Questions and Answers
Thunderbird Loses Its Cool
Q. 1994 Ford Thunderbird, 3.8 liter V-6, automatic transmission, 95,000 miles, fuel Injection, no ABS brakes, P/S, A/C, Cruise, rack and pinion steering. My 3.8 V-6 blew a head gasket, Just had a valve job, runs great until I turn on the heater, which is the electronic climate control variety, digital temperature readout, etc.
The heater blows hot air for a few minutes then turns cold. The engine temperature gauge, which was in the normal range, before turning on the heater, begins to increase toward hot. The temperature gauge returns to normal when I turn off the heater. No leaks are visible, engine exhaust is clear, the coolant recovery reservoir is at normal levels, when cool the radiator is full. Never had this problem before the valve job. The valve job mechanic and other guys are stumped, can you help?
Thanks,
NormA. On that engine, the heater core is an integral part of what cools the engine. Now there are two possibilities that will cause this condition. One, the heater hoses were reinstalled backwards. In which case simply reversing them will resolve the issue. Or the heater core itself is plugged up, which would necessitate replacing the heater core.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
