The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Howard]

Has anyone had heater problems with their Colorado? Mine is a 97 3 litre Turbo Diesel. Had a new head fitted last year as the old one had a crack. Refurbished radiator and new water pump.
Changed the thermostat (thanks for help on this Sonic) as needle was at low mark - now the needle sits just below horizontal on guage.
However, the heater does not seem to function at the level I would expect. At full heat I can put my hand over the vents without it being too hot to handle and there is not an enormous difference between three quaters and full heat. I have had a look at the cable to the control but there does not seem to be any room for getting this wrong
The water pipes too and from the heater unit get very hot and I have flushed out the heater unit a couple of times now.
Any thoughts anyone.

Thanks[/b]

[Google]

[Grimbo]

The heater matrix works like a radiator in reverse so if the airflow through it is impeeded then you won't get full heat, have you got a pollen filter or heater air filter ? it may be blocked.

[Howard]

Thanks Grimbo
As far as I can tell there is no pollen or heater filter (in view) and no reference to this in the repair manual I bought.
Nor can I find any mention of one in searching this site.
Any other ideas?

[Grimbo]

still could be a slight blockage in the heatcontrol tap or the matrix, if you think of the radiator comparison water may flow through the unit but if its not going through every channel then you won't get full heat transfer, half could be cold but unless you can feel it you will never know, bet its a beep to get too or out   , other thing may be an airlock in the matrix but with all your flushing seems unlikely.

[fat boy]

Hi there

It could be an air lock in the system, run the engine from cold with the rad cap off and see if any nice bubbles appear (be careful though!) untill water starts spurting out then turn off engine. Keep topping up with water and repeat.

I had the same problem on my previa and this cured it!

All the best

Paul

[Howard]

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated.

Getting to the matrix might be a bridge too far for me having looked at the manual. It means disconnecting everything in sight!!

Paul - an air lock might still be a problem and I will try your suggestion of running engine with radiator cap off until water starts to bubble.

Interesting though - I changed the coolant the other weekend to ensure I had the correct mix after all the flushing I had carried out. Once I started running the engine (with the heater control both front and back set to hot) it took ages for the water to get really hot and even after a short run I could take off the radiator cap without danger. I recall reading another posting saying the same thing.

The pipes to and from the heater matrix get very hot as does the top hose to the radiator. I have checked the coolant level regularly since and it remains at high.