Taurus, no heat

[uhcrandy]

Hi, My daughter has a 99 Taurus, 3.0 OHV. The heater isnt't hot. I have flushed the heater core. It helps for a while. On the engine side of the firewall, the heater hose splits into two lines, one goes through the heater core, while the other seems to bypass the heater core. Anyone seen this? This seems to make no sense, wouldnt the hot water always by-pass the core due to the higher restriction of the heater core? Can I block the by-pass hose and force all fluid throught the heater core?
Thanks

 

[arizonaadam]

Is the car running at normal temp? Are the heater hoses both getting hot? There are engine cooling TSBs for this car. If flushing the core helps for awhile sounds like it may be your problem. I've flushed cores silly before and if they're shot, they're shot.

Seems like a common complaint:
http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/82-...nt-we-just-clamp-damn-heater-bypass-hose.html

 

[Call me the Breeze]

Is your antifreeze level in the radiator full? On some vehicles, low fluid = no heat.

 

[BigE]

Does the "split" in the hoses have a vacuum line attached to it? On my 00 Ranger, that's how it changes flow direction. When the heat is off, the vacuum pot directs all of the flow to bypass the heater core. When you turn it on, the pot goes the other way and directs flow through the heater core. You may have lost a vacuum line or the pot.

 

[uhcrandy]

Sorry if I was unclear, Yes fluid level good, engine warms up correctly, waterpump working (replaced recently), heater hoses feel hot to touch. I am stuck between wanting to flush the hell out of the heater core, but afraid I may cause a leak and need to replace the heater core. A job I wish to avoid!
Oh and thanks for the "taurus forum" link, that helps alot!

 

[Radio Flyer]

Just a weird one that I ran across on a Taurus...

Check to see if the cooling fan is running. I had one that was low on A/C refriderant, which in turn caused the cooling fan to run all the time and would not let the engine warm up completely. Easy enough to check.

 

[ket-tek]

I just delt with this 2 weeks ago on my sisters 98 taurus. Everything seemed to be fine like thermostat, fans, all hoses getting hot, pump working, and the a/c worked great, but just no heat. After a couple hours of reading I found that taurus are notorious for the blend motor having a problem.

To troubleshoot if this is your issue try this:

Start the car and run the blower full blast, slowly turn the temp control from hot to cold and back. You should hear the blend door moving under the dash. If you don't then that is the issue. These cars are not vacuum accuated like other fords, they have a dc servo motor in a box that pull the lever for the door.

If you remove the ashtray or glovebox you can see behind where the box is and try to see the metal arm that it moves. Turn the knobs hot to cold again and see if the arm is moving, if not try to move the metal arm in and out to manually adjust the blend door and see if the heat starts to work.

The box is nothing but a motor that has all plastic gears and they strip or break the teeth after a while. I went to the local pick-n-pull and got a box. The first one I pulled at the yard I opened up to check the gears and they were missing teeth. The next taurus I tried I opened and it was all good so I bought it, the only charged me $3 for it and there were over a dozen tauri at the yard, Ford wants like $100 for the module, and they don't sell just the gears..

Here is the location behind the dash. (random pic, no need to pull dash to get to it, just the glovebox/ashtray)

 

[ket-tek]

Oh and also, even if the arm is moving some it may not be moving far enough. The one I worked on did move back and forth, so I thought it was working, but when I pushed the arm some more it opened the door and the heat came though. Once I opened the gear box there was a missing tooth, so it wasn't moving the arm that last 1/4" due to the lost tooth. So make sure it is moving as far as the metal arm on the door goes before you rule it out.

 

[lametec]

I had lackluster heat in a car of mine several years ago. I decided to "flush" the heater core by swapping the hoses on it. So the hose that used to go into the top port was now on the bottom and vice versa. Worked just great!

 

[Tantara]

My daughter has an 2002 Taurus with a 3.0 engine. She had the same problem the heater core was plugged.

1) I took out the radiator, comes out the bottom, It was 30% plugged according to the radiator shop.

2) I flushed the heater core. I unhooked the heater hoses from the engine and pushed barbed garden hose ends into the hoses. I put a vise grip on the bypass hose you mentioned. I flushed it both directions many times using a garden hose hooked to my water spigot.

3) I filled the cooling system with water and topped it off with Prestone cooling system flush.

4) After a few days I drained the cooling system and refilled with antifreeze.

5) I repeated steps 2-4 at least 3 more times over a three month period.

The heater is very hot now.


Brad

 

[drmoonshine]

The heating unit may not be connected properly or the fluids may be low. I would check the wiring first.

 

[Bill Bowman]

Heater core plugged. Regular flush will not do it. Do the flush directly to the core.

 

[squinn]

My daughter needs to read this post to realize she's not the only teenage girl driving a 10 yr old taurus. Well, she probably is at her high school.

