Heater nightmare

MITSUBISHIOWNERGALA

MEMBER
2005 MITSUBISHI GALANT
2.4L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
80,000 MILES

Hi There. I have a hard time finding a problem on my Mitsubishi galant es 2.4 2005. The heater is working hot for about a minute when I turn the air on and then it's cold after another minute. I have checked the thermostat and it seems to open correctly. I have flushed the heater core with water and CLR to clean any possible debris. The water seems to be flowing to the heater core without restriction. The coolant level is also correct. I have removed the glove box compartment to see if the heater trap switch when I change from cold to hot settings and it also open and close correctly. Yesterday, I have notice if the car is parked and I push the gas pedal to about 2500-3000 rpm it get hot but as soon as I release the gas pedal it's cold again. I am starting to thing maybe the water pump is not pushing sufficient liquid into the heater core. The thermostat have no jiggle valve on it I have a hard time figuring what was the correct position to put it. Can a cheap aftermarket thermostat can cause heater problems? Is it possible that the thermostat without jiggle valve trap air into the system? The upper radiator hose is also kind of soft and when I hit the gas it become very hard. Sorry my English is not very good. Thanks, Peter

1 Reply

JOHNNYT73

MECHANIC
924 POSTS

This to me is a pretty good sign that you still have air in the system. This same symptom happens to GM passenger cars. You need to remove the radiator cap when cold, start the engine, turn on the heat, let the car idle till it reaches operating temp (thermostat opens), Then begin raising the rpm to 2500-3000 and holding it for about 5 seconds, do the repeatedly until you no longer see bubbles in the coolant, keep the coolant level up. Once you have heat at idle then return the cap and you should be good to go after that.