Very little Heat?

[EquatorHeat00]

Heater core is clogged I guess. Getting very little heat. It was flushed out 2 years ago, and now its clogged again. Is this normal? How do I clean it out? Don't want to pay to have it done again.

[Mark B]

Did you check your coolant level?. Low coolant can cause this problem too.

[94 formula]

To clean it just pull the hoses off the heater core, there on the passenger side firewall, get a garden hose and flush it out really well both ways. Then hook them back up bleed out your cooling system and add a little coolant and you should have good heat.

[Trash man]

what ur t-stat temp? if its below 180* dont expect much heat

[Christopherrr]

you must be running dex cool...if you are, did you do a perfect 50% mix? too much dexcool in a mixture creates sludge.

[94 formula]

what ur t-stat temp? if its below 180* dont expect much heat

That is true if you have some sludge. I put a 160* t-stat in my firebird not long after I got it and never had a problem with getting plenty of heat in the winter but I also flushed mine once a year.

you must be running dex cool...if you are, did you do a perfect 50% mix? too much dexcool in a mixture creates sludge.

Green coolant will also clog your heater core and it will actually do it quicker since its life isn't as long as dex cool.

[EquatorHeat00]

Car runs on green antifreeze. Mixture is at least 50 50 if not more like 60 water 40 antifreeze. Normal operating temperature, and using a 180 degree thermostate. Coolant was slightly low. I filled it up to normal, and I'm still not getting much heat. The heater core was clogged 2 years ago. Hard to believe its clogged again.
94 Formula need more information. I need pictures of where the heater core is, and how to bleed the system.

[blackfire93]

What temperature should an LT1 with a 160* stat and programming for that thermostat run at? I have this set up and my temperature guage says it never gets above 130*.

[94 formula]

http://shbox.com/1/bleeders.jpg

The first pic is the bleeder screws. After your done just open them up with the car running and wait until it lets the air out and coolant begins come out of them. Be sure to put down towels to protect the opti. I couldn't find a pic of the hoses going into the firewall but if you look on the passenger side firewall they're the only heater hoses that connect there. If you look around the site some I'm pretty sure you can find a right up on how to do it.

Photo courtesy of shbox .

[Mark B]

I dont find it hard to believe that the core is clogged again. Flushing the core doesnt get everything out.

[Christopherrr]

Green coolant will also clog your heater core and it will actually do it quicker since its life isn't as long as dex cool.

Well, some would beg to differ...

http://www.f-body.com/forum/showthre...hlight=dexcool

[94 formula]

Well, some would beg to differ...

http://www.f-body.com/forum/showthre...hlight=dexcool

I'm not saying that dex-cool won't clog up your cooling system but dex-cool when properly used should take longer to clog anything up because it has a longer life than green. As it was posted in the thread you need to use distilled water when mixing it with your coolant. Also doesn't gm put something in the coolant that supposedly will seal leaks that can help lead to it gumming up?

[MikeyboyWS6]

After working in a dealership for 5 years I have seen many cooling systems clogged. Mainly due to the customer not knowing and pouring green coolant into a dex-cool system. Big mess.

I don't think GM puts anything in Dex-cool from the factory, the techs at dealerships sometimes put stuff in after a repair.

[jeffs97z28]

You can most likely thank the DexCrap Coolant for your problems, I'm having the same problem with mine only mine started losing heat again about 6 weeks after the flush. Dealer wants 1100.00 to acid wash the system and install new heater core, NOT!!! I'm trying to make it until spring and will tear into it myself but I'm not a happy camper. I'm 50 years old and have had a Camaro or Firebird since 1974, I've never had to replace a radiator or heater core. Never even had a heater core plug up on me. I kept some of those cars 8 years and put 125k on them. Oh I know. I'm sure GM would tell me I have been maintaining my cars wrong for the past 32 years and been just plain lucky. They will play hard to sell me one of their new overpriced Retropean [ Retro/European] models when they come out. I wonder what it's like to have a business doing so well that you can just cast off loyal customers? LOL

[EquatorHeat00]

I have green antifreeze in my car. Heater is working better now, but its not great. Good enough now, so I'm not bothering with it plus its getting warm here now.