possibly sticking, will have to check into some of this later today.
ETA: After doing some more reading, it looks like the heater by-pass that was installed at the factory could be causing some problems. Is it possible the lack of flow through the heater core throughout the year is letting crap build up in there? Would I be okay to remove this all together and just put in standard hoses? 
Pic borrowed from Spock8113 on photobucket. Thanks |
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If this is the 3.0L 12v motor, your problems are just beginning. Sorry, not trying to be a dick, but it was sad what happens to these cars.
Lack of heat usually plugged heater core or pump impeller like stated above. And as soon as you fix one the next weakest link is going to go. The coolant just eats everything. I called it car cancer. I would start by back flushing the heater core. This is going to be some of the foulest smelling stuff you ever experienced. Flush the entire cooling system with water until it runs clear. I would replace the t/stat at this point. Buy some cheap coolant, fill it up and see what you've got. If all goes well, you're set for a while. If no luck after that, I'd do a water pump. Either way, I'd plan on flushing it a few times over the next few months. If I recall, it was a piss poor design in the cooling system combined with some casting sand that causes this. I've seen it eat freeze plugs, intakes, radiators, heater cores, pump impellers, t/stats. It's a shame, even cars that had periodic flushes still had it. And once it starts you most likely will have ongoing issues. Hope this helps, and sorry again to be the reaper. |
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Had a 99 Taurus with the same problem. Fought it for several months. I had a combination of problems. First the blend door actuator died. This is easy to pull and check. It's sits behind the ash tray. a couple of screws to pull it out. You should then be able to see the shaft turning as you adjust the knob from cold to hot. I think it was $40 from the dealer. There was also a TSB released from Ford many years ago about faulty engine grounding and the configuration of the hoses into and out of the heater core (there's a weird bypass involved). They used to sell a kit to fix this but no longer do. There is no enough pressure running through the core to keep it flushed so sediment (from poor engine grounding) builds up in the core. A standard flush does not clean it out. Twice yearly I pull the two hoses to the core (one at the core on the passenger side and the other just above the transmission dip stick) and flush the core from both sides. I always get huge amounts of sediment. Top off the coolant and I have great heat. I replaced the water pump on mine as part of the process. The old one was getting worn down but not enough to cause the heat problems. I think it took me 3 hours. It's not difficult to remove, just not in the easiest accessible place. |
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Quoted:
There was also a TSB released from Ford many years ago about faulty engine grounding and the configuration of the hoses into and out of the heater core (there's a weird bypass involved). They used to sell a kit to fix this but no longer do. There is no enough pressure running through the core to keep it flushed so sediment (from poor engine grounding) builds up in the core. Thanks for the tips all. About that bypass, that seems like a stupid design. I'm thinking of just doing away with it, and running standard hoses into and out of the heater core with out the bypass. Any issues with doing this? |
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Quoted: Quoted: There was also a TSB released from Ford many years ago about faulty engine grounding and the configuration of the hoses into and out of the heater core (there's a weird bypass involved). They used to sell a kit to fix this but no longer do. There is no enough pressure running through the core to keep it flushed so sediment (from poor engine grounding) builds up in the core. Thanks for the tips all. About that bypass, that seems like a stupid design. I'm thinking of just doing away with it, and running standard hoses into and out of the heater core with out the bypass. Any issues with doing this? I've seen write ups where people have eliminated the bypass and also installed filters inline with the heater core. Don't recall any follow ups though on success or failure. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
There was also a TSB released from Ford many years ago about faulty engine grounding and the configuration of the hoses into and out of the heater core (there's a weird bypass involved). They used to sell a kit to fix this but no longer do. There is no enough pressure running through the core to keep it flushed so sediment (from poor engine grounding) builds up in the core. Thanks for the tips all. About that bypass, that seems like a stupid design. I'm thinking of just doing away with it, and running standard hoses into and out of the heater core with out the bypass. Any issues with doing this? The only things I can think of is running all the coolant through the core would be having too much hot water in the heater core causing the Air Conditioning to work harder in the summer. There also may be a problem with the lack of flow volume in the core. Someone with a lot of Ford knowledge may know. As far as the corrosion problems I personally would just flush the cooling system and heater core once a year using regular coolant or the universal coolant. It probably wouldn't hurt to run a ground wire from the heater core to the ground terminal of the battery. I have tested coolant with a voltage meter. One probe in the coolant and one to the negative teminal. A really crappy system gave me IIRC 1.1 volt. I think .1 to .2 volts is normal. Maybe the Ford guys have more information here. My 2 cents, Good Luck |
| Problem solved. I took out the bypass, and capped off the metal hoses for it, now all the coolant is running through the heater core. After the bypass was capped off, I flushed the heater core a couple times in both directions, then the entire system until clear water came out. At the moment, the only thing in the system is this stuff and water, per the directions. Temp gauge stays in the normal range (actually, a bit below) and I am getting good heat again. Will flush again after a few hours of driving, and all should be well. |