I just picked up my Dodge Van after a week (and $1200) in the Dodge Dealership shop for a head gasket replacement. The heater is not working, and they said I'd have to bring it back for a coolant flush next week. Isn't that something that they should have done before they told me it was ready. I wanted to take it in to Firestone today to get it fixed, but they told me the dealership should have done that as part of the job.
2006-12-09 04:15:20 · 6 answers · asked by Audrey H 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The dealer was negligent. Debris from the head gasket change is clogging things up.
Make sure your coolant isn't low. They might not have gotten all the air out of the system.
$1200 is way too high for new head gaskets.
2006-12-09 04:19:58 · answer #1 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way the heater works is that when you turn the switch to hot it opens a valve that allows the hot coolant from your engine to circulate through the heater core which is usually located behind the dash on the passengers side. If its a bad heater core you'll know becuase the passenger footwell would wet. Check for wet spots on the carpet.
There is a fan that sits behind it and blows air over the hot heater core and heats up the air.
You said your heater isn't working? Does the fan kick on and just doesn't get hot? If the fan doesn't work it could be the fan itself, check the fuse for the fan to make sure its not out.
If you had a head gasket replacement that involves removing a lot of components off the top of you engine (some of which circulate coolant) and usually involves disconnecting the coolant system from the engine and possibly draining some coolant. I would open your radiator cap (when the van is cool) and check to make sure its full. If its not, I would add 50/50 water and coolant. Turn the engine on while you fill it up so it will flush out any air bubbles.
I wouldnt say that a coolant flush and head gasket replacement necessairly go hand in hand. If I were the mechanic, and I was replacing a head gasket I would definately recommend it as good preventative maintenance.
2006-12-09 12:28:12 · answer #2 · answered by soloban 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like they haven't done the job properly. That's a lot of money for a head gasket so I would have expected they change a few other parts for that.
The last one I did I took no chances and replaced the Radiator and Water pump so there were no silly problems later. I charged half your price and have had no problems from when the job was done in January.
Take it back and tell them to SORT IT OUT and your not paying.
2006-12-09 12:37:16 · answer #3 · answered by GeneHunt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends if you had put some kind of sealent to fix the head gskt in the radiator then yes they should have flushed the system because you may have plugged up your heater core,also you have a heater control valve that may be acting up,which is usually vacume operated ,did they replace the t-stat and radiator cap that also has somethings to do with not heating up............
2006-12-09 12:28:47 · answer #4 · answered by xhalted1ne 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To change the head gasket, they had to drain the coolant.Which means they had to refill the cooling system. Take a look at the coolant reservoir(spit tank) & see if'n it has coolant mixture in it.Good Luck & give'em hell for releasing a car that wasn't ready
2006-12-09 12:24:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah they should of. theres a little flap thing that shuts off the fuel to the heater core, that will stop the heater core from heating up.
2006-12-09 12:23:00 · answer #6 · answered by tralw2000 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