05 explorer no heat

[justin781]

Having a weird heat issue in my moms 05 explorer. She wasnt getting hot heat so i replaced the tstat, still no hot air. The heat control valve is not stuck open or closed, the left heater core hose gets really hot, the right heater hose gets hot but less hot than the left, bottom radiator hose is cold as should be.

I put 2 bottles of prestone coolant flush in to do the heavy duty clean, put both bottles of the flush and filled with water. Says to drive around for a few days before flushing. I just put it in today and its starting to get hotter, but not as hot as it used to before it started blowing cold.

When i switch the controls to defrost, air switches/comes the defrost vents but blows colder dash vents, switch back to dash vents, blows hot, back to defrost n its back to cold.

I dont get the clicking/thumping switching from cold to hot.

 

[MyExplorer03v8Lim]

I have the same issue. I havent replaced my tstat, because the temp gauge reads normal. I assume at 156k the heater core is spent. But maybe it's a systemic problem of generally clogged lines.

I have noticed that some of my lower coolant lines have tiny drips of coolant leaking from them. The amount is negligible and I haven't seen the reservoir drop at all yet.

Do our vehicles have a cabin air filter? I think not, but I'm curious if anyone knows definitively.

 

[Number Twelve]

These heater cores tend to get clogged up and a, "regular" flush doesn't get at them very well because they are already clogged up. No flow = no cleaning.

Sometimes you need to take the heater hoses off and inflict hydraulic forces on the heater core with a garden hose.

 

[07gtman]

Get about 8 feet of heater hose, and 4 hose clamps, a garden hose repair kit, male side (home depot) to fit your heater hose size 5/8 inside dia. i think...take off both heater hoses at the firewall/heater core, cut your heater hose you bought in half (2 4 foot lengths) male hose repair male connector on one hose,and attach to your house hose the other end to your heater core second 4 foot length to the other side of the heater core and put the second end in a bucket to catch the nasty that comes out ... start out slow not to much pressure until you get good flo ...dont forget the hose clamps...i have pinch off the coolant lines for the car with vice grips first before i remove the hoses from the heater core .... hope this helps

 

[justin781]

These heater cores tend to get clogged up and a, "regular" flush doesn't get at them very well because they are already clogged up. No flow = no cleaning.

Sometimes you need to take the heater hoses off and inflict hydraulic forces on the heater core with a garden hose.

Ya im getting some some flow, jus not enough. Thats why i decided to get two bottles of system cleaner and do the heavy duty clean to try n break up the gunk a little more while driving around for a few days instead of the quick 10mins flush. Once im ready to drain and fill, thats when i planned on doing a back flush. I jus didnt have the time today to do a good flush, so i figured put a couple bottles of the cleaner in and let it do what it can over the next few days instead of nothing at all until i do a good back flush. Jus wasnt sure if it could be something else too since it started gettin hotter from the dash vents already, but cold out the defrost. So weird that its hotter out the dash vents than the defrost vents.

 

[justin781]

Get about 8 feet of heater hose, and 4 hose clamps, a garden hose repair kit, male side (home depot) to fit your heater hose size 5/8 inside dia. i think...take off both heater hoses at the firewall/heater core, cut your heater hose you bought in half (2 4 foot lengths) male hose repair male connector on one hose,and attach to your house hose the other end to your heater core second 4 foot length to the other side of the heater core and put the second end in a bucket to catch the nasty that comes out ... start out slow not to much pressure until you get good flo ...dont forget the hose clamps...i have pinch off the coolant lines for the car with vice grips first before i remove the hoses from the heater core .... hope this helps

Ya this is what im going to do in a few days. Is the left heater core hose the in and the right is out? I want to so this but back flush/go the opposite way it normally goes. Just didnt have time today so figured throw some of the system flush in there to break up the crap for a few days until i have time to do a good flush.

 

[07gtman]

hope that works ...

 

[justin781]

Me too lol. Still doesnt make sense that the defrost is coming out cold but the dash vents hot.

 

[07gtman]

i havent had that issue yet, but there are some posts on that, something about the recirculate door i think ...not to sure

 

[07gtman]

Under dash panels

 

[07gtman]

having trouble copping

 

[justin781]

Under dash panels?
This car doesnt have the button for recirculating cabir air or switching to pulling outside air. First car ive seen that didnt have those buttons.

 

[2Trux]

Me too lol. Still doesnt make sense that the defrost is coming out cold but the dash vents hot.

The defrost is cold because the A/C runs when you are in defrost mode. Since you have very little hot from the heater the A/C makes a bigger difference.

 

[justin781]

The defrost is cold because the A/C runs when you are in defrost mode. Since you have very little hot from the heater the A/C makes a bigger difference.

Thats weird. Why would AC run on deforst mode? AC should have nothing to do with deforst. Jus robs you for more power n gas to have AC on while defrost is on. Who uses AC when they need to defrost lol. Stupid Ford.

So i finally had some free time today. After driving with the flush fluid in for a few days, i went out today to reverse flush the heater core. Came out crystal clear. No dirt, gunk, debris, no rust nothing. Drained the rest of the system n filled it back up, still no damn heat.

This damn thing is killing me. We're about to get a foot of snow tomorrow n my moms gota drive around w no heat.

 

[justin781]

So i dropped the glove box to look around in there. The top actuator(?) that has the red vacumm hose going to it, when i pull the vacuum line off, the rod comes out, the vents close, and i can feel vacuum when i put my finger on the end of the hose.

When i pull the blue vacuum hose off the bottom one, nothing happens and i dont feel any vacuum when i put my finger on the end of the blue hose.

 

[2Trux]

Thats weird. Why would AC run on deforst mode? AC should have nothing to do with deforst. Jus robs you for more power n gas to have AC on while defrost is on. Who uses AC when they need to defrost lol. Stupid Ford.

The reason the A/C runs is to remove the moisture from the air so the defrost can clear your window quicker. I don't think this is a "Stupid Ford" as most of the car makers do this.

 

[TechGuru]

The reason the A/C runs is to remove the moisture from the air so the defrost can clear your window quicker. I don't think this is a "Stupid Ford" as most of the car makers do this.

and it only comes on when the outside temp is 40+, below 40 it's not needed.

 

[mountaineer2004]

and it only comes on when the outside temp is 40+, below 40 it's not needed.

Mine comes on no matter how cold it is, even mid 20's ... any way to fix that, so, it only comes on at higher temps, like you posted? thanks...

 

[TechGuru]

Mine comes on no matter how cold it is, even mid 20's ... any way to fix that, so, it only comes on at higher temps, like you posted? thanks...

I just took a look at the wiring diagrams and I am only seeing the "ambiant temp sensor" on models with auto a/c and not manual a/c models.

This is confusing to me as I have a manual a/c model and experienced it not coming on in defog mode when it was about 42 degrees out, I had to switch between reg a/c and defog modes to get dry air to defog my windshield, once defogged I had to leave it on reg a/c.

My advice, better to have it come on and not need it than to need it and have it not come on.

If your winters stay below 40 all winter you could just disconnect the clutch power wire on the side of the compressor for the winter.

 

[07gtman]