Ok, i looked around for the heater issue and can't find anything similar.

I had my coolant flushed and filled in august when my truck was running really hot at stop lights and such. no more overheating. But, now that its in the 30s on a daily basis, i use my heat every trip. The problem is that it takes forever for my engine temp to rise to about 200 and then when it does, my heat isn't as hot as it was last year. I use to drive 20 miles last year and have to turn my heat off because it was so toasty, now, i am still freezing cold after 30. I sat in my truck tonight with it running for 20 minutes after driving 15 miles to school and had my heat on full blast the whole trip. I put my hand over my defroster vents (which is all i had selected on the dial) and it wasn't really hot, it was only warm. This is a problem because my truck is what i use to drive around my little cousins and niece when i pick them up from school and practices.


The other problem is that i have a mysterious leak. it only happens after my truck sits for long extended periods of time. i can sit for 2 hours with it off and no drip but after being parked all night for 6-7 hours, i will have a puddle of dark black/brown fluid under my passenger side of the firewall but can't find a source. I have spent 20-30 minutes every morning for the past week before work trying to find the source and can't. I took it to a shop, put it up on a lift and still can't find it.

My fear is that my heater core is going and i don't have the cash to do it right now let alone time to be without a truck to drive for family, work or school.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? all my fluids are still at normal levels which is why i'm so confused.

 

Air bubble in the heater core?

 

Heater core leaking possibly, does it leak right behind the front right tire? did you flush the coolant? If a shop did it maybe they pulled the thermostat to keep it from overheating- that would give you the low heat.

 

the T-stat is there, i actually had it replaced. i'll check for bubbles. the leak is right behind the right front tire, about 6-8 inches in. My engine temp still sits at about 200ish but the heat isn't coming from the vents as strong.

thanks for the help, i'll check it out when i get home. Stupid question, how do i check for bubbles? just low coolant?

 

Sounds like the heater core has a leak, probably small, and its puddling up in the box it sits in and then leaks out over time. Can you hear a water rushing or gurgling sound behind the dash? Mine never overheated but you could smell the coolant in the cab, no way to really see a bubble in the core- try getting the right front higher then the rest of the car take radiator cap off and keep it topped off when running and see if any bubble pop up. For the lack of heat either the air in the core or it could be your blend door not working properly

 

What is your ambient air temp on this drive, my 04 takes probably a max of ten minutes to get to around 205, in 20f degree weather, maybe your new thermostat is stuck open, or not the OE temp

 

my gauge is running at a little below the 210 mark. not 200 but just below. i sent my truck into the shop about a month ago to get a vacuum leak taken care of (or so i thought) i kept hearing it through my vents with or without the air on. after my intake was replaced, i was still hearing it a little bit.

The leak actually makes sense to me i guess. the puddle started forming after the vacuum leak sound went away. thanks for all the help guys, i didn't want to hear that it was a leak because thats something i don't want to have to replace but i guess i do. i'll go to the shop on friday and see what i can find. i planned on taking my dash off this spring anyways to sound deaden everything but maybe this will make it easier for me to do.... 2 birds 1 stone aspect i guess.


I'll fill you in if i can find the leak and what not

 

Yea, not the most fun job to replace some of the bolts can be anoying to get to, if your going to do your self, read up on some of the write ups and videos around, will give you a little preview of what you have to do. Good luck. Hope it goes well

 

buddy's uncle owns a mechanics shop. for $40 i can have a lift all day long and use their tools and databases. but thanks for the tip. we'll be heading over there once i'm out of school for christmas break. stupid finals next week ruin all the fun lol

 

well i located the mysterious leak. my core is still in one piece, my oil pan gasket has a very small leak that has gotten a lot worse since yesterday. I crawled under there today and found where the leak is. it started dripping down bad and i could follow the drips back up behind the exhaust.

so saturday is fix day. i'm dropping the pan and replacing it along with doing my oil change. perfect timing haha. going to do some tests on my heat while in the shop too