1976 Ford E-Series Van Heater output not hot enough

RANGER812572

MEMBER
1976 FORD E-SERIES VAN
5.8L
V8
165,000 MILES

This van sat for 20 years, and I finally put a rebuilt engine and C6 trans in it. The carburetor needs love, but it still runs. All my gauges work, and the temp occasionally reads 3/4 of the way to hot, and even with a brand new heater core and new coolant, I'm not getting a lot of heat. Could this be water pump related? The blower motor works great, and with it being 10 degrees at night, my drive to work is cold!

Sunday, November 24th, 2013 AT 2:22 AM

3 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

Feel the heater hoses when the engine is warmed up. They should be too hot to hold onto for very long. If they are cool, look for a heater control valve that isn't opening. You won't have one if the van came without air conditioning.

If the hoses are hot, look at the levers on the heater box to be sure they're moving all the way and a cable casing isn't slipping in its mount.

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Sunday, November 24th, 2013 AT 2:44 AM

RANGER812572

MEMBER
52 POSTS

No AC. If hoses are cool, then what is the problem? If hot and the blend door cable isn't messed up, what then?

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Sunday, November 24th, 2013 AT 4:02 AM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

Lets figure out what you have going on so I don't have to type every possibility. Cool heater hoses means poor circulation. Cool radiator hoses means your gauge isn't reading correctly. Hot heater hoses means the air isn't going through the fins of the heater core.

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Sunday, November 24th, 2013 AT 4:25 AM