Wheres the heat?

I was driving my car for awhile the other day and noticed I was not getting any heat blowing out of my car. I looked at the temp gauge and it was boucing around between the first and second mark past 130 degrees (somewhere around 160 or 180 im guessing) but never higher. I even let it sit in the driveway for 5 minutes after driving it for an hour and it never rose above that mark. Does that mean the thermostat is broken or is the heater core broke or something? I need to get it fixed cuz its freaking cold out. Thanks.

dude I am in the same boat on that one. I have a eater gore in the garage but I have a 93 ith A/C and the swap is goint to take 6 hours plus. Question, do you smell the tell tale maple syrup odor?

No I dont smell anything. I know that smell from other times but I def dont smell it now.

6 hours plus????
I know I'm crazy but I did mine in under an hour without taking the dash out. I worked through the glove box.

well I have been told by many that in the 93 with Air conditioning is a pain and cannot be done through the glove compartment. if it can then I will attempt it.

I'm betting that you did the core on Amanda's car, 351....the a/c cars (might be a '91-up thing too) are pretty much impossible to get at through the glove compartment, or so I've heard.

Ash

the shop wanted to charge me 600 to install it. So I say one weekend then I amgoing to install it myself. the shop said that it is a 8 hr job, I can probabally do it in less time (no Union Breaks)

The non a/c cars you pull the glovebox out and there is a panel with several bolts on it. You undo the heater hoses under the hood at the firewall and pull the access cover off the heater core and its right there.

On a/c cars you have to dang near uninstall the dash to get the heater core out.

My 90lx rarely gets to the halfway mark,I changed the t-stat and installed
a new radiator(it needed one anyway)I've had it to the 1/2 mark and a
little beyond a time or two but the temps were in the 90's and the a/c was running.

So..no they don't heat up very well...
but then,I don't drive mine in the winter.

OK so should I try to replace my thermostat then and see if my car will get warmer? or is it the heater core not letting the inside of my car warm up?

do the thermostat first. i just replaced mine today. had the same symptoms no heat in the cab. i put in a new one. and it's now a blazing furnace. just don't drop the bolt so it falls inside the pulley it's very hard to get out.

Do you have any other tips or suggestions I should do?

do the thermostat first. it's like 7 bucks. if that solves your problem awesome. if it doesn't well you are only out 7 bucks. i would be willing to guess it's the thermostat because your temp gauage is wacky. bad heater core wouldn't affect the temp gauge.

I have the same problem, car WILL NOT heat up.....I changed the thermostat just recently and got a new rad last summer, but it still wont get up past the first notch in the winter.

A few weeks ago it was really really cold in the morning before school, like -45ish (Celsius) with the windchill (only about -28 or so without wind).....I go out to start my car, starts no problem, so I let it warm up for 45 MINS before I go to school....so i get into it 45 mins later, and it's heated up to the second tick on the guage It was kinda warm, but as soon as I got on the highway to get to school, the damn thing cooled right off again!

yea I always heard that these cars were not very warm in the winter, but still you would think that at least some hot air would blow out after 45 min or an hour...

it is possible that its a 91+ thing, Yeah it was on amanda's car and her car has A/C. lol I never said it was easy but just that I did it. I'm getting tired of working on her car and leaving foot prints on the headliner.(i'd rather her do that.)

my car has the maple syrup smell when the ac is on... what does that mean??

Well I have a bran new thermostat that I didn’t need lol. Looks like the dash is going to come out of the car to replace the heater core some time soon. At least the thermostat is new right.

Maple Syrup = Heater Core and I hate to tell you man 91 and up well go to the sticky and look for the link to change it out. your looking at a couple of hours since you have A/C

make sure you have coolant in the system. One time the hose on our other mustang broke and coolant leaked out, and it smelled like the syrup smell you are probably talking about. Just make sure you have the right amount.