I have had a code for a while now that = a Temp sensor. Now my question is does this effect the amount of heat you will get. The car takes a average of about 5 minutes to warm up according to the gauge yet the heat sometimes takes up to 1/2 hr to come on. I also noticed just now that even though the gauge says it running warmed up the hoses are cool to the touch and very felxible. Aren't they suppose to be hot and stiff? Also i noticed as i drive the air comes out hotter and when i'm idling it is only luke warm. Sorry for all the questions , i'm just confused. I ordered the part and will replace in a couple days i'm just wondering if there is anything else i should look at [therm?]

Thanx in advance.

 

You answered yourself. Youve probly got a leak. Could be the thermostat, or a lot of possibilties though.

 

No leakes, fluid is full and has been full the last 3 or 4 times i checked. I always here the fluid coming into the dash after i start and turn the heat on. I always think it was low because i shouldn't hear it trickle in like that but when i check it is completely full.

 

Anyone else ?...?

 

Definitely sounds like a low coolant level. Especially after you mentioned the "trickle" sound.

Make sure the radiator is full and the overflow canister is up the full cold mark.

To properly check the level, put the heater on full hot and the fan on full speed. Now go to the radiator and take off the radiator cap. Turn on the car and wait for the thermostat to open, it will suck down some more coolant when it opens.

Fill the radiator while the car is running until topped off and secure the cap back on the radiator. Watch the overflow reservoir and see if it too needs to be refilled as now it should be full up to the hot mark.

This should fix your heater problems.

 

Thanx i will try it out.

 

Ok i tried the above fix and everything was full. The heat as been intermittent. Sometimes it's pumping out great and then other times like this morning not a drop of heat, and of course today being the coldest day of the year so far [10 degrees] i drove around 45 minutes and not a drop of heat. I am thinking the thermostat is getting stuck [open or closed] Anyone?

 

It might be the thermostat. You can take it out and test it by suspending it with some thread in water and heat up the water, as the water nears boiling you should see the thermostat function.

Changing it is easy and cheap.

However, if stuck closed, the engine would not be able to cool off and the car would over heat as the fluid couldn't flow through the radiator.

If stuck open, the car would take a while to warm up as the engine was constantly being cooled.

It may be stuck open but after 45 minutes, you should've felt some heat even IF it was stuck open.

What was the temperature guage reading ?

 

The gauge reads normal temps after about 5-10 minutes of driving.Strange after i posted and went outside to check coolant level and it was now pumping out heat, but what the hell is going on here? I drove to the store and work as well as warming up this morning...45 minutes so i know it was warm as hellbut not a drop of heat. Then i shut it off for 5 minutes or so and when i went back out again this time there was heat. I'm leaning towards 2 things. 1.Temp sensor or 2. The linkage by the firewall that controls the opening of the heater core is messed up. I seen it working though the other day when i put on a/c them back to heat. The problem is soo strange, somedays it gets so hot i have to turn the heater off then today not a drop of heat and cold air blasting out, then back to heat later on after i shut the car off and went back 5 minutes later.

HELP!!!!!!

 

I think it is the thing (valve) that controls whether the heater core gets hot coolant. Try doing a flush. I know after I flushed and put Toyota Red / Distilled water 50/50 my heater works great and the car warms up really fast. I think the temp sensor is more for the gauge and diagnostics. I don't think the heating subsystem has much to do with it but I will check in my eFSM and Haynes when I get home.

 

if you think it's the coolant temp sensor just test it with a multimeter. it's an easy check and it'll tell you if it's the sensor thats bad. when my connections to my ECTS went bad i threw a 0908 CEL and it ended up just being a bad connection. i used some conductive grease and cleaned the prongs/pins and no problems. sounds as if your thermostat is sticking intermitently but it could be a variety of things. good luck!

 

So this morning i'm driving to work and BAMN! the upper radiator hose blows off the radiator. Collant everywhere. I get out and check and there's the upper hose not connected to the radiator, im like WTF! I push the hose back on,I start the car to return home [never made it to work] and the car is bucking like crazy at amy speed above 20mph it would slowly climb to 45-50 but if i try to push the accelerator a little harder it starts buckin like crazy. I am thinking the bucking is from everything getting wet. I am bringing the car to the shop that did the heater core a few months back because the heat hasn't worked since they replaced it. What could cause the hose to blow off like that. I know it was tight because i tightened it after it did the same thing the day after i got the heater core done and i thought they just didn't tighten it. Any suggestions on what is going on? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well it seems i have a bad radiator according to the mechanic. The actual radiator isn't bad but where the upper hose connects to the radiator there isnt but 2 inches of sleeve left so the hose won't stay connected and he says it's sucking in air [which explains the trickling noise when i turn on the heat]. I don't know if it was like this when i bought the car or if it has broken off since, if it did break off, peices of it might be stuck in the thermostat causing it to stay open. They are gonna replace the radiator and see if that fixes the problem with the heat and go from there.

 

That sucks dude, but this answers a lot of your questions. Hopefully this'll fix it.

Winter has come a smidge early, you really don't want to be without heat.

 

this is so true!