Date:         Wed, 22 Aug 2018 10:53:03 -0500
Reply-To:     "Jim. Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Jim. Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Front heater won't give heat
Comments: To: Roy Nicholl <RNicholl@nbnet.nb.ca>
In-Reply-To:  <4073C0B7-83AA-4E8B-8AEA-CAECDC0DA222@NBNet.nb.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

You don't need to do anything with the hose coming out of the heater core.
It won't do you any good as you can't use the connections to raise the
coolant level, only to drain and lose it! You need to follow the procedure
in the Bentley or the many variations written up on the Internet. They all
involve getting the engine warm enough to open the thermostat, and keeping
an eye on the tank level. After the car is warm--and with the heater valve
wide open--loosen the bleed bolt from the top of the radiator. If you have
a 2.1 you have a bleed valve on the thermostat housing that comes into play
as well. Then you rev the engine to about 2000 with a wooden wedge, run to
the front and back the bleed bolt out until you get a strong hiss of air,
or else solid coolant--not a mix of coolant and air. You may have to remove
the bolt all the way. Best to have someone else back in the back to keep an
eye on the level in the tank, because this is the point where it falls a
lot as the upper parts of the system are suddenly being filled by the
action of the water pump. When the top of the radiator is warm to the touch
and a solid stream of coolant is coming out of the bleed hole, tighten the
bolt back down, final fill the tank, put the cap back on the tank and cut
the revs back to idle. A couple of cool-down/heat up cycles on short trips
should finish the task as a properly-working system draws coolant in from
the overflow tank as any trapped air bubbles cool and contract.

If your car doesn't respond as expected, then something is not right.

Jim

On Wed, Aug 22, 2018 at 10:31 AM Roy Nicholl <RNicholl@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:

> … and here I thought they only ever stuck open … in July :-|
>
>
> > On 22-Aug-2018, at 12:19, Dan N <dn92610@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > are you sure that the heater valve is not stuck closed?
>