Should I have the Ford dealership Flush my heater Core?

Question

I have a 1998 ford Taurus, and there is no heat I have changed the thermostat and I have flushed the coolant through every year and still theres no heat. The engine heats up and everything. I called the Ford dealership and they said to flush the hoses and everything with this flushing stuff you can buy. So I have done that the last two years i owned the car, Now it's winter again and I still have never had heat, the flushing has never worked. Should I bring it to the dealership to let them flush out my car. or should I just replace my heater core? Any Ideas??? My dad thinks the dealership will do something different than what we did and we followed the directions on the flushing bottle to a "T".. Please any help would be great!!!

Answer 1

If your blend door cant move the air temp will not change.There is a small accurater on the heater box that moves the blend door they brake all the time .I am not shore but you maybe able to see it behind the glove box.your car doesn't have a valve out side on the hose so you will not find it .not all car have that valve chrysler mite sill use them but ford doesn't on that model

Answer 2

I have a '99 Sable with the same problem. Here are some thoughts: 1) I had a mechanic back flush the heater core about 3 years ago. The heater started working again for a while. 2) I do not believe there is a heater valve inside the engine compartment as some people have suggested. 3) You can see the actuator under the dash if you are very limber and have a good flashlight. Get upside down so you can look up the underside of the dash, you are looking about 1/2 way up in the middle of the dash, turn the heat control knob with the engine running. With any luck you will see a lever moving back and forth as you turn the heat control. If so, you can assume the actuator is working. 4.) Your best bet is to flush the core or have someone do it for you. I seldom recommend a dealership. Go to someone you trust. If you want to do it yourself, It is pretty easy to do. After the coolant has cooled off, remove the two hoses going to and from the heater core - and pulse water from your garden hose in both directions until it runs clear. At some point you should drain and refill your system with water and antifreeze. Good luck.

Answer 3

If you followed the directions then it would have fixed the problem if it was not heavily clogged. Check your heater valve and make sure it is opening when you turn the heat on. Right outside the firewall where the hoses come from the heater core is a valve that lets the hot water into the heater core when you turn the selector to heat. If this is not opening then you will not get hot water to the core and no heat. The valve is either operated by a cable or by a vacuum line, I don't remember which type is on this year. If this valve is working properly and hot water is flowing through it then your heater core may be clogged to the point of not allowing any water to get through the core in which case you need to replace the heater core. A Haynes manual or Chilton manual will give you a good tear down and repair procedure. Good Luck

Answer 4

How To Backflush Heater Core

Answer 5

there are several things that can cause this problem first thing i would check would be the coolant level make sure your overflow bottle is at the full hot mark.
after that start the engine and turn the heat on make sure you hear the fan running. under the hood squeeze the hoses going to your heater core it should feel a hot and flowing if your not sure about that stop the engine and pull off the outlet hose off the heater core restart the engine and the outlet should be spewing water at a good rate. about 2 gpm if weak switch outlet wth inlet and try again if you get a good flow with the hoses removed off the core the the core need to be replaced

total time aobut an hour

Answer 6

so you flushed ---now look under the hood and under the dash and see if the heater appears to open the valve to allow the hot fluid in the motor to circulate the heater core-- if you cannot tell that the valve opens then you need a mechanic---- find someone besides the dealership for this problem----the dealer is the most expensive place to have your car fixed----- even if the local mechanic has to buy a part from the dealer--- ask for an estimate before work on your car is started and make sure that is the total price to fix your ride and when you pick up the finished car try the heater to be sure that you are happy with the repair...wc

Answer 7

Find out what the dealership charges to flush your cooling system (the heater core is connected to this system). and call a couple of service stations or auto repair shops near you and see what they want. See if they are comparable. The professional way to flush the coolant is with a pressurized system that these shops have. The repair shops should be able to tell you if you need a new heater core or not too.

Answer 8

If the flush kit won't work, I'd replace the heater core. The flush kit you used is about the same the dealer will use. You may be charged for a "professional flush" that also doesn't work, and then the dealer will also come to the decision that you should replace the heater core. Why pay a double price for the end solution?

Answer 9

As stated previously, labor hours for most services are charged based on "book labor". Most shops and dealerships use a guide (there are several, Mitchell is perhaps the most common) that states; Job X should take X amount of hours for an "average" mechanic. A standard brake job for example on most vehicles is 1.0 hours per axle. A really good mechanic won't take that long but the shop goes by the book rate because the slow guy probably takes the whole hour. It works the other way too. Sometimes jobs take considerably longer to complete yet we usually only charge "book rate", not the actual time spent on the vehicle. What the book does is take the guesswork out of it so the guy at the counter doesn't have to use a dartboard and you don't have different shops charging different time for the same job based on whatever that shop thinks it might take. With the book they know. The book is also just a guideline and does not have to be adhered to religiously. I will frequently either add or delete book time from a job if I know it will take considerably longer or less time to do than the guide says. Like replacing a headlight bulb on most cars. I'm not gonna charge 0.3 hours for that! It's ridiculous. Or 0.5 for a battery replacement that takes 5 minutes. Two nights ago we had a Lexus in for new valve cover gaskets. The job booked for 2.7 hours - it actually took the mechanic about 4 hours to do. The customer got charged 2.7 and the technician got paid for 2.7. As for the poster who said it was robbery to charge a 27% margin on parts and $85/hr for labor - with all due respect s/he's not in a position to make any such claim unless s/he actually owns or runs an automotive repair business. I know for example that if my shop was only making 27% margin on parts and $85/hr on labor I'd be out of business by the end of the month! In the area where my shop is located that will not cover the cost of doing business. In other areas it might, but not here. Auto repair is a hugely competitive business of course and you usually don't find huge differences in the labor charges within the same area. Around here for example the median is about $95/hour although you will find shops about $5/hr lower or higher than that.

Answer 10

I've owned old cars all my life and never had to replace a heater core that wasn't leaking. Are you sure your heater control valve is working and sending hot water to your heater core? It's worth checking because the dash has to come out of your car to change the heater core and the steering column (airbag disconnected) has to be removed to do that. here's a link to a faq page that has similar topics.
good luck.