it's NOT a fire hazzard. I've done this with a couple Mitsubishi 4 cylinder cars for the whole winter with no bad results. quicker to warm up, toastier driving in the cold.

BUT getting back to your issue, you never mentioned what you did when you found out the core was leaking. You know this will reduce the heat in your cab...

 

I have yet to replace the heater core. It's the middle of winter now and I have to wait until the weather clears up and gets warm before I spend 8 hours in the cab tearing apart the dash to get to the core.

While the core is being replaced, I also need to replace the speedometer cable and change the dash lights to LED.

-edit-
screw it, I'm buying a heater core after christmas and replacing int ASAP.

 

you know you can always pull the sensor and do ohms test on it

plus you can always jut replace it too.. remember those sensor can go bad..

i would just pull the sensor and clean it with a wire brush and put it back in the intake..

 

Even if the sensor is bad...it's not blowing out enough heat to get rid of the condensation.

 

did u check you valve that controls the flow to your heater core...?

some time it gets stuck

 

the valve should be pretty close to the firewall..

have someone oprate the heat control valve inside the truck and you get un the hood and make sure it opens and closes like it should

are you giving your truck pleanty of timing to warm up.. its just a thought.. i dont know if you live in the snowbelt..

 

yup, plenty of time to warm up. I've already checked that heater control valve. Initially when this thread started it wasn't operating because that little wire came off, but I fixed that and it got better, but it's still not as hot as it should be. The valve is opening and closing all the way.

 

you may have partly clogged heater core..

i would un hook the line to the heat core from the engine and blow air through the heat core to see if there is any restricted flow...

what type of thermosat are u running in the truck...

 

how cold is it where your driving?

block off a portion of your radaitor with some cardboard... so, your coolant isnt cooling down so quick..

when the last time you did a coolant flush...

upgrade your water pump with a pump with more impellers for more flow...

 

wear some gloves dave so u dont burn your hands... anymore....

when i was looking at your pic of your gauge.. its setting around where mine does..

 

So I shoved a piece of cardboard in the front of the radiator. Made no difference at all. I guess I'll just end this thread here until I get the heater core replaced. I still don't see how it can be fine until one rainy day it just decides not to be hot inside anymore.

On a related note, are there stronger blower motors you can buy for these trucks?

 

well make sure you get all the air out of the system when u install everything..
check for leaks before you assy. everything back together..

you did check the radior with the cap off to make sure you are getting good flow of coolant? dont take the cap off while the engine is hot but, just pop the cap and start the truck and see if there is good flow...

if your not getting good flow i would replace the water pump.. but in your case it sounds like a clogged heater core to me..

 

Yes, I checked that when I replaced the thermostat. It is getting good flow. I might also look into the water pump idea if the heater core doesnt fix it.