no heat coming from vents...

435

Asked by beartraxx33 Nov 05, 2012 at 01:18 AM about the 2004 Ford Freestar

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have this problem since friday.... when i accelerated to go up a hill, i think there was a leak coming from the pressure tank. i lost all heat and the next day the engine temp went hi and normal and hi and normal.... now i cant seem to get any pressure in the rad hoses and the bottom hose rhat hooks up to the core is hot but not the top one. when i drive i check the cap for pressure when the engine is warm but all i heare is a 1/10th of a second psst and thats it.... the rad hoses can be squeezed shut and while trying to burp the system the coolant was force out of the filler tank and then boom no more coolant....i am getting frustrated.

34 Answers

130

fill the rad. ,you allowed the sys. to get too low, check it more often

130

use a funnel to fill the rad.also

1 people found this helpful.
435

is there an access to the rad? it looks like a closed rad!!! i ran the vehicle with the pressure cap off the filler tank and i am staring to get luke warm flo but not enough to warm up the cab..

10 people found this helpful.
130

do whatever you have to, to get fluid into the system, otherwise, youll overheat the engine & possibly blow the head gaskets, these ford vans are known for that happening, & its mostly due to lack of maintenance, or attention to the fluid level. again,.....CHECK FLUIDS MORE OFTEN......head gaskets @ a shop, will be $800-$1000 easy....checking fluids cost nothing

435

so this morning to work was a cold drive....when i arrived at work i decided to try and reburp the system cause the fluid level is still at cold fill line... looks like no circulation but the engine remains at optimal temperature. no overheat. while the engin was running, i put the the control on hi speed- MAX AC- and hot and giggled the hose that is connected to the rad and filler tank withe the cap off. the filler tank started to fill up at a fast rate and spilled at least 1.5 liters of coolant on the ground and before i knew it the tank went empty again.... i bought a new bottle of coolant and started the engin e and filled the tank up slowly and the rad was sucking up fluids but stopped after 30 sec. so i redid the giggle of the hos and it took about 5 mins to get a reaction from the cooland and it spewed another litre of coolant and when the tank started to empty itself again, I refilled it before it went empty. lets see what will happen.

3 people found this helpful.
435

luke warm temp......after that it went cold..............arrrgghhh

7 people found this helpful.
14,905

under the radiator (bottom corner), there is a drain tap, open it, allow what is in there to drain out, and fill the reservoir/radiator, allowing ti too to flow out of the radiator (so use water), you are experienced some sort of back pressure, and must find the clog, maybe time for a new thermostat, (can be sticking), and an inexpensive option., but first lets make sure every line is clear...let me know, when driving the cool air on the radiator, engine will keep it from over heating, if you let it sit idle, how long until it over heats, if it is with in10-15 minutes, consider pricing a water pump, (it has a seep hole for the fluid to drain out), maybe another passage fo rcoolant to empty from the system., but check for blockages and do a thermostat first, and let me know...

2 people found this helpful.
14,905

other possibilities for no vent heat, heater core clogged, (part of cooling system), or actuator door in the dash broken, ford is unanimous with that issue

4 people found this helpful.
435

ok i will try to drain the system but as far as the actuator door goes, it still works. the thermostat and thermostat gasket has been changed

1 people found this helpful.
14,905

eliminating the door is good, thermostat good, find the blockage, start with the radiator, do the heater core, and each line, (for the most of what you explained it worked as it should) and at idle (idle alone), how soon until the engine gets hot..over heat hot?

2 people found this helpful.
Best Answer Mark helpful
435

It actually never gets to overheat anymore even if I idle for 30 min. By shaking the filler tank, it seems to start a syphoning action and the return hose gets hot and that's when the filler tank fills up and erupts. After that it empties itself and that's it. So I will have to clean every part of the cooling system with water and see if there is some blockage going on.

435

OK SO ITS FIXED!!!!! i unplugged the rad hoses,the heater core hoses(the top one) and the hose beside the thermostat to drain heater core.... Small amount of gunk got loose frome the core and the whole system was rinced....garden hose pressure. anyways got heat back just in time for winter....it was a chore though. THANKS TO JON an Mark for kicking me in the butt and the right direction. Saved 1000$:'s

4 people found this helpful.
14,905

dude message me anytime, you're welcome

2 people found this helpful.
435

Jhon, I need your advice on something... this is wiered my vans temp is screwed up.... i am getting heat but on the highway, the engine cools down and when i am back on city streets the heat builds up.

2 people found this helpful.
14,905

if that is after it has been running, awhile, then that is too cold of a temp...did you change the thermostat, and if so do you know which one you chose? (they usually have 2 options as far as temperatures of when to open), did you recheck all your fluids lately making sure all is well with them?

1 people found this helpful.
435

Fluids are maintaing proper levels. I think I bought a 185F thermostat... Autoparts store says that ford recommends 195F.

435

Today i checked the thermostat and i was wrong.. it was a 195F that was in but i notices that it might have been crooked because the gasket was damaged(sliced on the bottom)... i will check temp.

14,905

glad you rechecked, that would do it...new gasket, and seat it nice, and good to go

435

I have a theory...could it be that I have too much water in the cooling system.... It's nice to flush the engine but there is got to be a lot of water left in there and I filled my overflow tank with 50/50. Now would the water still boil or would it get cold by running on the highway?

2 people found this helpful.
435

I know it sounds stupid but I am exploring every avenue here before winter sets in...

1 people found this helpful.
14,905

no, whether it is water, or coolant, that won't affect operating temps...when you reinstalled the thermostat, did it make a difference? Usually, one in upside down, or not in at all would make it run that cool.

435

Nah....it still runs cool on the highway.the needle is barely holding on the normal temp range.like in the picture

435

OMG....what a dumb ass I am.....I put the thermostat backwards....

1 people found this helpful.
14,905

i dont mean to laugh at you i assure you, it happens to all, but it make a difference????

435

Dunno. But I will see tomorrow morning. I will let you know. I hope it does. The instructions clearly tells me to put the spring end towards the engine. Mona was towards radiator.

435

Hey john, can you help me. My vans temp is acting up again. When i drive, the vans temp drops in the low normal range and When i idle, the van slowly creeps up to below normal heat range. I recently changed my 2 month old thermostat that was stuck open....had the system professionally flushed. I have no idea where to look next

2 people found this helpful.
100

Hey John can you help me. I have a Ford 2004 freestar. For some unknown reason last winter the rear seat heater stopped heating up. Also noticed the cooling system won't pressurize. We flushed the back hoses, installed new Ford OEM thermostat. its in correctly, and we just changed the original water pump. Pleanty heat to the front dashboard heater, but bearly any to the rear, it does get lukewarm. There appears to be no leaks and there is nothing wet under the van and according to the coolant bottle, its never down on coolant. The hose going to the back heater core gets hot but it cool coming out but again no leaks, and no pressure, any ideas?

10 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 2004 ford freestar Sel front temperature controller stuck on cold. getting heat in back vents no front..

5 people found this helpful.
10

Can someone give me opinion: I have 2005 ford freestyle Sel ..i have problem NO heat come to inside the car and car get overhead.....i put new water pump and new thermostat. Continue doing the same..

1 people found this helpful.

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