my heating not working - where to begin

[Fargo]

seems my heating is not working, where should i begin to sortthis.

the fan works, the AC needs repressurising.

[NEZ]

you need to check everything until you find a fault.

radiator, pipes, thermostat, heater fan, fuses, etc etc.
the list goes on.

[roylittle0]

First off the AC will not effect the heating, so you can rule that out

Then check:-

Have you got enough water in the radiator system?

Is it the front and back heaters or just one?

Check to see if the heater valve in the engine bay on the bulkhead is working.

Are the pipes hot that go to the matrix, You can check in the engine bay at the bulkhead.

[Fargo]

First off the AC will not effect the heating, so you can rule that out

Then check:-

Have you got enough water in the radiator system?

Is it the front and back heaters or just one?

Check to see if the heater valve in the engine bay on the bulkhead is working.

Are the pipes hot that go to the matrix, You can check in the engine bay at the bulkhead.

thanks roy, that is a help, now i have some idea where to begin.

[Tiger]

Ive got exactly the same problem. the valve is definately open and clear. ive blown through the matrix and this is clear. for some reason the water will not circulate around the matrix. thermostats new. I'am well stumped and freezing my nuts off.

[MattF]

Disconnect both heater pipes from the bulkhead and connect the hosepipe and flush through. If water flows, you have either an airlock or possibly a blockage in the hoses or bends below the thermostat housing which lead to the bulkhead.

[Fargo]

just noticed that my rear heaters work, so i guess that narrows it down a bit.. is there something i should check relating to the front heaters, can one assume that the heater valve in the engine bay, rads etc are ok..

[MattF]

can one assume that the heater valve in the engine bay, rads etc are ok..

One can never assume anything is working fine. As I posted above, check everything from those bends below the thermostat housing upto, and including, the front matrix.

[grafter]

no heaters

i also have no heaters cold air only.just had new belts fitted and since then i.ve heard a slit grinding noise.my machanics flushed the matrix out all fine all pipes are fine and getting hot and heater valve ok as well.sounds like grinding noise coming from waterpump so having new one fitted friday and hope to get some heat in the old beast cause its ###### cold.

[Fargo]

the rear heater seems to get hotter when the engine is at higher revs, but then cools down when at idle.
the front temp control slider is connected and moving,

[Fargo]

ive now drained and flushed through. removed the lever thing from the bulkhead and flushed through to make sure that was clear. removed both pipes from the bulkhead and a) hosepipe'd through the pipes flushing back through the circuit and coming out the bottom rad pipe that i removed, b) hosepipe'd into the hardpipes in the bulkhead which didnt flow water though.

So whats on the other side of the bulkhead behind the dash, is that where the matrix sits and would this be blocked do you think..

[henry F]

Watching this with interest as mine does pretty much the same thing,
but with the added bonus of only blowing (warm) air upwards onto screen.

On the plus side sort of,
the landcruiser I had before, was also fitted with a rear heater, which in the early mornings I was then working, was my primary source of heat on the way to work

[BUSHWHACKER]

the rear heater seems to get hotter when the engine is at higher revs, but then cools down when at idle.
the front temp control slider is connected and moving,

New thermostat needed methinks.
Is there one in there at the moment?

[Fargo]

do you mean the thermostat housed in the assembly where the rad cap is. would this be the problem for the front heating as well.

Im not having any overheating issues and the temp gauge is always steady once engine has warmed up..

im still leaning towards the heater core being blocked up. but why/how does heat get through to the rear.

[fenman666]

Front heater

I would hazard a guess its just an air lock. Same as mine they are a pain to bleed but after making the bleed valve mod (posted here somewhere) problem solved!! I did the mod with bleed valve and house rad drainer which I use to fill the system and when filling this way with the rad cap off you can see the air coming out easily.
A seemingly common fault with surfs is the top of the engine rad where it joins the matrix starts to seperate slightly and what starts off with a small weep gradually gets worse. One thing you may notice is under heavy acceleration you may hear a gurgling sound which the first time I heard it I thought it was air in the auto box.
I had the same problem due to the small weapage on the rad and the first thing to go was the main heater .... the rear heater always stayed warm though.
Anyway I have since fitted a new engine rad and problem solved!!