Odd heater operation

[Titleist16]

Besides my starter making noise, I noticed tonight when driving home that the faster I go the colder my heater gets. If I stop at a light for a minute or two it gets hot again. I've also noticed that when I get on the freeway the heater never really gets hot. This only happens at night. i just put a new heater core in it. my heater hoses are routed from the water pump to the choke, from the choke to the top heater tube, from the bottom heater tube to the therostat housing. What the deal?

 

[pedal2themetal45]

I'm haveing the same problume...
I'm going to put a pieace of cardboard in front of the rad. and see if that helps...
Might need a new thermo stat,
tim

 

[falcon60]

You need a new thermostat. The added cooling of the airflow through the radiator at higher speeds removes the heat produced by the engine and there isn't enough for the heater to function.The thermostat controls how much water reaches the radiator-only lets it circulate through it when the engine is warm enough to need it.
I'll bet your temp gauge reads very low on the highway,right? A new 'stat will fix you right up.

Terry

 

[66 Fastback]

I had heater problems one time on the Mustang and tried blocking off the radiator a bit. Engine was hot but the heater was not. The car had sat for many years. I tore the heater apart and found a bunch of crud plugging the heater core. Some of the metal in it was a spring from the radiator hose. Replaced the heater core since I had taken it out and heater works fine now. You could disconnect your heater hoses and try to hook up a garden hose to flush the heater core to see if you have some blockage.
Doug

 

[Titleist16]

Yeah my temp gauge never really moves. i just put a new thermostat in about 7-8 months ago. i've heard that a lot of new thermostats don't work correctly and stay open. Is 180 a good temp for a thermostat?

 

[JackFish]

You can test it by suspending it in a pot of boiling water, and a temp. probe, candy thermometer, etc. It might be stuck. I would move the spring thingy a few times just to make sure it's free and functioning before installing. Worth checking anyways.

 

[falcon60]

Yeah my temp gauge never really moves. i just put a new thermostat in about 7-8 months ago. i've heard that a lot of new thermostats don't work correctly and stay open. Is 180 a good temp for a thermostat?

180 is a good all-around temp. A 195 'stat works great in cold weather but most folks like a 180 better in the summer. You're right about t-stats being defective.....far more new bad ones than there used to be.

Terry