Okay TX---wasn't sure how or if you'd outfitted your van---good to know!

IIRC the temp gauge on the '03 (warmer van) runs just a small bit under halfway up its scale whereas the '00 (cooler van) maybe 3/8 or so----that "small" amount of difference in indicated temps seems to be significant.

Were it me I'd just swap out the existing t'stat for the 195* part---that's about all there is to safely raise the circulating coolant temp.

Glad you like your van---for a small camper and bike hauler they're tough to beat.

 

Hmmmm.....well that one musta got deleted...

 

Anyway....I stopped by Vatozone and ordered a failsafe 180° thermostat and will install it as soon as time, work, and weather permit.

Of course I will test the new one before the install, and then test the old one after I remove it.

 

Let us know how this works out!

 

Well....9 degrees yesterday, 12 degrees today.

Have not installed the new thermostat yet...I wanted to test something the next time it got cold and snowy. Well its cold and snowy now.

Took the Shuttlecraft out for a drive during some freezing drizzle, having cleared the windshield with de-icer spray.

With engine fully warmed up, the defroster air was only just able to keep the windshield clear when idling, but when driving, the glass frosted up again. Dang.

So....stopped behind a store, grabbed a few pieces of cardboard and stuffed them into the gap between the grill and the radiator. Of course I left some space and some gaps for air to get thru, but this blocked a lot of the blasts of cold air when driving.

(its an old trick from driving cold-natured diesels in the winter)

Worked like a charm, the air outlet temps came up, and the windshield stayed clear when driving. I also pulled the curtain behind me to close off the cargo area. So all the internal controls are working well.

This tells me that maybe the thermostat is stuck open or opening too early.

Remember.... I bought this van at 104,000 miles and it was used in fleet service in the desert southwest and maybe they put in a cooler thermostat...wont know for sure until it warms up again and I have a chance to swap out the old one for the new one I bought.

Updates will follow....eventually!

 

Yikes and too----that's chilly! Not quite that low here yet, hovering in the mid teens, heading to 30 or so over the next few days---not weather I wanna be DIY'ing in the driveway.

That makes a lot of sense---not a huge need for heat in that area.

As I mentioned one of my E250's has what I'm sure is the lower temp t'stat--heating differences are very noticeable compared to the '03 with correct temp t'stat.

A curtain of almost any material temporarily dividing the front seats from the rear area makes a huge difference too. I've used moving pads (they were unused at the time anyway) but now have a sleeper privacy curtain out of a Volvo VNL big truck. Its nothing more than a single layer of somewhat thicker vinyl auto upholstery but does an amazing job of making the front area much, much easier to heat and cool.

Probably a bit tougher to do on a shuttle bus though...............

 

Man........I thought it was always like 70 degrees or warmer in Texas

If I might add..........

Totally agree that the thermostat might be the main problem to your 'no warm heat'

But, while your in there changing/checking the Thermo, take both heater core hoses off at the engine side, and insert one end into a bucket/jug, and using a garden hose, run some clean water threw the heater core, flushing it out, you'll see what "junk" your flushing out into the bucket.
You'll be surprised what will come out.

I just had to do this to a Jeep Cherokee a couple weeks ago, no warm heat, but the temp gauge was reading at 195* Flushed out the heater core of all the nasty looking, you know, and popped a new thermostat in during the process, and heat was working correctly as it should have.

Also agree with the "bulk head" en-closer, with all the regular vans I had, I always put some type of wall, tarp, what ever behind the seats for heat, noise, flying tools on the panic stops, but mainly to keep the heat up front, cause the cold days your having now, we have months of weather like that.
With the cube vans, the bulk head is built in with the box

 

Texas stretches nearly 800 miles from end to end and top to bottom...weather can vary a lot from one side to the other. Texas is roughly the size of Europe....There used to be a barbed wire fence between us (here in the Panhandle) and the northpole, but it blew over! Thats your geography lesson today ...

Good idea. While I'm at that, I might add one of those flush-n-fill kits since it makes a total system flush in the future much easier. BTW...I tested the coolant freezepoint with one of those little hydrometers and its showing about -2 for temp protection...I'm fairly sure the desert southwest shop they used...whatever and wherever it was, just never anticipated really cold temps.

It rarely gets below zero here in the mid-panhandle, but up around Amarillo, where I travel to sometimes, can get to minus -10 in the middle of winter. Looks like a little coolant reformulation might be needed...

BTW...my conversation here is riding on another posters thread...my van actually does put out some heat, but the air is not hot...only warm. Of course when I bought it in April, I only tested the heater and AC briefly...I had no way to test it at 10 degrees ambient...

 

Shuttlebus? Why I oughtta......

Yeah I had put in a cheap curtain rod and cheap curtain that actually is for night privacy...but it turns out that it helps retain some warmish air on the bridge...uh...in the passenger area.

