1fastvtec

*Ok, I got the thermostat changed and the coolant flushed and bled. Still having the same problem. Coolant is topped off, I've checked all the hoses and there isn't any blockage anywhere. The heater warms up very nice when I'm driving. But, the minute I stop at a light or it's idling in general, it starts blowing cold air again. I'm starting to wonder if the heater-core is going bad. Anyone had one go bad? The car does have almost 330k miles on it so it wouldnt suprise me if it was. Hell, it had the stock thermostat in it! Suggestions?*

Enlight of the winter weather, I've started warming up my car in the morning b4 heading to work. I've noticed the heater won't blow warm air during idle (regarless of how long I let it run) it only blows luke warm. It'll get up to full temp after I start driving but not until then.
I know it needs a new upper radhose and I was thinking of replaicng the thermostat while I was at it.

Any help would be great.

Spawne32

iTrader: (3)

if your cooling system is stock, sounds like the thermostat is stuck open, replace the thermostat, and that hose that needs to be fixed.

guezroks

ill check on my car here in FL, but it sounds like yours its just fine. If its really cold in your area and you idle your car, you are not really building up too much heat for exchange, up until the point that you actually start to drive.

el crapitan

if the temperature on your gauge is where it should be, more than likely a plugged heater core. seeing as how the dash would probably need to come out, i'd try flushing it with pressurized water from the inlet side and out the outlet. sometimes you can get a lot of the crud out

fcm

Replace thermostat, [and bad hose] then make sure you bleed the system properly. 94

meyerk9

could be low coolant too, on my old car i had the same problem. since at idle it isnt pumping as much coolant and not enough got to the heater core. but then at like 2k or so i could hear it bubbling through the heater core. it turned out i was a qt and a half low. just another thing you could quickly check

1fastvtec

Bump for anymore help.

nonsense

could be that the water pump is starting to go. I've seen some with the blades corroded so bad that they only pump water at high engine speeds (in the summer the car would overheat idling, but cooled down while running at a higher RPM). How old is your water pump?

Make sure the cooling system is bled correctly too. The Helms manual should list how to do it correctly for your engine.

1fastvtec

LOL. Highly doubt its that. T-belt, w-pump, tensioners, and belt all have 8k miles on them. Done earlier this year. Thx for the input, though.

el crapitan

as i'd said, if your engine temp isn't above or below where it should be, it's likely the heater core is plugged. you can check it by aiming a temp gun at the inlet heater hose, then at the outlet. they should be roughly the same temp. if not, it's plugged. if it's bad enough, you may be able to feel the difference by touch

1fastvtec

I appreciate the advice capitan. I'm going to order a new heater core. I spoke with my buddy who is a honda master tech, and he agreed that's what it sounds like to him also. Well see what happens when I get that changed.

el crapitan

you can try blowing it out the opposite direction of coolant flow. sometimes that works. would save you the time of pulling the dash, and the cost of the new core. nothing to lose really, since the coolant would need to be evacuated anyways

1fastvtec

My biggest problem is its freezing a$$ cold right now. Don't have a hose to flush it out with. That, and no time with xmas coming up. Sux because Im freezing to death when I drive to work in the morning.

el crapitan

well, you can either freeze until it's done, or freeze for 10 minutes while you try and flush it.
use compressed air though. if you were going to change the core, you'd be dumping the coolant anyways. just try it before you change it. make sure you blow in the right direction

Telder82

Did a new heater core resolve your issue?