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jcham
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2003
17:07:46
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 Subject: Heater problem
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I looked on the site and could not find a definite answer to m problem. I have a 97 dakota(3.9) My heater does not blow hot air. There is plenty of air blowing it just isn't warm at all. With my truck running and the heat on, my inlet hose,(pass. side under the hood) is warmer than my outlet.(driver's side) My thinking is clogged core. I saw some people saying to flush it with a garden hose, through my lines until the water is clean. I suggested this to a friend of mine who is pretty knowledgeable, and his worry was that the core couldn't take all of the pressure. What he was wondering was if there was a vaccum operated switch that could be causing the problem. Some have had success with the flushing method and I would not be afraid to try it, but if it is as simple as a valve not opening I would like to explore that option as well. Thanks in advance for any help
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blkdak22
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2003
17:48:08
| RE: Heater problem
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im in the same boat as you, i just tried the core flush yet i still really dont have heat. i do have more than before (before I had ICE COLD air coming out, even when I was gunning the truck). Right now I have semi luke warm air when the truck is warmed up, it gets hotter when I hit the gas hard tho... Still cant figure it out, post if you find anything out on yours
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fastyz400
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2003
18:28:02
| RE: Heater problem
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Just my 2 cents, Could it be the wire that controls the flaps for the heater?
Mine came off, i was getting full heat and no cool air. lol
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jcham
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2003
22:37:28
| RE: Heater problem
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I've been reading, still can't find anything out. Going to buy a service manual tomorrow to check out all of the possibilties.
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blkdak22
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2003
22:51:15
| RE: Heater problem
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where is this wire you are talking about? are you talking about the one thats actually connected to the cold/hot knob?
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fastyz400
Dodge Dakota
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12/05/2003
11:12:18
| RE: Heater problem
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Yes,
The one that the knob controls, check to see if it's working properly, and that both sides are connected.
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GreenGoblin
Dodge Dakota
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12/06/2003
14:42:55
| RE: Heater problem
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Message:
There is a posting on this that tells you exactly how to flush out your heater core. I had the same problem. My truck was blowing luke warm air and it would get colder at a stop. I did a search here with only the word "heater" and found it.
I'll tell you what I did as best as I can remember. THE TRUCK MUST BE COLD. I did mine first thing in the morning without starting it. First, go to home Depot and get a hose end. You need a 5/8 with the female connecter. It should be the type that just slides into the hose.
Disconnect the hose that goes from your water pump to the heater core. This was on the driver's side of my truck. Then, there is another hose that goes from the heater core to the radiator (this was the passenger side on my truck) that is spliced. Disconnect this hose at the splice.
Screw the hose connector on to the end of your garden hose and slide the end into the hose that you disconnected from your water pump.
You will need to collect the antifreeze that is going to come out the heater hose that was connected by a splice.
Turn on the water and collect at least the 1st 2 gallons or so that come out the other end and dispose of according to local laws. Flush for about 5 minutes.
Replace the the hoses, add antifreeze if necessary and your heater should now blow warm air again!
Double check these instructions by doing a search on "heater" because I'm just reciting from memory and the other instructions may be more clear.
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Stepdogg
Dodge Dakota
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12/13/2003
13:20:15
|  RE: Heater problem
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Message:
Thanks to DAN! Here it is.....
Here is an answer to the original question about the posters heater core. It is plugged. I had the same exact problem. I had flushed out my coolant system several times, but still no real heat coming from the heater. I then finally thought about it and realized the the convential way of flushing out a coolant system does not really flush out the heater core. The problem is that when you flush the coolant system out you normally connect the flushing water to the inlet side of the heater core hose and then backflush the system out through the radiator cap. This works fine for the engine and the radiator, but does not backflush the heater core. But for less than 99 cents and about 15 minutes you can easily backflush your heater core yourself. There was a suggestion on an earlier post to just reverse your inlet and outlet hose on the heater core and that would backflush it. This is true, but the gunk that is clogging up the heater core will just get flushed into you engine and will probably end up right back in your heater core. What you have to do is get a 5/8 inch female garden hose adapter. This can be purchased at just about any hardware store. Make sure it is the kind that slips inside the garden hose. Then with the engine cool you need to disconnect the outlet hose of the heater core from the engine. You need to do this at the water pump connection, which should be on the driver's side of the engine. Then insert the garden hose adapter into the end of the hose. Then disconnect the heater core inlet hose from the engine connection. On my Dakota this is easily done at the splice that is on the passengers side of the engine. This splice is where you normally connect to flush out the coolant system. Then hook a garden hose up to the outlet hose and turn on the water. Have someone help you turn on and off the water as you flush out the heater core. Try and collect atleast the first 2 gallons of stuff you flush out and dispose of this according to your local laws. After the first 2 gallons all you should get out of your heater core is dirty water. This should be ok to just dump on the ground but make sure first. You will probably have to flush the core for a good 5 minutes to fully clean it out. Then reconnect your heater hoses as they were and enjoy the heat.
Many thanks again DAN!!!!YOU ROCK!
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