 

Well, ain't I all embarrassed to heck and back? Obviously I misread "shuttlecraft" as "shuttle bus"----mea culpa and apologies Mr Spock--or is that Mr Scott?

BTW your bridge in my world would be the flight deck.............

At any rate glad you have both privacy and warmish air too--I'll refrain from asking why you need either back there............

 

Okay, holidays are over so I got back after my heater issue today.

First I removed the passenger seat which took a little longer than expected because all of the little trim pieces Sportsmobile put in to make everything look nice. Once out, that made things a lot easier.

Already had all of the gold screws on the heater core cover removed and, after some trial and error, I was able to remove that stupid phillips head screw at the top using some very small long nose pliers. The cover finally came off with some effort and I was finally looking at my heater core. Yay.

I reached in and was able to rotate the blend door up. I worked it up and down a few times and it rotates smoothly - not bound up or anything. Then I decided to test the blend door motor again. It was working fine so I bolted it back on to see if it would move the blend door. Back and forth and back and forth on the dash control - I got the motor to move the blend door downward once but that was it. I could see the motor's shaft rotating but the door was not moving.

So, I was thinking about just ordering up a new blend door assembly for now since I don't have any indication that the core is clogged or otherwise compromised.

Does it sound like I'm headed in the right direction here?

Only cut myself once today

 

I'm a bit lost here why the blend door can be moved by hand but won't move via the drive motor. Did you re-install (even temporarily) the outer evap case to test the motor to get your results of no movement via the motor?

Did you warm the engine enough to produce heat, move the blend door by hand and check leaving air temps?

I'm thinking the motor isn't all that powerful so if there is a bind or other issue preventing the door moving that should be noticeable when trying by hand.

Didn't know you have an SMB so also not aware there was/is a lot of trim in the way of removing the seat. OTOH its now easy to see how removing those really opens up the front for maintenance tasks---changing plugs for example.

 

So with the cover off and the motor not bolted on, I was able to move the door freely. I wanted to make sure it wasn't catching on anything etc. Then I double checked the motor function and bolted it back on to see if it would move the door...with no luck. I didn't put the cover back on during any of this. Does it need to be on? Didn't look like it would need to be to test door function?

My suspicion is that the part of the blend door where the motor shaft goes in is broken or rounded out, etc. Read quite a few posts about that problem on the interwebz.

I did warm it up and there's plenty of hot air coming through the core. Didn't put the cover back on to see if it would come out the vents but cold air came out all the vents properly before I started all this, so I assume hot air would do the same thing if the blend door was in the right position?

I hope I'm not doing this wrong!

Yep, SMB owner. I assume you're the same JWA over on the sportsmobile forum, unless there's two JWA's living in Reynoldsburg that love Ford vans? I go by the same username over on that forum.

 

Correct---for that test the outer cover needn't be re-installed.

Not sure on the first part, very likely on the second part. Because you can freely move the blend door manually and the drive motor functions in sympathy with the temp control all that seems to be working fine. When they're mated and won't work the indication is indeed something amiss in how they mate and work together as a sub-system

At this point I'd maybe invest in both a new blend door and drive motor---if your observation about a rounded over drive lug or socket then replacing both would be prudent. Who wants to do this again? Both parts together shouldn't cost $100.

You're heading in the right direction I think although I'd want to test how warm the leaving air through the core is with the blend door manually placed in the heat position, blower motor cycled through its speed steps. A stubby 1/4" wide flat screwdriver blade can be inserted into the blend door socket to move it as a test of the heater core's output temps.

No I'm that same guy-----world can't handle two of us so similar in nature, location or interests.

I don't actually own an SMB, "glamping" would be more my real desire as far as a getaway. SMB's forums were found some years ago when I bought a beat-to-death '97 E250 and began learning about that body, engine and transmission. My first Ford forum was F150 Online which somehow eventually lead me to FTE which has a much stronger (by comparision) van forum.

Through SMB I find the occasional useful modification or fix to the interior, sometimes things that are even partially common to van owners. On occasion I can offer repair tips for glass, door locks, hinges etc because I'm in the auto/truck glass biz now, once owned a body shop too. On either site I try sharing my experience or knowledge with those who might find it helpful.

Let us know how all this turns out----head to a high of 19* later this week here in Ohio!

 

I didn't have a fancy way to measure the air temp coming through the core so I grabbed my trusty oven thermometer and hung it on the front lip of the core LOL. Air temp was about 150°.

I'm going to go ahead and order a new blend door and motor. I can get them Amazon Prime for $62. Oh wait, I'll need the quick disconnect tools too - make that $91. Gotta wait until Wednesday to order so I'm home when everything arrives on Friday. Can't wait to be done with this. Haven't been camping since Thanksgiving

Thanks again for all your help!

I thought SMB'ing was glamping?