heat worked for two weeks...where did i go wrong?
12-01-2011, 02:32 PM
#1
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heat worked for two weeks...where did i go wrong? hey guys, 1st of all i have a 3.8 firebird with 97k
so last winter (chicago winter) i didn't realize my coolant was low and in the middle of a blizzard my car started overheating and i blew a hose. i added coolant but it was still overheating. so i took it to a gm mechanic and after spending 336 dollars he "fixed it" but i noticed that my heat took a lil longer than normal to work but it still did. well by the time april or may hit, i noticed that if i drove around 45-50 mph, the temp gauge would rise above 210 and at times hit 260 but the car didnt drive any differently. it did this all summer
so fall hit and its time to turn the heat on. as the weeks progress it takes longer and longer for my heat to kick in until finally its just blowing cold air. not to mention the temp gauge is still rising into the red zone and dropping to normal(but moreso in the reds). so after some readings on this site it seemed lik it was the t-stat...so i changed it and still no heat. so the next day i did i coolant flush..
these are the steps i took:
-removed radiator cap
-loosened radiator drain and drained it
-removed upper hose and ran water thru it
-same for lower hose
-ran water trhu radiator with either the drain valve open or a hose off(i dont remember) until car reached operating temp
-closed everything up except the radiator cap
- turned on car and added a gallon of antifreeze coolant and as the radiator levels dropped a gallon of water.
my heat worked fantastically for lik 2 weeks and my temp gauge was a perfect 210 and then it went started to take forever to get hot and the gauge was fluctuating...at this point to the heat blows pure cold but every now and again shes nice and gives me about 1 minute of heat thats prolly about 60-70 degrees...literally one minute. but thats only if im on the highway doing about 80 mph(i hadnt felt my heat in about 3 weeks and wen i was on the highway yesterday it kicked in)
so long and short of it can anyone tell me wat might b goin on? one thing that i did think was weird was wen i did the flush(btw that was my 1st flush and i didnt quite know wat i was doing), the coolant reservoir never emptied out...
also i checked my upper and lower hoses and my lower hose was cold and my upper hose was pretty hot...idk wat that means but i hope it helps u guys
plz and thank u in advance
so last winter (chicago winter) i didn't realize my coolant was low and in the middle of a blizzard my car started overheating and i blew a hose. i added coolant but it was still overheating. so i took it to a gm mechanic and after spending 336 dollars he "fixed it" but i noticed that my heat took a lil longer than normal to work but it still did. well by the time april or may hit, i noticed that if i drove around 45-50 mph, the temp gauge would rise above 210 and at times hit 260 but the car didnt drive any differently. it did this all summer
so fall hit and its time to turn the heat on. as the weeks progress it takes longer and longer for my heat to kick in until finally its just blowing cold air. not to mention the temp gauge is still rising into the red zone and dropping to normal(but moreso in the reds). so after some readings on this site it seemed lik it was the t-stat...so i changed it and still no heat. so the next day i did i coolant flush..
these are the steps i took:
-removed radiator cap
-loosened radiator drain and drained it
-removed upper hose and ran water thru it
-same for lower hose
-ran water trhu radiator with either the drain valve open or a hose off(i dont remember) until car reached operating temp
-closed everything up except the radiator cap
- turned on car and added a gallon of antifreeze coolant and as the radiator levels dropped a gallon of water.
my heat worked fantastically for lik 2 weeks and my temp gauge was a perfect 210 and then it went started to take forever to get hot and the gauge was fluctuating...at this point to the heat blows pure cold but every now and again shes nice and gives me about 1 minute of heat thats prolly about 60-70 degrees...literally one minute. but thats only if im on the highway doing about 80 mph(i hadnt felt my heat in about 3 weeks and wen i was on the highway yesterday it kicked in)
so long and short of it can anyone tell me wat might b goin on? one thing that i did think was weird was wen i did the flush(btw that was my 1st flush and i didnt quite know wat i was doing), the coolant reservoir never emptied out...
also i checked my upper and lower hoses and my lower hose was cold and my upper hose was pretty hot...idk wat that means but i hope it helps u guys
plz and thank u in advance
12-03-2011, 10:19 PM
#2
Staging Lane
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Location: Chesapeake, VA
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you could have a plugged heater core or a big air pocket in the lines or the engine. When the car is cold (like sitting overnight) take off the radiator cap and add coolant directly to the radiator and top is off. You could also have a plugged radiator. i recommend another flush first and see if that helps.
12-04-2011, 05:52 PM
#3
im gonna go with nightmare. sounds like an airpocket stuck in the heater core. hell, after its sat a while and got cold, take the cap off and run it. when t-stat finally opens, you should see a burp of air.
12-13-2011, 03:47 PM
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alright bc im a lazy *** ima try and burp my baby lol first then if i dont get a anything ill reflush...now as for my flush am i doing it right? or am i missing a step or wat?