Your symptoms sound identical to mine. Only temporary heat after flushing. I replaced my heater core and problem solved. But I don't recommend this job for a weekend mechanic like myself. What a PITA!! Here's some online videos (http://www.google.com/search?q=replacing "heater core" "ford taurus"&hl=en&start=0&tbs=vid:1).

I read that Ford put started putting that bypass pipe around the heater core to prevent a complete block in coolant flow in the event the heater core completely clogs. You have to hand it to Ford, they've gotten good at working around issues caused by their own flawed designs. Couldn't they have started installing higher quality heater cores instead? But I have to give them some credit, it's because of that darned Taurus that I know what I do about auto repair.

 

[Wackerjr]

It is only a 3-4 hour job, no dash removal, do a search plenty of info out there I just did 2 of these put a heater core in it and your problem will be solved.... common problem on the taurus.....after doing it now, and knowing what bracket to cut, I can do it in 45 minutes......

 

[T1320T]

If what ket-tek recomended isn't the problem, before going through the hassle of swapping a heater core, I'd give it the CLR treatment. I've had great success by pulling the hoses at the fire wall, flushing w water, blow it out w compressed air then add about a 1/2 qt of CLR, let it sit for a few hrs then flush w a few gallons of water.

 

[uhcrandy]

So what is the deal with Taurus heater cores? Too small? too many bends? supplied by Harbor Freight??? It look like a simple "U" shape core, is that right?

 

[Cosmop]

I can't believe you have an 11 yr old taurus that still runs.

 

[CarCrafter]

Hi, My daughter has a 99 Taurus, 3.0 OHV. The heater isnt't hot. I have flushed the heater core. It helps for a while. On the engine side of the firewall, the heater hose splits into two lines, one goes through the heater core, while the other seems to bypass the heater core. Anyone seen this? This seems to make no sense, wouldnt the hot water always by-pass the core due to the higher restriction of the heater core? Can I block the by-pass hose and force all fluid throught the heater core?
Thanks

That by-pass hose you are referring to was designed to help reduce coolant cavitation. There should also be a restrictor in the intake manifold as well. Ford came up with a TSB to address the issues of cooling system failures due to water pumps being corroded beyond recognition on that particular car and its twin sibling (Mercury Sable) with the 3.0 Vulcan OHV engine. There is a special flushing procedure for this engine as well for this vintage after the repairs are made. Most of us just shoved the garden hose in the overflow tank and ran the engine for about a half hour or so while leaving the heater hose going to the water pump disconnected.

I would probably remove the water pump and check the condition if I were you. The images enclosed are from a 98 Mercury Sable. Compare the original water pump to the replacement, pay attention to the impeller or lack there of on the old one. This car was overheated as well and required head gaskets too.

PS Its not uncommon for these cars to live to see 11 years. They are pretty good cars for the most part. I've seen a couple that has over 400K in my time. Every so often you still see the original 87 model but that is pretty rare up here.

 

[little jimmy]

Strangly enough that is the problem that lead me to find this site and I have loved it ever since. I had the exact same problem with our car. I took the hoses off and flushed the heater core but it did not last more then a few weeks and the wife would say she had no heat again. After a few really cold nights of messing with it I took the bypass line off and replaced it with a hose with a valve in it that I left partly open but still it resticted it enough that the antifreeze had to go through the heater core. Yes I know its not the "correct" way to fix the problem but it worked for me. I open the valve full during the summer months and close it about half during the winter. It has been working for several years and a car with over 200 thousand miles and 12 years old is not something I want to stick a lot of money into repairs. Again I know it is a redneck way but it worked for very little $$.

 

[jethro29]

If what ket-tek recomended isn't the problem, before going through the hassle of swapping a heater core, I'd give it the CLR treatment. I've had great success by pulling the hoses at the fire wall, flushing w water, blow it out w compressed air then add about a 1/2 qt of CLR, let it sit for a few hrs then flush w a few gallons of water.

i agree, this is the best ever way to flush the heater core and have had great success with it.

 

[RAYJAY]

I can't believe you have an 11 yr old taurus that still runs.

why i have a 1993 and a 1994 still "running" the taurus are a great car, a lot of the problem with them are because there was a lot that were either rentals or company cars, and we all know how they are taken care of ..... the 3.0 is a strong motor the only weak link in them is the trans axle but the one's i have are 3.2 motors.........

jeff

my 1993

my 1994

 

[KenS]

Recommended viewing for posters and readers of this thread:

2001 Ford Taurus heater core shortcut replacement video...

 

[GB Hicks]

I had the same problem with my wife's 98. The easies way to see if the heater core is restricted is to let the car get too operating temp. Turn the heater on. then feel the heater inlet and outlet. If they are not restricted their will be only a minor drom in temp. If one is hot and the other is cool, the heater core is obstructed and needs to be pressure flushed or replaced.