I didn't want to bump any of the relevant threads because of the high probability of getting yelled at, lol. Not sure why old threads are hated, but here I am conforming to your wishes.

The problem: NO HEAT in my 96 Country (RHD).

What I've done: Read more than 10 threads and watched a few videos. All that led to me doing a fresh water flush in both directions multiple times. At first, it seemed plugged.....but with some love, patience, and switching from intake to outgoing, it began to flow through. I got some black sediment poops, but not nearly what I expected based on others' experiences. I let the Jeep run for a little less than 10 minutes and went back out to check for heat. I had some! More than before......but not nearly hot.

Questions:

1, My AC is nonexistent. Is that ok? I don't think that matters for making heat, but thought I'd mention it.....all the parts are there, they're just added weight right now.

2. When you go out on a 40-degree day and warm yours up, how long does it take for the air blowing through your vents/defrost to reach their max level of heat?

3. What would you do next? Keep flushing? Do the vinegar soak? Give somebody a bunch of money to fix it and never understand what went wrong?

TIA!

 

Does your Jeep warm up to operating temp 195*-210*?

 

Yes, shoulda mentioned that, sorry.

 

No prob, just trying to start simple, a faulty thermostat. But if you get warm, hmmm. These heater cores you know are just a mini radiator, and sometimes I think with age and sediments just get plugged and it's time to replace, which I know is a beast of a job. You got a lot of miles?

 

Mileage is tricky.......it was originally sold in Japan.....so you'd think it was km....odo shows 214000.....but when I track MILES with an app, I get about 9/10ths of a mile every time the odo ticks over one. Yeah, more infor than you ever wanted, lol. Tires are stock, no lift. Mail delivery vehicle.

 

No, more info the better. Being a mail Jeep, your Jeep is always running, not necessarily putting on km, (miles), but running. Have you maintained a good cooling system, it's a 96, does it still have that pos heater valve, or does your hoses run straight in and out of the heater core?

 

Bought it in March, it was really neglected and we've been finding stuff and making it healthier as we go. It has a new radiator, and the flush we did at that time didn't have any crazy sludge or bad colors to speak of.

Educate me on this heater valve you're talking about. The two heater hoses I believe go straight to the core, but maybe there's something I'm not understanding. They are routed right to those nipples at the firewall, kind of a different route on the RHD than normal. If I was home I'd attach a pic.

 

No, your correct, 96 is a transition year. Mine is a 95, it has a horrible plastic heater valve, which is good in a way, cause coolant isn't always flowing thru my heater core. However this thing gets hot and brittle and fails. Yours is set up to the 97+ where the heater hoses run directly into your heater core then out, regardless. I would bet your heater core is cashed, it has constant coolant flowing thru, and if you had to do the radiator, I'd say the core is stopped up.

 

Agreed. You got some of it, but not all of it, and there is still not enough coolant flowing through to make a lot of heat.

For reference, my 94 and my 97 would roast me out with outside temps in the 30s.

It might be worth trying a radiator flush product in your cooling system. OR, dump a Tide pod in the radiator and drive that way for a couple of weeks. Yeah, I'm serious. Some folks like Dawn. I used to recommend Amway SA8, which I have used many times with good success, but it's just a hassle getting hold of it. You can find the Amway site and figure out how to find a dealer near you.

If that doesn't do it, well, time for a new core, probably.

 

I say go team go

 

One of the reasons they eliminated the heater valve was because not having flow through the heater core increased the amount of sludge. I'd say it's still partially plugged.

When I converted my 89 to the open setup and flushed the heater core, I got a ton of brown goo out while flushing back n forth. I went from so-so heater to tons of heat. No downside to eliminating the heater valve if you have one.

 

Did did you use anything besides just water to get your brown goo out..... Like BlueRidgeMark was suggesting above? And how many flushes did it take to finally clean out going forward and back? I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect, even though it sounds like situations can vary greatly.

Thanks everybody.

 

I started with a bucket of really boiling hot water the first pass which barely flowed through, then just went back and forth with the garden hose until it ran clear. It would blow brown then clear, swap directions it'd throw more brown, etc.

 

Make sure you have a working 195 degree thermostat

 

When my 2000 heater core plugged up I did the forward/reverse garden hose flush. Switched back and forth probably 50 times. It was running clear. Then I kinked the garden hose and stated pulsing it on for about a second at a time. A new gout of rusty crap started flowing out again. Continued that until no more rust. It's still blowing good heat 2 years later with no leaks. So maybe a little water hammer can help open yours up more.