No heat coming out--Help

[sgtdon]

The wife was driving my 2004 Explorer 4.6 SOHC and the heat was working one minute and then it stopped working. We flushed the heater core but there was no blockage. We check the temp on the radiator hoses, top was 137 degree's and bottom was 87 degree's, then checked the heater core lines against the firewall in the engine compartment one was very warm and the other was just warm. The inside when I change the temp and the heater positions we hear a noise like they are working.
A/C works fine. We are going to change the thermostat Saturday. I do not know why is is not putting out heat, everything works and the temp guage has not gotten any hotter and maybe just a hair colder on the dash.

ANY IDEA's what to check and how???? Thank you in adviance for any replies
"IT IS COLD OUTSIDE NOW!!!!!" I could really use some idea's for help on this.
After we change the thermostat I do not know where to go next if it does not work. We are on a fixed income so everything is really tight. So please rack your brains on a solution. this site has already saved me close to $1000.00 with your answers and I appreaciate all of them!! thank you all for your answers in the past. Please try and help me on this one. I live in Northwest Ohio and it is getting cold.

2004 Explorer XLT 4.6, classIII tow pkg, luggage rack, running boards, wind deflectors, and a new steel hood (got rid of that corroding aluminum one that Ford refuse to fix after they repaired it twice and I brought it back to them for the thrid time and they refused to repair it again.) (new steel hood, primmed & paint, installed, and new hood struts $450.00, I though was pretty good) sgtdsb@roadrunner.com

 

[Exproblems]

The inside when I change the temp and the heater positions we hear a noise like they are working.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What kind of noise do you hear? Does it sound like a repetitous clunking or clicking noise coming from behind the dashboard? If thats what you hear, your "blend door actuator" is bad and needs replacing. This actuator rotates the temp blend door from the cold side to the hot side when you adjust the temp control knob. The actuator costs between $80-$90 from a Ford dealership. Use your VIN number when purchasing the part. The link below will show how to repair it, thanks to "BigRondo" for the post!


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294140

 

[BigRondo]

I concur with Exproblems!

 

[Exproblems]

I concur with Exproblems!

>>>>>>>>>

You can tell that winter is coming soon. Lots of people posting messages about no heat in vehicle. BTW, Congrats, your Pats are alone in first place in the division, for now.

 

[BigRondo]

>>>>>>>>>

You can tell that winter is coming soon. Lots of people posting messages about no heat in vehicle. BTW, Congrats, your Pats are alone in first place in the division, for now.

Winter is definitely on the way.

Pats have a bye this week. Good luck with the Redskins!

 

[Exproblems]

Pats have a bye this week. Good luck with the Redskins!

>>>>>>>>>

Bills have a bye week this weekend also. Thanks on Redskins game, they'll need it, lots of injuries on team, offense and defense. Redskins game is considered a home game for Bills, but it's played up in Toronto, Canada, 90 minutes away.

 

[sgtdon]

I would like to thank EXPROBLEMS AND BIG RONDO for your DETAILED instructions on how to fix my heating problem. I could not believe the detail and step by step instructions and with "PHOTO'S" too! You guys are unbelievable, thank you so much for your answers. But I hate to say it, we did find out the problem for this incident. It was in the engine compartment, it was the heater control valve. We checked it first and it moved so we figured it wqas OK and then a friend came in after changing the thermostat who had an older Explorer and asked if we check the heater control valve and I said yah it moved and we were going to print out the instruction on changing the Actuator inside the car. He said wait a minute and told me to change from heater to A/c and back. He then said hey guys the screw is not turning on top just the valve arm. So we took it off and it actually fell apart after we did. The screw was just rusted through completely! My car now puts out heat I Like it never has before. All I have to do now is take back the Actuator to Ford that I picked up this morning.

Thank you all so much for your answers and help!! It is really appreciated. At least now I know where to get the instructions if the Actuator goes out. Don

 

[Exproblems]

But I hate to say it, we did find out the problem for this incident. It was in the engine compartment, it was the heater control valve. >>>>>>>>>>! My car now puts out heat I Like it never has before. All I have to do now is take back the Actuator to Ford that I picked up this morning.

Thank you all so much for your answers and help!! It is really appreciated. At least now I know where to get the instructions if the Actuator goes out. Don

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You are welcome! But most of the thanks needs to go to "BigRondo", he is the one who originally posted the fix with the great pictures and is quite helpful in here on many issues with these Ford Explorers and is quite knowledgeable. I just recently had the blend door actuator replaced on my Ex so I know what it entailed to R&R it and used BigRondo's instructions and photo's myself. The photo's come in real handy. I wasn't able to remove the actuator myself, just too big of a guy and didn't have the room or flexibilty to reach up under that dash, but I did remove the console and everything else up to the actuator removal. I had my mechanic do the rest. He charged me $120 or 1 1/2 hrs labor and I paid $82 for the actuator, so I got the job done for $200 which was a steal compared to the $680 parts and labor the Ford dealership wanted for this job.
I also recently removed the failed "air recirculation door" that was blocking the flow of blower air to my dash vents. This one I did myself. If you ever have this problem arise, just ask me about it or there are lots of posts on this repair job as well in here. Both of these problems are very common with these Explorers.
Glad to you got your vehicle fixed, don't know much about these heater core valves, not sure if my EX 2005 4.0L V-6 has one on it. FYI, don't take the new Ford Actuator out of it's box if you haven't yet, Ford doesn't like to take back electronics parts for refunds after you've opened the box they come in. When I bought mine, this is what the parts counter guy at Ford told me. If you did open the box, still take it back, just might have to argue you with them a bit.

 

[sgtdon]

Thank you again and I already talked with the parts manager who is a friend of mine at our local Ford dealer. He already told me he would take it back if we did not need it and we did NOT open the box. so thanks again everyone. I still can not believe how detailed those instructions were that BigRondo posted. It had to of taken him days to do all of that with the photo's.

 

[BigRondo]

Thank you again and I already talked with the parts manager who is a friend of mine at our local Ford dealer. He already told me he would take it back if we did not need it and we did NOT open the box. so thanks again everyone. I still can not believe how detailed those instructions were that BigRondo posted. It had to of taken him days to do all of that with the photo's.

sgtdon, you are very welcome. You're right about it taking some time to put together the write-up. It took a whole lot longer to do the write-up than it did for the actual repair. Just trying to give a little back to the forum that has saved me countless dollars since the day I joined.

Glad you got your problems sorted and glad I could help out.

 

[sgtdon]

You did a great job and hopefully it will help a lot of people who have that problem. I know it took a very long time,ESPECIALLY because of how detailed it was. GREAT JOB! Thank you for taking time to help other people, it is appreciated VERY VERY MUCH! Don

 

[BigRondo]

You did a great job and hopefully it will help a lot of people who have that problem. I know it took a very long time,ESPECIALLY because of how detailed it was. GREAT JOB! Thank you for taking time to help other people, it is appreciated VERY VERY MUCH! Don

No problem, you are very welcome. I took a minimum of 5 pictures per step to ensure that I had a good photo.