QuestionQUESTION: The weather is getting cooler and have started using the heater. The car gets heat but not like last year and suddenly a tiny leek at the top of the radiator has appeared. Besides fixing the leeky should I replace the thermostat? Just wondering what caused the leek? Any suggestions?
ANSWER: The leak is the more important problem, so take care of that for sure. The right way to do that is to take the car to a radiator shop (look in your phone book) and ask them to fix it for you. There is a cheap way to go, if you want to save some money, and that is to put a product called "Aluma-seal" into the top of the radiator. Follow the directions on the package. If the leak is not too bad, this might fix it for a while. The product is available at any auto parts store; it is a powder which comes in a small plastic tube - it works pretty well for small leaks.
The lack of adequate heat could be due to a bad thermostat, but since they very seldom go bad, I think you should test it before you spend your money on a new one, and go to the hassle of changing it. The way to test it is to park the car and let it sit overnight, then the next morning, before you start the car, open the hood and take off the radiator cap. Notice the level of the coolant - it should be high enough that you can see it but not right up to the top.
Now, start the engine and let it idle, and immediately run up front and watch the coolant in the top of the radiator - if the coolant is moving as soon as you start the engine, the thermostat has failed, and this explains your poor heating. If the coolant does not begin to move until after the engine has been running for a few minutes, the thermostat is OK, and your poor heater performance is due to some other problem.
First thing to check is to make sure the heater control is working (the temperature control, I mean - the one that adjusts the amount of water circulating through the heater core). It is connected to a valve in the heater hose that runs from the front of the engine near the fan back to the heater. Feel that hose on the side of the valve toward the front after the engine is warmed up (drive it a few miles to make sure it is warm.) That hose will be hot, but the hose on the other side of the valve should also be hot, if the valve is working right. If it is, then feel the return hose coming back FROM the heater to the engine block, that is the hose without the valve in it - that hose should be warm but not as hot as the one going TO the heater. If that is what you feel, your hot water is circulating through the heater OK.
The other thing to check is that perhaps your problem is that the air passages are blocked by leaves or other debris - look down into the air plenum that is under the grille in front of the windshield, right near the windshield wiper mountings. If you see a lot of leaves in there, you'll have to remove the protective grille and clean it out.
If the return heater hoses are not getting hot, perhaps the valve is not opening when you turn up the heat, so hot water isn't circulating, or perhaps your heater core is blocked with accumulated mud. Either way, the radiator shop will be able to test it and fix it for you, and it should not be very expensive.
I don't know where you live, so I can't estimate the cost, or how much you care about the heater operation. Where I live, we never need them, in fact most cars didn't even come with them out here until recently!
Good luck!
Dick
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Forgot to tell you 1 thing, the fan switch? inside the car doesn't really have low, medium, or high either anymore. The switch operates smoothly, doesn't stick or anything but really doesn't control the airflow amount. Does that help you anymore than the previous ? Oh and thank you so much for your previous answer I will check as suggested when I get home. PS live in FL but I like to blast the heat when the top is down. It still gets chilly here in the winter.
AnswerYes, that sheds some light on the subject. It is possible that your fan motor fuse has blown - do you hear the fan running at all, if you turn on the key and then the heater blower, without starting the engine? If not, check your fuses - I'm guessing the heater fuse is blown!
If you do hear it running, see if the speed will change as you move the control switch - it is possible that the switch has failed also - if so, you will need to get that changed before you will be able to "blast the heat"!.
Dick
