Cold heat

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Nov 8, 2003 | 06:26 AM

62woody

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Cold heat

I have an 89 F-250 supercab that I recently inherited from my father. When the weather turned cold, I cranked up the defroster to find that it only blows cool air. The hoses leading to the heater core never got hot to the touch either. I'm wondering if there is a vacuum hose or fuse that might come into play, or if I have a plugged heater core? Any help would be much appreciated!

Nov 8, 2003 | 06:40 AM

95BlackF150

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if the hoses never got hot your truck isn't getting warm enough means your thermostat is stuck open

Nov 8, 2003 | 08:15 AM

Steven@nd

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From: North Dakota

What does the temperature gauge on the dash read? If the engine temp is coming up and the hoses don't get hot, then you have a plugged core.

If the engine temp isn't coming up, then you need a new thermostat.

Nov 8, 2003 | 01:58 PM

95BlackF150

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can't always pay attention to the idiot gauge. reguardless of heater core being plugged there should be 1 hot hose anyway.

Nov 9, 2003 | 12:02 AM

steve83

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From: Memphis, TN

Often, when the heater core leaks or a hose does, the owner will crossconnect the inlet & outet on the engine to save money.

Nov 9, 2003 | 03:02 PM

62woody

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Thanks for the feedback. Both hoses are connected as they should be and the needle on the gauge did come up some, but not as far as it did in hot weather. Neither heater hose was hot to the touch when the truck was warmed up. Think I'll disconnect the hoses and see if I can push some water through the core with the garden hose, if so I'll change the thermostat first. I just wasn't sure if there was some sort of valve that would restrict flow through the core when the heater was turned off?

Nov 9, 2003 | 03:18 PM

95BlackF150

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my guess is stuck thermostat as previously stated since its not getting as warm due to cooler weather i had same problem didn't know anything was wrong with a car i had till it started gettng cold and absolutly no heat after driving 20 miles kinda sucks when its less than 20 degrees and it dark