KCnTexas

Hey ya'll,

Let me just start by saying I am an unemployed full-time student/single mom and need any help/suggestions you are willing to provide.

While I am pretty mechanically inclined, and do own my own tools, I have not really done any extensive work on my car. But since I lack the funds, I must muddle through.

My heater quit working and only blows cool/barely warm (if it's hot outside) air, my ac still works but the max switch no longer works only the min, which I can live with but the no heat thing is kind of getting to me.

Any suggestions on what I can try to fix or where to find out what I might need to do without having to sell a kidney?

tbird100636

Make sure the coolant is full. About the Upper mark of the cold fill range on the coolant bottle in the RF corner of the engine compartment. Next to the washer bottle neck. Next, do you have manual controls or elctronic controls for the A/C-heater???

__________________
Master ASE Certified L1 Chrysler Technician- still a Ford fan at heart.
1964 Thunderbird Hardtop- Chantily Beige- 390 FE 4V V8-Uncle's Car
1966 Thunderbird Convertible- Red- 390 FE 4V V8- Uncle's other car- waiting for paint and body work!!!
1967 Mustang Convertible- Blue- 289 V8- helping a friend re-assemble this classic

btexpress

These were bad for brown coolant, you might have some blockage in the heater core.

__________________
Dennis W
www.blueovaltechs.com
http://blueovalcity.myminicity.com

KCnTexas

this is what it looks like, I am guessing they are manual??

Coolant is full.

KCnTexas

How would I check that or do I have to have someone do it?

Thanks!

tbird100636

That is the manual system. The coolant you just check it's color. If it's lime green the it's clean. If it's a greenish brown or muddy brown it's overdue for a flush. With the engine warmed up you can check the temperature of the heater hoses going in and out of the heater core. They should be pretty close in temperature. If the outlet is cold and the inlet is hot you have a blockage in the heater core. You will see where the heater hoses go from the engine to the firewall. The heater hoses are towards the left side low down. The A/C lines are to the right. there have been a few members that have found corroded water pump impellers, but they usually have an overheating problem with it. See what you find and we'll go from there. Caution!!! The heater hoses can get hot, wear some gloves when checking the hose temps. They don't have to be too thick.

__________________
Master ASE Certified L1 Chrysler Technician- still a Ford fan at heart.
1964 Thunderbird Hardtop- Chantily Beige- 390 FE 4V V8-Uncle's Car
1966 Thunderbird Convertible- Red- 390 FE 4V V8- Uncle's other car- waiting for paint and body work!!!
1967 Mustang Convertible- Blue- 289 V8- helping a friend re-assemble this classic

coonerboy

Exactly as t-bird said. If you want to do it yourself youll need to drain the coolant.(draincock located near front grille under headlight). Then disconnect the two heater hoses. You will be better off disconnecting the one hose where it connects to the t-stat housing and the other hose near the water pump. Block off the bypass hose with a pair of vicegrips. I attached a short piece of a garden hose with the male end cut off, this way I slipped the cut end over the metal pipe that comes out of the heater core. Flush from waterpump side to thermostat side(backflush) Flush away. Just dont apply to much water pressure or you could burst the core. You may also want to dump some cleaner/degreaser like Castrol Superclean and let it soak, then flush. Dont be surprised if you have to repeat this a couple of times. I've done mine twice this winter.

SHOZ123

You need to flush the cooling system, then flush out the heater core using a garden hose. Don't let the pressure get too high.

Vulcans should have the system flushed yearly as Ford really screwed up the cooling system on the later years (+96).

KCnTexas

Oh my, there are just too many hoses, lol.

Thanks for all of your help, I am going to take it by a place to give me an estimate so maybe I know exactly what is wrong and I will go from there.