87sooby Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I'm freezin in the morning! How do I unclog my heater core??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 A couple things you could try... none of which are guaranteed to work unfortunitly. Back flush the core - basically swap the two hoses going to it. Might only help if there are large chunks clogging stuff. Use some radiator flush stuff - Tried some of this on a car I used to have, since we thought it was overheating (bad gauge). Didn't help at all. My friend will have to replace the clogged core anyways. Other than those, your best bet is to just replace it. It's not too hard, but time consuming. One of things you can do it three times faster after you've done it the first time. -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 there's a really easy way to fix this. just remove both hoses to the heater core. place a garden hose on one end and watch all the gunk come out the other side. flush the engine, radiator and any hoses as much as possible as well. compressed air into the heater core may help as well. much nicer to do this in the summer or on a warm day, your hands are arms get nice and wet and your garden hose won't be frozen! there's a possibility this won't work, but it certainly works often and is the easiest fix, straight forward and doesn't cost anything to try if you have well!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 This could also be caused by low coolant, (no heat) make sure you don't have any leaks and that your coolant is topped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvexplorer Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 The hardest part of my heater core exchange was getting a heater core. I went from heat for maybe a minute to heat just a couple minutes after the car has been going. I got some gunk out of my old core by running water through it, but that was just like holding it up to a faucet and letting water fill it then dumping it. I'm sure I could get some more out if I used some more pressure. It sounds worse than it actually is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I agree with Gary. I have done that dozens of times. Just go get a garden hose repair end, the brass type that you clamp on the hose. Clamp that onto your heater hose or just use a short lenght of heater hose attahed to your heater core pipes, and turn on the hose. I like to crimp the garden hose in my hand and slowly release it to increase the water pressure slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru_Mechanic Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 i had the same problem, except it wasnt in the the core it was on it. my fresh air vents let pine needles and stuff in and cloged the fins which wont let air past to blow out heat... i removed my AC unit or blower housing and took out the core, i sprayed it with water then used a air hose to blow thw rest of the crap out. did this help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpilot Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Assuming your heater core is not completely plugged, here is the easy way to fix it. Worked for me on an 89 RX and 86 GL wagon. As you probably know, the heater core has continuous circulation regardless of the position of the temp control. Go to http://www.rydlyme.com, get a gallon of their descaler. It is fairly mild as far as chemicals go, and won't attack the metal in your core. Find a cheap submersible pump (a small one, maybe 1-2 gpm, I found one on ebay). Disconnect both heater hoses (near the rubber bell housing plug (at least on the EA-82), and hook up two hoses w/ appropriate size hose couplings to the hoses from the heater core. Connect one hose to the output of the submersible pump. Leave the other line (return line) alone. Put the pump inside a stainless or plastic pan, place the return line inside the pan, fill with water, and flush out the coolant. You may have to change out the water with fresh once or twice. I am not sure how the Rydlyme reacts with coolant, hence the flushing. Even if the pump flows only a trickle, (badly clogged core) give it time to flush clean. If you can't get any flow at all, this method will not work. (A stronger pump *may* help, but some flow, even a trickle, is needed) Empty the pan, replace with the Rydlyme (full strength) , and pump until the return flow appears unrestricted. I pumped mine for 24 hours. More time will be required if yours is flowing poorly. This worked perfectly for me, no time wasted getting to the core to R&R it (I am told it is a ***** of a job). Good luck! Originally posted by me on xt6.net 11/19/05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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