Now that the winter is here, I've noticed a number of threads pop up about poor heater performance. I'd like to test a theory.

Of course heater performance is subjective. Someone driving their FD in 10 degree weather won't report the same level of heater performance as someone driving in 40 degree weather. So for the sake of this poll, please assume we're talking about using your heater in temps below freezing.

Thanks!

 

Just out of curiosity, hows your heater treating you Matt?

 

It takes a lot longer than my other old car to get up to temperature. Since I have such a short commute (not complaining!), it's really not fully warmed up till I'm just about arriving :P The clutch on my DD gave up the ghost so I'm driving the FD this week

As you could probably tell from the poll, my suspicion is that the grey gunk that builds up around the edges and on the dipstick of the overflow tank may be getting caught up in the narrow passages of the heater core and blocking both the flow of water and heat transfer. Ideally, removing the core and cutting it open would tell, but since I'm not going to do that, I started the poll instead ;P

 

All the gunk getting stuck in the overflow tank could be the stuff that gets the heater core clogged and has worked its way to the end of the system. Too bad about the VR-4 but at least theres another FD on the road freezing their butt off.

 

Misery loves company ;P

 

my hair dryer is hotter than my heater freeze my *** off every nite

 

My heater works fair but i have not checked for gray junk.

 

I see you post in this section all the time, do you even own an FD?

 

My heater works awesome. I crack the window to offset the temperature sometimes because after like 30 minutes of driving, its a sauna inside the car.

Does take forever for car to get to operating temp. And since i dont do much city driving anymore, when i jump on the highway, my temp gauge stays pinned at like 130-140F lol. Especially in this north pole weather lol

 

My heater as it days. Sometimes it works great and makes me sweat my *** off, other times I freeze. I find if I cycle the temperature control **** between the hottest setting and coldest setting back and forth sometimes it will kick into "full heat" mode.

 

Keep in mind the heater only works for foot and defrost, not the face vents. My heater works great in sub-zero temps.

thewird

 

According to his profile...No

 

I'm confused...how come my "face" vents get warm then?

I have noticed the foot vents get considerably hotter than the face vents...

 

??

My face vents work perfectly.

But i usually put it to the feet as heat rises anyway.

But face vents blow heat if i want it to.

 

mine did the same ****, the face only blew warm air... if I kept it on foot/defrost place would be on fire!

 

Having experienced this first-hand grey gunk in the overflow tank can be an indication of a coolant o-ring failure where exhaust gasses are escaping into the coolant system.

 

The face vents should not blow hot air because it has been proven that when warm air is blown over someones face it relaxes them and can cause them to fall asleep at the wheel.


John

 

Yea thats correct. This should be by design. I believe it has been discussed already on the forum.

 

I'm not too sure on the grey gunk meaning coolant seal failure, I'm thinking the coolant overflow tank, "overflowing" while driving is a guaranteed giveaway, and the Grey gunk, i'm pretty it is a by-product of the chemical reaction that takes place between the coolant fluid, and the aluminum housing, and engine heat... I had my engine running for a little while before I cracked it open again, and a small amounts of this gunk in the coolant channels, and that was after I cleaned the **** out of all my parts the first time..

I could be mistaken though


J.

 

Yea I'm on my 3rd motor now, so the gray gunk problem has already worked it's magic on my heater core from the previous motors... If indeed that's what's going on at all.

 

It does make alot of sense although thats not the case for my FD nor my other car which is a 2006. (if you were implying this feature is for new cars)

That being said, it shouldnt he "hot" anyway as i dont know who wants hot air in their face.

But both of my cars have comfortable warm air through the face vents.

I thought thewird was saying NO warm air at all through face vents because i do get warm air. Maybe a little warmer than normal warm lol

 

^ I get warm air as well, it is just not as hot as the heater system is capable of producing out of the other vents. I do not believe there is a law that says for the system to work that way; it is probaly just a voluntary feature some manufactures intgrated into their designs.

I too have been in many newer cars and the heater blows hot air out of all the vents.



John

 

When I purchased my car I had zero heat and the radiator wasn't consistently keeping temps down. Grey deposits were visible in the coolant so I took it to Mazda for a diagnosis. Their verdict was 'blown engine' and that was the first and last time I went there for service.
A family friend's father owned a shop so I took it to him for a coolant flush. It took him double the time of a regular flush to clean out the system.
Heater is blazing hot now and the radiator works fine. The grey gunk had coated the lines like plaque so I wasn't surprised to see it again shortly after the first couple flushes. 3 flushes within 1 year solved that issue. Coolant pressure test showed no issues.

 

I had no clue this was in the FD section haha, sorry bout that.
I just go on the new posts and if something relates or is interesting, I contribute.
I have an FC

 

So far I don't think there's enough data to draw any kind of conclusion