1987 Dodge B150 van heat does not work. Already flushed heater core

Asked by GuruLGMD6 May 13, 2019 at 04:07 PM about the 1987 Dodge RAM Van B150 Cargo RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Just bought a 1987 Dodge b150 and the heat is inop. Blower works fine, I
flushed the heater core with just water and to my surprise there was no rust
colored water or much sediment at all which seems strange for a 30+ year
old vehicle.

At first i thought one hose was hot and one cold but i think i was just feeling
heat come off the engine it sort of hard to tell and im not sure. I also noticed
a lever on the passenger side of the heater box not hooked to anything but
there didnt appear to be any unhooked cables near it, not sure if that matters
or not.

Just looking for advice on the next step until my service manual arrives in the
mail. Thank you.

3 Answers

Check the coolant level and try purging air out of the cooling system. Try moving that level manually and see if you get heat.

I shouldv'e mentioned that i checked the rad, it is filled to the top even when the engine is running, i also topped off the reservoir and there should be plenty of coolant in the system. i tried to purge any air by squeezing the upper rad hose repeatedly both with the rad cap on and off. didn't seem to get much air. Also tried moving both levers manually and didnt appear to do anything, I heard two bumps when i actuated the heat valve which i think means its operational. Air would make sense though maybe I'm not bleeding it right. Also maybe worth noting, the thermostat never sems to go past about an 8th of the way up and not at all when driving, I actually thought it was bad when i drove it home.

So I went ahead and replaced the thermostat today as well as the housing. glad i did as the old iron one was in rough shape. However it did nothing for the heat. I let the van warm up for a solid 20 minutes which should be more than enough for any car.  I can confirm now that both heater core hoses are cold. I flushed it out with water already so i know it gets flow, i know the hoses are hooked up correctly, so i'm kind of at a loss as to what it could be now.

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