Hi Scotty,
Being I'm a woman people assume we dont know anything about cars (might be true) but I do know the basics and I have the ability to learn so thats what I have been doing especially since following you, thanks! On with it... so My BF bought a used 2002 dodge ram 1500 crew cab, 145,000 miles, automatic, NO FWD. Pretty good looking truck and he got a great deal (private party) but he's found some issues since buying it just barely 2 weeks ago, the main one being HE HAS NO HEAT! I'm "allergic " to the cold so going anywhere with him is basically like throwing me in an icebox. We, take two cars everywhere we go together! Wondering if you can help us figure this out (he's too proud to ask:) and although the truck has other issues (shocks, control arm or something like that , some rod bushing things are bad, he has no interior lighting (what?) Since im writing im addressing what is top on my list and in WA state its cold and I'm allergic so he needs heat! He checked the antifreeze, its full. I do know, dont know if this is relevant, but the radiator was replaced in the truck just weeks before buying it. He also thought because of that that there might be air in the system and apparently needed to jack the front of the truck up and do something or another but this also did not solve the problem. When I say it has no heat I mean NONE and when you do turn it on with the temp at the highest setting it just blows cold air. Not warm , not hot but very cold. It does this on all settings. Can you help us figure this out so he doesn't freeze to death this winter? Thanks Scotty
Ps.. apologize for typos I typed this super fast on my phone and didn't spell check
Yours truly,
Brooklynn
After my own research I've come to think it could be one of several things. The actuator door is broken or jammed , the heater core is bad, the heater core is clogged and needs to be deep cleaned, there is still air in the system or when the radiator was replaced the previous owner bypassed something important. Any Help you can give will be awesome, we have to DIY this job and we don't want to go through a bunch of money getting it wrong and trying to figure it out. PLEASE HELP! THANK YOU
Hi Brooklynn. Welcome to the site. I think you pretty much nailed it with your research. Either the heater core isn't getting hot coolant, or the temperature blending door is stuck.
The hoses to the heater core are usually fairly accessible under the hood on the passenger side, going into the firewall (the sheet of metal between the engine and the cabin). Once the engine is warmed up, feel how hot both hoses are. (one flows in, the other out). Air in the system usually works itself out by driving. Just keep the coolant topped up.
To get to the temperature blender, you first have to remove all the interior panelling by the passenger's feet. Sorry I don't know the details about your particular truck. Once you find it, fiddle with the knob and see it moves like it should. Check the wiring connectiongs. The plastic baffle tends to get warped from heat and gets stuck. Or the electric motor just burned out.
Good luck.
