1987 NA heater not working
 

Moving down my list, checking things off.

I'm currently working on getting my AC up and running (now that it's summer). I wanted to go ahead and fix my heater before the fall rolls in. I live in S. Texas and down here the rain brings foggy windshields so having heat and AC is more safety than comfort. Although, it's nice to warm up from the 50F winters ;)

So, got the car a year ago-- heater never worked. PO said he thought the core might be clogged, but he never checked into it.

I had hoped that draining the coolant for rebuild might bring the heater back to life but it didn't. I spoke with a mechanic friend of mine who mentioned an air bleed valve that some older cars have to allow air pockets in the heater core to escape and allow the coolant to flow and conduct the heat to the cabin-- I haven't been able to locate one.

So my questions...
> How do I determine if there is air in the core, or it's a physically hard obstruction/debris clogging it?
> How can I resolve that issue, or am I screwed and need to get a new/used one from junk yard?
> How difficult is this? I've swapped entire AC system into this car, so I can get under the dash easily for evap coil and get into the bay for the AC lineset. I've never messed with heater piping though.

ANY and all productive leads are appreciated guys. I got this car as a track car but with life changes I'm slowly making it my daily. Thanks again.

The heater core has two hoses to it. One hose is the incoming hose thus the other hose must be the outgoing hose. If the heater core was good and free flowing then both hoses would be warm to the touch it would seem as the car warms up. Also, there is a valve under the dash which takes the heat from the core and passes it through to the blower. If the valve was stuck in one position then it would prevent any heat built up in the core from making it to the vents. Using the advanced search feature should give you more detail about this.

Thanks for the quick response Satch.

After driving home I popped the hood while it was running and felt both hoses for the heater core, both were hot, the passenger side hose was by far more hot (like scalding). The driver side was uncomfortably hot and softer so I was able to compress and verify there was pressure on the line.

I'm going to search for the valve and venting doors for the core. I'll check which ever is easier to get to and verify first. If I remember, checking fixing the doors requires removing the dash.

If both hoses are warm, then the heater core is working-- correct? Just want to know if I should eliminate a bad core as a possibility or not.