Scotty, thanks so much. I can't find a mechanic I can trust so I've just been doing it. The front has been making a rattling noise for awhile, the mechanic couldn't figure out what it was (he said). But now I see where the strut connects at the top, where the three bolts are, the middle one you're supposed to not touch has been rattling round in there because there are metal shavings around the hole, and it protrudes up out of there about a half inch, whereas on the other side, that center one is flush with the metal of the car, see? I'm going to put on new front struts and don't plan to touch that center one, just the three I need to undo to get the strut assembly out. Is there anything I should know about this? I just can't find that particular scenario on a video. And second question, I don't have hot heat, just barely, and flushed the core even though both the hoses were the same temp and flowed good, I only got some amber-colored water out of it, so I figured maybe it's a blend door thing, and what do you think? I have to check the blend doors next. THANK YOU SCOTTY, YOU ARE MY NUMBER ONE SOURCE! thanks!
Please do double post, one post is enough for the forum members to see and answer 🙂
All right you're strut mount is broken on the top there but as long as you got to take it all apart you might as well as replace the strut in the that's where the heat problem realize those are pretty complex cars and you would really need a mechanic like me with the bi-directional scan tool that cost many thousands of dollars to test the system it could be a blend door but it's a job taking a dash apart you wouldn't want to do that unless you were sure that was a problem and it takes a mechanic with the fancy scan tool at the pinpoint it
The low termperature from your heater could be caused by an engine coolant thermostat that is stuck open. The thermostat should be opening when coolant is about 180 degrees fahrenheit to let the antifreeze flow from the engine to the radiator. If you have a temperture gauge by your speedometer and the needle is barely off cold, that's an indication the engine is not warming up to normal operating temperature. Another way to check is to feel the heat of the radiator without touching it soon after driving the car. If it feels only warm and not hot, then the thermostat might be the problem. A mechanic can plug in his scanner and he can read what car temperture coolant sensor is reporting. An auto parts store might scan your car for free. They're normally looking for codes but if they have a good reader, they can find the true temperature of the engine coolant.
