Heating Issue?

Lurch830

Lurch830

messin' with sasquatch
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Location
Wilton & Albemarle, NC
Got a '94 2WD 2.3L Ford Ranger. For some time, it has not been warming up as much as I'd like and won't put out warm air for more than a minute or two. I'd like to have my defroster back for the cold mornings and the ability to heat the cab wouldn't go wasted...

This truck has always ran cold, but its in the 'normal' range (barely). I replaced the thermostat, cleaned out the thermostat gooseneck and I've checked the heater core with a garden hose and everything there seems to flow fine. When I crank it up with the heater core hose disconnected, coolant will flow, but its not consistent.

I've even gone as far as removing the fan and shroud. That gets the temp up to 1/2 to 3/4 of the range, but I still only get hot air for 3-5 minutes.

Any body have any ideas/recommendations? Replace the water pump? Flush the cooling system?

TIA,
Brandon
 
Flush it and replace the radiator cap. If it won't build pressure properly, it may not warm up properly. Put the fan and shroud back on, there's no reason it shouldn't be there. Use a quality flushing cleaner and follow the instructions. While you're at it, I'd at least inspect, if not change the water pump. Usually, though, if you have a weak pump, it will tend to overheat, not underheat. You may just have a clogged heater core.
 
Cheap easy temp fix would be to try and but some cardboard in front of the radiator so all the heat goes into the cab.
 
Swapped out the water pump (& timing belt while I had it that far apart) and that seemed to fix it. The truck still runs cold as ice even without the fan/shroud and idling for 15-20 minutes, but I've got heat now.

Found this link (specifically for rangers), but it may help someone trouble shoot their system in the future:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/how-submissions/43138-no-heat-troubleshooting-guide.html

I'm going to cover ~1/2 of the radiator with cardboard and see if that will get the temp closer to the middle of the normal range...
 
Well All Fords seem to run on the colder side of the gauge. If you've got heat and it's in the "normal" range it's probably OK.
 
My mom had a ranger 4cyl of that vintage long ago back when I was home in NY. It ran ice cold all year round. We change water pumps/radiators you name it. Hell for most of the winter the radiator was completely blocked off. You could idle it for 30 mins and it wouldn't make enough heat to melt frost of the windshield.
This motor was so weak and the truck so underpowered it had one speed.... slow. While it got good gas mileage its only positive attribute was it was reliable and always started.

Anyway.... Almost before we got rid of it... someone mentioned massaging the heater hoses... Course we were like WTF !!! Homo Ghay hose massage....Yay right !!!!

End result it actually worked. The hose/heater box arrangement allowed for air to never really purge it self out of the heat box loop and massaging them helped the air to pass..

I've also heard of folks pulling vacuum on a heating system to pull the air out. I've never had a system that needed that done and wondered it that would help any...
 
Have you tried using another gage to compare temp readings?
I had a Jeep once that just put out no heat. I took it to a radiator shop and he disconnected the core hoses. He had a set up that would push water into the core to flush it. It also had a air hose he would use to put high pressure air through it at the same time. All kinda junk came out the heater core. Put it all back together and wah-lah, HEAT!
Also check and see if it has a vacuum controlled valve to allow circulation into the heater core. A lot of times these things don't open, or open enough to allow for circulation of the coolant.
IF your are in fact running that cool, then a beer box flattened out will help. Just remember when you kill the engine, it will fall LOL
 
Yager may be right!

No experience with Rangers, but do remember some OLD, Falcons, & such, with the heater core sitting higher than the radiator. If they got a Quart low, the heater would be cold. Guess the water pump had very low pressure, & perhaps it was the trapped air thing !
 
Back
Top