If I do, will I have cooling problems? I'd like to block the return line at the radiator.

 

No
Yes

 

I don' know why you want to block the flow, but one time I bypassed the heater core with a 5/8" barbed elbow from the autostore that I inserted just forward of the firewall between the two heater hoses.

If you have a 12A with beehive oil cooler you might be subverting that.

If you block an outlet you probably have to also block an inlet to prevent sucking air into the cooling system and subverting THAT. Or, reversing flow from system pressure and blowing all the coolant out.

Generally, one would guess, it is better to shunt around something than to block flow.

I would advise against an experiment without previously doing a careful analysis of the FSM section on the cooling circuits. And when you do an experiment have your remote Infrared temp sensor at hand ($40 at Harborfreight).

 

Sorry, I didn't give enough info. It's an 82 bone stock with an air oil cooler. I live in south Louisiana and it ain't cold down here long enough to worry about keeping a heater operational. My hose was busted where the heater return line goes into the radiator. Rather than buying a new hose for $16 I was gonna cap off the return line and the stub sticking out of the lower radiator. My car has been sitting about 7 years and I'm trying not to spend too much money on it.

 

Its freaking 16 bucks!!!!! Fix it right!

Besides I live in the south I lived in Lake Charles, LA for awhile, if you live in a warm climate you want as much water in the system as you can.

 

im with matt come on
go to a junk yard and buy one for a dollar..

 

i have mines blocked at the radiator. reason for that is because i have a broken heater core.

 

$16 bucks vs. 7 years? I think your doing just fine man, Go ahead and by that hose, lol.

 

A short piece of regular hose shouldnt cost you more than $10.

 

Even in warm climates you need your heater to keep the windshield from fogging when the humidity is high, which is most of the time in south LA (I know, I used to live in New Orleans). Not having a functioning heater is a safety hazard.

 

um i just bought that same hose at vato zone for 2 bucks. 2 feet of 5/8th's at 99 cent a foot plus clams was like 4 bucks all together

 

I just replaced that very hose with a generic 5/8" heater hose from the local Tru-Value hardware store for less than a buck. I'm about as cheap as anyone can be, so I didn't even use gas, I just walked 2 blocks to the HW store.

If you're too cheap even for that, you can cut a section out of an old hose from just about any car because you only need about a foot.

Lube the interior of each end of the hose with some of that scummy soap residual on the soapdish in the bathroom or kitchen to make installation easy. Put that soap to work!

Cooling system function is absolutely required on a rotary. Don't screw around with experiments without careful analysis followed by accurate measurements. trial-and-error crap just leads to blown engines.

 

All I asked for was an answer to a simple question and I got dogged for being cheap!
!@#$ you.

Maybe my heater core is busted too. If it's not I'm sure it will soon, everything else is rotten on this rag.

Ray Green, the A/C needs to work in order for the defroster system to work efficiently. Mine doesn't and I'm missing some ducts.

Thanks BLIFFLE for giving me a technical answer.

 

68w46, most of the guys are having fun at your expense, because they themselves are just as tightwadded so just relax roll with the flow and realise its all in fun

incidentally if your cooling system is in good shape the heater cores volume will make no difference. while it is handy in an emergency to give extra cooling, that is simply a benefit of it and it was not originally designed as a cooling unit for the engine. so if its not there its fine.

kenn

 

Also one bad thing about bypassing the heater core it is possible that later if you want t hook the core back up the old fluid that was in the core will make the core go bad. If you do bypass it make sure you flush it out good