Hello, I bought my '02 2.3L in the summer and now that it's cool in the morning I'm noticing the heater is barely luke warm by the time I get to work 6 miles away. I love the fact that I'm getting 24.5 mpg and don't want to run the truck in my driveway on cool mornings (it's not really cold here yet). Is there something I can do to make it come up to heater-happy temp faster? Change the thermostat? Would the truck even run well if the prior owner removed the thermostat? (heats up like there's not one there). If I monkey with the thermostat will I affect something else? Do these Rangers have a reputation of taking a long time to heat up in the winter?

Thanks, Jon

 

I might be wrong, but a cheap fix might be something to do with your heater core. I replaced mine for all of $20 and 20 minutes of my time but I havent ran the truck yet as it's going through a motor-swap. Aside from fixing a leaking core I dont know if this will solve your problem or not, but it's a possibility.

 

1) Thermostat stuck open or PO removed it.

2) Heater core plugged.

3) Heater hose pinched or collapsed.

4) Lower radiator hose collapsed.

5) Water pump going out.

6) Temperature control (if present) defective.

7) Air locked core.

Listed in some order of probability. Not all will necessarily apply to your vehicle.

 

Don't Forget To Check The Coolant Level First.

 

I-4's usually heat up pretty fast. I had a 2.3 in a Tempo years ago. It was hot on winter days in less than a mile. What's the guage say? If it's normal I'd say it's the heater core. Sometimes PO's dump in some Barr's stop leak to fix a leaking heater core and ultimately that tends to plug the core. Since you bought it used and you don't know the history, I would start with the cheap fixes and change the stat and the anti-freeze.

 

First, check the hose's going to the firewall heater connection. One should feel hot and the other a littler cooler. Look at the water flow control flow valve on the heater hose and make sure it is full open. If all that checks out make sure the heater A/C control is moving the flaper control in the cab from cool to heat. Where is the temp guage at after it warms up?

Dave

 

For a 2002 the only thing it should be is low fluid or water pump is wearing out and not pushing enough water through the system which in turn doesn't keep the hot water flowing through the heater core. If not that, then thermostat is stuck open.

 

Where is your temp gauge when you get to work? If the gauge is up, but you aren't getting heat, target the heater valve/blend door, and make sure the coolant level is where it's supposed to be. If the temp gauge is low, then the thermostat is almost certainly the problem. The thermostat is a service item, I just replaced the tstat in my '02 f150, although it was still working, warmups were becoming a little slow. And fixing this is a good idea for another reason as well, if you are in fact running cool, the engine isn't running to it's peak efficiency and is not running as cleanly as it should.

 

if everything is in good working order, try redline water wetter instead of antifreeze, i've ran it for years in my personal cars and i'm slow converting all my company rangers to it. it doesn't get that cold here san antonio tx so it will work as an antifreeze, it doesn't lower the water's freezing point as much as antifreeze but you can mix antifreeze and water wetter. it helps in the hot summers down here and it protects the radiator and lubricates the water pump better.
my dads 98 supercharged regal did the same thing it would about 8-10 miles to really warm up enough to use the heater, now with the water wetter it heats in about a mile and a half and runs cooler in the summer. DON'T EVER USE DEX-COOL it turns to mud in 8 months even on a new motor

 

Must be the thermostat. The gauge is barely off the peg after the 6 mile drive to work. If I run an errand or two within the first hour the gauge is 30~40% between the pegs (and of course the cab is quite toasty). I'll check this weekend and post the results. Thank to all of you (again) !

 

Had the same problem Replaced the thermostat . Got lots of heat now and quickly too.