Before anyone goes off on me and says "read the past treads" I did!! My dillema. I just replaced the waterpump, t-belt , idlers, thermostat, all drive belts and antifreeze on my '95 3.0. Filled the rad back up slowly and ran the truck without the cap on to burp the air out. No fluid was moving until the temp satrted to rise, then the fluid satrted to gurgle. Looked at the temp gauge and it was at normal running temp, but no heat. The heater is fully on. The lower rad hose is cold and so are the heater hoses that go to the heater core are cold as well, both before and after the heater valve. I took the cable off the heater valve and it moves freely back and forth. The truck did sit in the garage for 3 months with no fluid in it waitng for the new parts to be put on, don't know if that would make a difference or not. To alot of you this would be an easy fix, but I've never done anything like this before.Any suggestions??

 

sounds like u have an air pocket, try squeezing the heater hoses to burp the air out, or u could jack the front of the vehicle up, ive gotten air out of the cooling system that way

 

Is your belt routing correct? Waterpump could be spinning the wrong way and not circulating the coolant.

 

I've tried squeezing the upper rad hose and air did come out but then no more air came out. If there was air still in the system, would the lower rad hose be cold even with the thermostat being open.

 

The waterpump is working properly. It's circulatng the fluid ok.

 

1. try burping the truck while the front end is higher than the rear...( rad. has to be highest point)
2. check thermostat...sounds like its on full open...and not warming up enough too...
3. ensure heater valve is opening/closing.
4. how long have you allowed it to idle ? how long till it reports "normal temp"..

hoses should get warm within 4 minutes..but not cold...cold is more likely a fualty thermostat

 

not the radiator hoses, the hoses to the heater core

 

I'll try burping the truck while it's raised,as well as squeezing the heater core hoses. How do you know when the heater valve is faulty, short of replacing it? Can it be taken off and checked, and where is the position of the lever when it is open?
It would idle maybe 5 mins before it would show normal running temp. I've tried 2 different thermostats, same result.
Does it matter where the jiggle pin on the thermostat is placed when you install it in the truck? I read one thread where someone said it has to be at the top. Any thoughts on that?

 

i don't think it CAN go in backwards..but if it was in the wrong way, that would certainly be bad

not sure how to check, but i would guess to separate the hose before or after the valve and see if water can pass...(by removing it, you should see the way it would be open/ closed (if it was working correctly)

 

when you filled the radiator did you pull the top hose from the radiator side and pour the coolant down the tube so it goes into the block first? or when you're filling the radiator leave one of the heater hoses loose so as you fill the radiator the air purges out of the engine. Then coolant temp sensor may be reading properly if its not submerged in coolant. just how I used to do it when i worked at a shop. Good luck. oh and the jiggle valve is always at the top! and make sure the thermostat gasket isn't torn or missing.

 

I'll try all of the above. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

 

how many times will i have to say ,god damn check your wire braket over passenger side left foot area,it tends to break and people are badtriping cause they got no heat coming in the cab,sometimes its just that little braket that breaks and when its broken you can pull your knob to heat and its just continue to take cold air from outside!! prior to blaming anything else check that stuff please!!

 

Is it a white or black bracket? The trucks a '95 runner.

 

should be a white braket

 

I'll check ....thanks.

 

I always had this problem with my caravans when switching radiators, etc- draining siphons out the heater core antifreeze, resulting in an air pocket, and no amount of running, burping or cussing would work, so I disconnected the heater hoses and poured antifreeze in one hose until it runs out the other, then hook it up and run and fill radiator until full. Might have to try this with yours.

 

Problem solved. It was air in the system. I didn't have a jack to raise the front end high, so a big snow bank did the trick. Thanks everybody for all your advice. Heat is a beautiful thing to have when it's -45c.