to me the only way that hose can get hot that far up is if the water is going through the heater core...it would be the...pop bottle effect... if it were clogged completely up...it has to have water out to get water in...
Maybe the return hose has a problem or where it returns to the motor is gunked up. Is the radiator, etc. very rusty/cruddy ?
Heater core could still be partially clogged and flow. On the car I described earlier.....the "car wash" water would fly right thru the heater core...didn't seem closed at all. But....my car had no heat. Once I flushed it out...it was good for about two weeks....then it would be "no heat" again until I flushed it out again. It is either a heater core or a door/flapper issue.
Two more things come to mind. Take your heater hoses back off from the engine ( when it's cold ), and see if you can blow through the heater core by your mouth. It will be tight at first until the coolant is out, but you should be able to blow through it freely once the coolant has gone through. Putting a water hose to flush it will force water through it under pressure. It doesn't operate under near that pressure when in use, so make sure you can easily blow through it! Next, inspect both the ports on the engine for crud buildup reducing the size of the opening. If these are restricted, this will cause 1 hot hose and 1 cold one! What happens is the coolant will flow so slowly that the hose that is the outlet on the engine will be hot, but the heater core has cooled down by the time the coolant has passed through it, and the return hose is cool. I've had this happen several times with older vehicles! We will get you heat!!! It has to be getting narrowed down now!
Okay guys, thanks for all of your patience. Here is what just happened: First I disconnected both hoses and did the "blow test". Blew the water out of the heater core with ease, then could blow air through either hose, by mouth, with ease. What the heck, I'll reconnect the hoses to the motor and disconnect the heater core and blow that way, through the motor! Yep, I could do that as well, both directions. Next I disconnected the coil wire and turned the motor over for a few seconds to see if water pumped through either hose. Nope, nothing. Try it again, nope not a drop. So here's a question for you. Does the water leave from the outlet on the water pump and head to the heater core and return to the inlet on the block, or is it the other way around? And could something be wrong with my brand new water pump? Oh, so many questions.... As always, thanks for all your help! CommieHook
Chalk this mistake up to stupidity, I think. After playing with the hoses, blowing, flushing, whatever, I decided to put it all back together and see what happened. The hose from the block got hot pretty quick and the hose to the water pump got at least a little warm. Jump back in the car and what do you know, the air is somewhat warm! Well I can't wait to see what happens after the thermostat opens and the hot water really starts flowing! I have the radiator cap off this entire time and the water is completely topped off. Sure enough the thermostat opens, the hot water flows into the radiator (Overflows a bit, actually.) so I check the air in the car and it's back to cool! Ugh. I feel the hose from the block, still hot, feel the hose from the water pump and it has cooled off. Here is where my stupidity comes in. I has fashioned a quick disconnect "coupling" on that hose, so with it cool I decided to uncouple it to see if any water was flowing. Ouch. Steam burns, did you know that? Anyway, the cap was still off of the radiator so there shouldn't have been any pressure in the system, is it normal for steam and hot hot water to come out of that hose like it did? Especially if the hot water to the heater core is supposed to come from the block and back to the water pump, like I read it was? Any ideas? Have I lost all of you? CommieHook
It seems to me, if u have hot water in to the core and the ht valve out of the circuit completely -- u have a series circuit -- and shud be getting some heat regardless of which hose is going to the core. I still think ur problem is in the heater box - JMO.
Don, That was mention before. He installed it like before. But it's not that hard to verify. I still think pull the box and replace the core. Rick
Yes! The water pump is circulating the hot water through the block all the time. When you took off the hose the hot water came out the fitting that the hose normally connects to. I never did ask you if this is a V8 or 6 cyl car? If it's a V8, there is a bypass hose ( short right angle hose ) that goes from the intake manifold to the water pump. What this does is let water circulate within the block until the thermostat opens. The 6 cyl engine doesn't have a hose, this bypass is internal. The heater system is also a form of bypass. Water will flow through it all the time, unless the valve is closed, of course! Can you take a pic of how your hoses are connected to the engine? I'd like to see that if possible. Also, on my car with factory air, the heater connections sit side by side. Do yours, or are they one over the other one? If one sits over the other, the bottom hose should be the feed and the top the return. This won't affect the heat, it's to prevent " gurgling " noises in the heater. Just had another thought! If your car is a V8, are you sure you got the right water pump? There is a V belt drive that turns clockwise, and a flat belt that turns counter clockwise. I don't know the years of when what was used on what, but I'll guarantee someone else here does!
Just in case, I saw this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPECTRA-PRE...rd|Model:Maverick&vxp=mtr&hash=item2eb8ff8f96
may I make a suggestion...for new heater cores/radiators...have them checked at a radiator shop before installing. I've had one of each leak, new, right out of the box...(crack at a seam)...
I guess I somehow made things worse. Just drove it into town and before I could get back home the temp light came on, the engine was VERY hot. Ugh. Not sure where to go from here. A friend told me to let it cool down then take the thermostat out altogether, fill it back with water and drive it to see if it is any better. Someone else told me that maybe I have the wrong water pump in it and it "turns the wrong way"? What do you guys think? CommieHook
I believe u have an inline engine. To my knowledge there were no reverse wp on inline engines. If u have V8 it's a possibility. Yea! I wud agree - remove the stat and if it runs ok than that was the problem. If it still overheats - start lookin for something else. I think uv bn driving the car w/ that pump. If it was the pump u wud most likely had some problems sooner, rather than later. Can't rule anything out thou - just have to go thru process of elimination.
I've had brand new thermostats be bad! Also, ( no matter which way it was ) put the thermostat in with the spring part facing into the engine.
