97 Taurus No heat

[jenbrink]

My 97 Taurus stop putting out heat. I flushed the Rad. and put new antifreeze and put a new thermostat in it. Still no heat.

I've read a lot of forums, and now I'm more confused on what should be the next step.

Should I look at the core first? and if so what am i looking for beside the temp. of the inlet and outlet hoses? Should I try to flush, and if so, how?

Is there anyway to test or look at in the temp. gage inside the car to see if it is stuck on cold? (closed damper?)

How to test the waterpump if that may be a factor?

Air flow is good, car has 175,000 miles. I had it since new and never a problem with heat or air condition. Rad. Fluid was brown and nasty last year and I had it flushed, other than that, no work has been done on the car in the last 8 months.

Thanks for any help or resources that anyone can provide,
Jen

[FCguy]

So long as the core does not leak (and it DID make heat before) then you simply need to take it to a shop that can BACK flush it. Ask them on the phone if they can back flush the cooling system. If they act confused and tell you all you need is a flush and fill tell them to bugger off. The fins in the core are the smallest thing usually in the system... crap gets caught in it an it wont flow anymore... most of the coolant then wont travel through it (the coolant doesnt have to go through the core... it mearly can). A BACK FLUSH will solve your no heat problems.

PS only other thing it could be is somthing wrong with the routing of the air... if that can be visually inspected I would recomend it before spending any money. It will be crap caught in the core for almost sure if it slowly got worse... if it stoped heating all the sudden it could be air selection/routing

[route6668]

would this work; remove hoses from firewall and flush out?

[10kazad]

heater core has been flushed, new thermostat, blower works but no heat, engine temp gauge in normal range, any ideas?

[ahappygolf4]

did you fix it yet?

[waylowrider]

TSB 02-23-6 talks about a stuck "Climate Control Stratification (Secondary) Temperature Blend Door" that allows warm air to continually flow. I wonder if it is stuck shut(?) so no warm air can flow thru? You mentioned you've owned the car since new, did you get the bumper to bumper warranty? If so, the tsb says replacing the door is covered.

[fordmanforever]

Exactly same problem I have I'm a newb and trying to figure this one out. Any LUCK???

[ABE]

Originally Posted by fordmanforever

Exactly same problem I have I'm a newb and trying to figure this one out. Any LUCK???

The first thing to check is the hoses for the heater core. Both hoses should be hot to the touch when engine at operating temperature. If they are both hot then your problem is with the HVAC system. If the outlet hose is much cooler than the inlet then there may be an air lock in the heater core, blocked heater hose or under performing pump.

Hope this helps.