Why have I got no hot air??!!
 

Hi all,

May sound like a silly question to some but I am new to the Subaru scene so here goes.........

I have purchased a 06 WRX STI type Uk and it seems that when I put the heater controls to hot no hot air comes out, please help???

Ta very much in advance :)

Could be an air lock in the coolant system, that is the symptom I had anyway. Search on here for getting rid of airlocks before it causes your coolant temp to go high.

First check the coolant levels, then check the coolant.

I REALLY hope you don';t come back and say either there is a lack of coolant, (where did it go?:(), or that there is a creamy deposit in the overflow tank/header tank..........

Right not really sure if we have any air locks but I've just had a good look at all the levels and it's seems that the header tank is excessively over filled but then the engine is warm. It is around 4" above the full mark.

Would this cause my problem?

Won't matter if it's overfilled unless that's the result of head gasket failure. If the level is ok I would check the thermostat first,and If it runs hot on the gague possible head gasket problem.

Errrrrrrrrr, on mine, there is no Full mark on the header tank, it's all metal.

Are you looking at the overflow?

I had this problem on my previous classic... Turned out to be a blocked pipe leading to the heater matrix

Hi All,

I have had a look and levels are ok, no creamy deposit and engine runs nice and cool, not once have I seen the temp gauge go above half and I even left it idoling for 30 minutes last night just to put it to the test.

The Defi gauges are reading between 80 and 100 but at the maximum 110, I am guessing this is oil temp.

Anymore ideas?

Thermostat stuck open? Unlikely if you are seeing decent water temperatures.........
Blocked heater matrix, or pipes leading to and from it.
The little flap that controls the air flow, over the heater matrix or straight in, is broken or disconnected?

You have to check the water headertank, if you Can see that its above lever you are looking at the overflow tank ,
Blown headgasket for sure, you are Low on water, thats the only Way to have no head in the cabin, og your waterpump dosent turn, wich is highly unlikely

Right a quick update for you all..........

Had the system emptied, flushed, refilled and bleed today so now it's confirmed to be free from air locks and blockages.

It has made a small difference but not a complete resolution to my problem. Now when the engine is running and it is up to temperature you get Luke warm water through the vents but when you hold the revs around 1500-2000 the temperature of the blowers increases to nice hot air as it should be.

Does this help shed anymore light on the subject? :)

I'd be checking the water pump

Thanks mate. Yer I'm also thinking change water pump, thermostat and a pressure test and then see how it goes.

Getting to me a little now, just want to enjoy the car lol

Still think thermostat is stuck open, or missing.

If it's missing, you need to know why........some people remove them to hide an OVER-heating problem:(

Well that's a worrying thought :/

I'm going to pull it a bit in the week and if there is a thermostat there change it and see how it goes.

Thanks for all your help and I will keep all posted.

Sorry to be a pain folks but as I am looking in to the possibility of the thermostat needing replacing, would you say that its worth getting a updated cool running state or go for a standard one?

Standard, dont waste money on an upgrade when you may be spending money elsewhere to sort the problem.

As above, standard. WHY would you want your car to run cooler? The whole thing is built to run at a certain temperature.........

QUICK UPDATE.

Hi all,

I thought that as you all took the time to contribute to my thread I would return the favour by keeping you all updated.

After trying a few diagnostic/trouble shooting bits and pieces my fears were finally confirmed. Yes that's correct, Blown head gasket :(

So on Tuesday I got the car over to Paul Finch at Finch Motorsport for him to strip and determine the full extent of the damage.

What Paul found was shocking to say the least, It seems that the previous owner had removed the internals to the thermostat to hide the fact the the car was over heating as a result of the head gasket. I suppose that's the joys of buying a used car, but didn't expect it from another Scoobynet member though.

O well, on the upside it seemed rude not to have the engine fully forged whilst it was out and in pieces. Just cant wait until I get her back and can start to enjoy her :).

Thanks again for all your help :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...oobsthermo.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...7/scoobshg.jpg

Heres a couple of pics.

Oh, that's poor form, it really is. Totally dishonest.

Name and shame, I would.

Glad you got to the cause of the problem Rick,but That's a total cowboy Bodge to cut out the Thermostat like that. Who sold you the car?

To be honest guys i dont think to name and shame is the best idea.......as much as I want to.

I will look on it as a lesson learnt. I will also keep my eyes open incase I see him trying to trade again and then I will flag it up so that someone else does not have to go through the trouble I have.

Just looking forward to getting my car back now :)

Give people a heads now mate,you may miss one of his dodgey deals and one of us gets burnt ! Hope you get it all sorted anyhows mate and enjoy your sti .

That really is shocking that someone would do that to get rid of the car and leave them to sort it out when the time comes. Even worse that it was from a fellow member...

You all jump on the bandwagon demanding blood but perhaps the last owner dropped it into a garage to be repaired and had this done instead without knowing or a previous owner again maybe did it..

Thanks for your comments folks and I do agree that it's both shocking and a little dishearten but as Brendy has said there could be contributing factors outside of the previous owners control.

That said the car as been throwing all it's coolant into the overflow tank since the day I got it so I'm pretty sure the previous owner was well aware of this. I would of picked up on this on the test drive but it wasn't long enough. It was only on the 60 mile drive home it started to show.

Anyway as I have said, lesson learnt, onwards and upwards with my scoobs (when she's back) lol

Well, all I can say is that you are very philosophical.

DO remember that Imprezas often destroy their bottom ends AFTER a headgasket change, so while the engine is out, good idea to swap the big end bearings out for new ones.

Thanks for the advice mate but can't see it being a huge issue for me ;)

Whilst the engine is out and apart it is receiving ACL race bearings, forge pistons, forge rods, ARP head bolts, cosworth head gaskets, liners pined, bores honed, TGV deletes and a few other choice bits and bobs :)

Oh and a new thermostat lol

LOL, that's roughly what I did to my brand new 2.5 short engine, bought cheap off ebay.