84 4runner 22R
my truck was running with the temp gauge at about 1/8 of the gauge and i had no heat and the heater valve seems to be functioning a-ok so i assumed it was the thermostat...

put in a new (higher temp) thermostat friday. truck now runs at a "normal" operating temperature as opposed to 1/8 of the gauge now.

the heat is SLIGHTLY warmer but still not what i would call heat by any means.
hose going into heater core is warm hose coming out is cool. when i turn the heat off all the way for 5 or so minutes then turn it on, its alot warmer than if i just leave it on but the warm goes away pretty quickly.
could the heater core be blocked and causing this?
what else should i look for?

any ideas? thanks

 

Try backflushing the heater core. Disconnect hoses at engine and use garden hose nozzle to run water in the outlet hose and see if anything comes out the inlet. Repeat forward and back flushing until the water runs clear. And make sure the cooling system is full, no air pockets.

 

thanks... i have to buy a new hose cuz mine froze and cracked (i was gonna flush it when i did the stat and drain/fill)

does that sound like it might be the issue though?

 

I've got the same issue, I found some stop-leak added by the PO when I changed the coolant. I'll flush my core as well and see what happens.

I also changed my thermostat with a 195*.

 

I noticed that the heater wasn't working very well in my '95 4Runner. I flushed the cooling system with a kit from Carquest, and then filled it back up. However, I spent about 15-20 minutes filling the system, pouring coolant into the radiator, pinching the upper radiator hose to 'burp' the system, and repeating the process until no more air bubbles came out. I then started it up, let it get to normal temperature, shut it off, let it cool down, and repeated the process one more time.

Now the heater works awesome, and the gauge stays at about 1/4. HTH.

 

Get a genuine Toyota thermostat. They have a rubber seal in the thermostat valve to seal it off better when it is closed. The aftermarket ones I have had do not have that and do not work nearly as well. Also make sure that the hot/cold flap is working and opening completely. If it is still blowing cold then it is probably the heater core. Try backflushing it as suggested above, and if it is still cold then it is time for a new core.