I own a 1998 Ford s/wagon that doesn’t get any heat in the car. The blower works and I have been told that the switches are ok.
appearentily its the heater coil. I had an est. of over $1,000 to replace the coil. I was told you have to take the dash pannel out to get to the heater. Has any one ever attempt this job without taking out the dash? Also I tried small DC heaters but that doesn’t work. Does anyone have any suggestions how I can fix this or work around it. Thank you
Do you have any signs of the car leaking coolant, which would include any sign of coolant making it in to the car? If so, then never mind what I’m going to say. If not, I would take it for a second opinion. Heater cores (I know, they shouldn’t have picked a word that sounds so much like “coil”) DO get plugged up, but far more frequently, they leak. And when they leak, you usually still have some heat. I would suggest that it could possibly be a door in the climate control system, not switching correctly.
Unfortunately, the dash may still have to come out to fix that, but it’d be worth it to have a secondary diagnosis.
Ford Taurus with (Vulcan engines) heater cores clog up all the time do to rust sediment in the coolant of this vintage. It usually can be unclogged by disconnecting the heater hoses and flushing it out with a garden hose.
In truth you don’t need to take the dash all the way out to replace the heater core. There is a easy fast way of replacing heater core It does however require a assistant. The book rate for this job is ridicules
to cover the basics:
have you changed the thermostat?
is the radiator warm when you run the car?
is the temp gauge in the normal position.
changing the t stat is where I would start.
it costs about $10.
A Ford heater core should max out at around $450 for the entire job. If you get a manual at a parts place, it will tell you how without any urban legends involved.
Where did you get the estimate? Dealers will almost always be high. I suggest a local independent radiator shop. Have they check it out and see what they say.