[wayneooo]

ok i bought a 97 dodge dakota has a few problems yeah u get them when buying a used vech. here is mine ........the engine runs great heats up to 200 on the gauge but blows out cold air. so i put in rad flush, picked up a new thermostat, and plugs ( who knows when they where changed last figure do that while its still nice out), when i drained some of the antifreeze out to add the flush the water didnt feel like it was 190 or 200 was hot more like tap water hot so is my dash gauge wrong or the reostat dial frigged up so it dont turn on the heat?

[E.Furgal]

might have just the climate door acuator not working.. leaving the heater closed off from the blower.. and giving you just outside air..
was the heater hoses(both) hot to touch?? if so.. I'd go looking at the door acuator...

[67Mustang Al.]

If its a heater thats not working then you should find the valve that opens the flow to the heater core and check that it works and both sides of the valve have hot heater hoses. If you have 200, sit your hand on top of the radiator for a split second to see if the top part of your radiator feels hot which would give you a clue whether the 200 is near the mark. If its only warm then you have deeper problems concerning the flow of coolant through the heads and back to the top of the radiator.
From a cold start check to see if the thermostat is working by waiting a few minutes at idle with your hand on the radiator hose next to the thermostat. It should be cold until the temp gauge moves up and the thermostat opens. Then the hose should heat up quickly as the coolant flows. I am assuming your water pump is ok and its not suffering corrosion problems .??
Cheers
Al.

[timothale]

In some cars the heater is above everything else and air gets trapped inside. one fix if you can get to the hose connection is to loosen the hose slide it back a ways, drill a small air bleed hole in the heater tube, start the car and when you get coolant out the hole slide the hose back and tighten the clamp. another way is to burp the engine cooling system. with a good radiator cap and the overflow bottle half way full cover the front of the radiator with cardboard, start the engine and it will warm up fast and burp coolant and air into the overflow bottle, then spray cold water over the radiator to cool it off and it should suck coolant back into the engine, if that works. add more coolant to the bottle and repeat the process until it doesn't burp any more air into the overflow. and the heater should work if that was the problem.

[timothale]

when it is warm and running you can sometimes remove the radiator cap and see the coolant moving. I had one used car that the pump impellor was loose on the shaft, not pumping anything, the heat would make the hot water move to the top of the radiator like on a model T ford that did not use a water pump.

[wayneooo]

ok well i drained the rad and changed the thermo ill check the heater hoses and other stuff in the am i was thinking it is maybe a heater door stuck of course its way under the dash somewhere thanks for all the info

[wayneooo]

all the doors seems to be working they switch from floor to dash to defrost ok nothing sticks, would the heater control be the cause? rotary switch how do i check this??