athenian

Hello

On my 1983 928S 5-spd I get no heat inside the car and the slider heater controls seem to work okay...I can see the lower and upper vent flops open when I move the slider and I can hear the blower work...But it blows cold air on all settings (even defrost)...

I also noticed looking at the temp. gauge, that the car's temperature is constantly "parked" on the 3 white line (just below the red line). The engine fan works fine....Even when it's freezing out like 15 degrees here in NY, the car runs hot even on highway speeds....I would expect the temp. needle to be in the middle of the gauge or even below this time of the year....

Could it be that the heater valve is stuck closed and there's no water circulating into the heater and back???

What else can I check as to why the car is running on the hot side??

Thanks for your help

Bill

'83 928S 5-spd Ivory 93K miles

MikeN

Sounds like its time for a thorough check of the whole cooling system.....I'd start with....

Any leaks, coolant level, reservoir tank cap.
Inspection/replacement of thermostat and rear seal for it.
Make sure the water pump is working correctly and not leaking.
Any collapsed hoses.

A stuck heater valve (either way) will not make the car run hot that I know of. I think you have a basic problem with the cooling system in general.

Joe F

Sounds like it is low on water. If that is not the problem, Mike's advice is right on. Time to check the entire cooling system. Good luck!

WER

Sounds as if you are not getting any coolant circulation.... Low level, water pump saying goodby, or clogged radiator. I would recommend finding the cause before doing any more driving 'cause any of the above could cause a massive overheat in a hurry.

WallyP

1) The temp gauge is just an approximate indication of coolant temp, and should not be considered very accurate. A hot engine feels and smells hot. If you think that the engine is overheating, measure the coolant temp with an independent gauge, such as the $50 infrared gun that Sears now sells.

2) Lack of heat could be due to:
- Lack of coolant circulation, due to low level, faulty pump, etc. This should cause more overheating than you indicate.
- Heater valve not opening. Take the air cleaner box off and do a visual check of the valve.
- HVAC temp control system faulty.
- HVAC setting motor faulty.
- Heater core plugged, and no circulation.

Most likely problem is a faulty or blocked heater valve.

athenian

Thanks for the input guys....I think I found my problem(s).

a) the coolant was low, almost empty
b) I discovered a small leak on the top part of the radiator...It leaks only when the engine is turned off. It seems to be coming from the top right side, near the upper radiator hose (pass side)....I will try to patch it up for now since the leak is small and watch the temp. gauge.

The good news is that I have heat in the car again....and the engine temp (on the guage) is in about the middle of the scale....I checked the heater valve and it works as it should.

Thanks very much again for your advise and timely help.

Bill

'83 928S 5-spd Ivory

WER

Err, Bill, you might want to be careful with the "patch it up" idea, it's really amazing how quickly a lot of coolant can run out when a "patch" gives out... It overheats very fast, just ask me... Mine was the small hose, just about where you describe, leaked around the clamp, so I was able to cut about 3/4 of an inch and it worked fine...until it really blew out a few inches further out.. I really hate it when that red light comes on, and I was near a parking lot.

aaron3

I had a "Florida car" and the PO had the inlet and outlet to the heater core plugged with rubber stoppers inside the hoses. Took a while to figure this one out. Of course the reason he probably did it was because he had full heat all the time (bad HVAC control) which is now fixed.