heater issues...help please

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Joined
Apr 13, 2006
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104
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1,370
Location
Edmonton, AB/Vancouver Island, B.C.
alright so....in now in Edmonton, Alberta and its cold as balls....i have no heat in my truck. the heater worked find when i was on the coast and then i installed a circulating block heater in the truck. drove all the way out to edmonton with NO heat and now im having trouble getting the heat to work again. i did not drop all the coolant when i did the block heater, just spliced into the heater system. i have tried to get any air out of the system by letting the truck run with the rad cap off, i have left it run for 15-20 minutes twice now and still blowing cold and coolant is overflowing out of the rad. im not sure what to do and i dont have tools or a place to work, so im working on the street in -20 weather...any advice would be much appreciated, i dont think its the t-stat because i will get warm air SOMETIMES from the heater but usually just cold...im kind of to the point where i might just take this into a shop because im going to be driving about 4 hrs north in the next couple days and NEED heat...thanks guys!
 
If it had good heat before the block heater install, sounds like air in the system (or could the control valve have been buggered with during the install?).

I don't know the minis, but try parking it with the heater hoses as low as possible (i.e. on an incline with the front of the truck high) and revving it with the heater on full blast to burp the air out of the heater lines. Is there a high hose connection to the heater that you can crack open to bleed air out that way?
 
You have air in your system. Drill a 1/8 hole in the thermostat and that will cure it for ya. Warm it up and let the term open up and your good to go.
 
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You have air in your system. Drill a 1/8 hole in the thermostat and that will cure it for ya. Warm it up and let the term open up and your good to go.

Can you explain how this is going to help get the air out, or give him more heat? If you drill a hole in the thermostat, coolant will be flowing always, thus it won't stay in the engine till it's up to temp, making the engine run slightly cooler.
 
Can you explain how this is going to help get the air out, or give him more heat? If you drill a hole in the thermostat, coolant will be flowing always, thus it won't stay in the engine till it's up to temp, making the engine run slightly cooler.

x a billion.....
not to mention, if it's an auto trans.....you will never see OD if the engine doesn't get to operating temp.

x3 on possible air in the system.....
clogged heater core
or themostat
 
turned out being just lots and lots of air, i was concerned because i had tried letting it idle for about 20-30 min with no results...ended up leaving it for about an hour or so and now i have heat again! thanks guys
 
Can you explain how this is going to help get the air out, or give him more heat? If you drill a hole in the thermostat, coolant will be flowing always, thus it won't stay in the engine till it's up to temp, making the engine run slightly cooler.

If you go to the dealer and buy a factory thermastat it has the hole and a brass stopper in it to allow for the air to escape. a 1/8 hole is not that large and you will find the thermastat does open and close. True you do have a smalll amount always moving past but your temp will be in the normal range like always. Non factory parts don't always have the hole for the air to bypass thru.

I've run many Yotas both auto and manual like this for years with no issues. This idea was given to me by a Toyota dealer service tech. He said it came from a Toyota TSB he read years ago. Its worked for me for over 20 years. I never have had an air problem in the system since.
 
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huh....i will keep that in mind if i have problems again, or just cough up the coin for a toyota thermastat. cheers guys

maybe ill post a pic of the truck when i get home...just for kicks
 
Isn't that much more expensive than an aftermarket replacement, if at all.

X2
A factory therastat is not a whole lot more than aftermaket.

I've done it when there is no Toyota store in the area or after store hours. The factory stuff is almost always the best for sure. It's just a quick fix so it doesn't happen.

The dodge caravans are much worse at keeping air in the systems. Some of the Dodge dealers do this every time they replace one.
 

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