why has my heater stopped working?
 

It blows, but only cold air.
Engine gets hot, gauge shows normal temp.

Last week it would blow warm air, now just cold. Is it airlocked? or what?

And does anyone know if it can be fixed easily, or is it a garage job?

UK classic,
TIA, Tanya

I recon its an air-lock mate. Had the same happen to me a year or so ago. Need to park on a hill and bleed the system..

hello bud , had exact same fault wit mine the other day, as im a mechanic maself i got to work lol not sayin i know alot about scoobys as i work for jaguar , i checked my coolant in the resivoir and it had nuttin in , so i toped it up and checked it after a run , same again , so what you gotta do it brim ur resivoir wit coolant and then squeeze the top rad hose next to it , it should buble and overflow , keep doin this till u get no bubbles and then top ur coolant up to the correct level , then go for a run and try it ?

Cheers will try that tomoz, I assume to fill with correct anti-freeze mix to top up etc? Not water?
Tanya

yer eventualy , mines jst got water in it atm im sure let us know how ya get on hope it fixes it :thumb:

getting up at first light to have a go at it.
Tanya

brrrrrrr
 

jus to be on the safe side i would throw a litre of atifreeze in there first instead of water to give you protection for the winter - just to know you are protected :) if it needs more than a litre then just use 50/50 mix after,

putting a litre of antifreeze in neat wont hurt,

it will just make sure you are protected from the winters antics :)

Hi Tanya,
Well the normal suspect is the heater matrix :( this unfortunately is a pita job :( and normally not that cheap either.
Also a general location of where you are based out of and we can point you to a dealer/speciallist who can diagnose it right down :)

Tony:)

Up at first light, the coolant level was low, so it got filled, (took about a litre of 50-50 anti-freeze and water), then it was run to warm up, coolant level checked again, (no change), and the heater tried.

No different:(

Perhaps it's airlocked as someone said earlier?

Not sure if it's the heater matrix, I had one go on an Escort before and this time I've not noticed any odd smells, no condensation in the car, and the carpets aren't wet at all.

Anyway, it's gone to a local garage where they know me, to see if they can find time to have a look.

One slightly worrying point was that the inside of the neck of the coolant reservoir was covered in a layer of pale grey slime with the consistency of cold lard.

It wasn't greasy though and had a smell of rubber..........

Hope this isn't a sign of something gone awry.

Tanya

:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

Just got notification from the garage, it's as I thought, but daren't even post: the head gasket has gone.

I've been quoted between £800 and £1000, does that sound about right?

Bugger. As soon as you mentioned the dreaded 'mayonaisse', I knew what was coming - damn!

Funnily enough, I was speaking to Olly at RCM the other day and he did indeed say £800 is a best case scenario... But that's just to replace both head gaskets though, nothing else. Because it's a labour intensive job, that quote can soon escalate, as other things might need/be worthwhile replacing while the engine's out e.g. timing belt, tensoner, water pump, etc, etc (see where we're going with this...). Just wait to see what your garage has to say when the engine's apart, and go from there...

how come the gaskets gone? how many miles have you done, and what year?

are they renound for going?

No, they don't go as a rule, AFAIK, and the car is a '98 UK car with around 85,000 miles, BUT running a BRD LINK remap to about 300bhp;)

One guy I've spoken to is getting quotes for better headgaskets, but no-one here, (near Cleethorpes), can do it for the next week or so due to pressure of work. Good job I'm away from tomorrow, have to go in the clunker now:(

Joz8968: yeah, the £800 was best case. Cambelt done just before summer too, with tensioners and water pump, but who knows what else they'll find once it's in bits.

I assume it's an engine-out job?

Tanya

Yes... Well, that's what Big Sam at Zen told me.

Looking at the way the engine is located and lack of space - quite apart from how much it costs, lol - then I can't see how it could be done any other way, anyway! LOL

welll at least its kinda been spotted b4 it truly went, this may be a saving grace for you,

a stitch in time.....

lol never heard of a clunker before, are they good? :cool:

Yeah, the clunker is OK really, a diesel, it's a bit shabby due to the wife's erratic driving.;) 45+mpg all day though;)

She came home one day telling me that she thought someone had hit the front bumper of the car in Tesco carpark as there was a big scuff on it.

She wasn't happy when I went out to look and came back to tell her that not only had someone hit the car, but they'd also brought the paint and stuck it on our gatepost, :D

Tanya

hahahaha :)

lol, love it