Have the heater systems in these cars always sucked when compared to other cars? I could drive around all evening with my heat on FULL BLAST and while it keeps me warm, I hop into any other car and with the heat on full blast it's literally unbearable after 2 or 3 minutes and you have to turn it off, or down to low. I envy that initial heat blast to take the outside chill off, I get more like a calm warmth that comes over the whole car after about 10 or 15 minutes of driving.

It also takes forever to get warm on a cold morning. Seems like other cars are pumping hot air out of the HVAC no more than a minute or so after a cold morning start (when I say "cold morning" I'm talking about 55 degrees ). I start my car in the morning and drive 20 minutes through the city to school with the heat on full blast, and I don't even feel hot air until about half way there, and like I said before it just isn't impressive once it is warm.

I can't tell if the problem is lack of volume of air coming through the vents, lack of heat carried by said air, or a combination of both. What to check/replace?

 

Does your car reach operating temp quickly or does it take a while to heat up? What temp fan switch are you running? How about thermostat? Is the blend air door operating properly?

 

195* thermostat

Car reaches temp just fine

Fan is re-wired to ECM to kick on @ same temp the thermostat opens.

Not sure about the blend door - how can I check this?

 

Yes, as far as I can tell, the heat has always sucked! I bought one new in 1990 and can tell you, its never worked very well. (Neither has the A/C for that matter!) You can remove the heater core control valve and that will help some. I have heard that you can swap in a 4thgen heater core and it will work better. (Core is supposed to be bigger and made entirely of aluminum) I live in AZ, so heat usually isnt too important...

 

I think you should check for a clogged heater coil. Even with temps in the 30s recently two VERY cold natured females have asked me to turn DOWN the heat in my 1987 Z.

Any chance that there has been radiator Stop Leak added to your system at some point?

When you turn it on, does it seem to be puffing out air or Blowing out air?

Even on Vent and low settings you should still be baking you if it is a properly functioning heater coil.

TRG

 

The problem is the heater is suppose to blow, not suck. Maybe the blower is installed backwards.

 

I'm gonna say YES there is a very good chance somebody has added that crap in the past given this car's mileage.

The air blowing out is not very strong at all. High on my car is like med - low in any other ride I ride in.

 

My heat sucks so bad that I have to wear coveralls in the morning to keep warm.

 

You may find that a new blower motor will help--at least with volume of air from the vents. Some of these motors are 20+ years old and have turned thousands of times.

JamesC

 

When a car has a 160 Stat in it the Thermostat will open up fast and the blower will produce heat "quicker" - but the temp of that heat will be low. When you put a 195 Stat in the thermostat will not finally open until it gets to 195 and then it will produce heat that is "warmer".

If the tempature of the air flow is the issue - maybe you should put a 180 in for the best of both worlds !

There's also the fact that the system could be blocked, or a cable could be kinked and will not allow the full air current to be delivered from the various vents........ Or that the motor is just weak. The only way to "easily" access any part of the system to try and reach a clog is thru the motor hole. The other option is to remove the dash housing to be able to access the dash vent box and the heater core box.

If you think that the volume of air coming from the vents is to week than I'd suggest buying a cheap replacement motor first !

P.S. I had a 160 installed in my 85 Berlinetta and changed it to a 180 about a month ago. The difference in cockpit warm-up time was MUCH faster !!!!