Dodge Heater

super99 · Jan 3, 2014

The heater in my 97 Dodge Ram barely keeps the windows clean. Cooling system has been drained and flushed a couple of times. It has a good hot thermostat, motor warms right up to 210°. I bought a repair manual for it and have narrowed it down to the switch that changes from inside to outside air. As I read it, the entire dash has to come out to get to the switch and is going to be an expensive fix for an old rust bucket. I'm wondering about trying to find one of the small box type heaters that came in aftermarket TRACTOR and combine cabs, run hoses to it and see if it will get the cab above freezing. What do you think, will it work or am I just wasting my time? Chris

Eric in IL · Jan 3, 2014

How about one of those heaters from the back end of a salvage school bus ?

JayinNY · Jan 3, 2014

That's funny, my 99 Dakota has been throwing poor heat too! Last winter it would roast u out, now it's hardly warm and I get a wiff of anti freeze in the truck? Must be the heater core is leaking or something, truck runs at 210 just like yours. I was wondering if I could find a little heater that plugs into the cigarette lighter? As you said not worth throwing a fist full of cash at a rust bucket with 179000 miles on it. Lol

Leroy · Jan 3, 2014

Those are not worth having, had a couple.

JayinNY · Jan 3, 2014

What the truck? Or the heater? Lol

Lou from Wi. · Jan 3, 2014

super99,

We added a cab heater in the 706 IH, it does keep it warm. I don't know about keeping your windows defrosted without some type of fan or duct work to the window area.Hope this helps.
Try to keep warm.
LOU

Dave Sherburne NY · Jan 3, 2014

A rear heater from a Suburban works well, tubes come up from the bottom, and the fan is on the back.

showcrop · Jan 3, 2014

Chris, my defroster on my explorer quit last spring. I expected megabucks to fix it due to time to get at it. I decided to take a look and found where the plastic rod coming out of one of those air operated cylinders had broken. I was able to just barely get at it and link it with a cable tie. I doesn't work like new but it works.

notjustair · Jan 3, 2014

The rear heaters on a bus are huge. You would also cook yourself out! They take the whole area of the seat bench - 12"x30". They have two fans on them (two speed). No lie - you could heat a house with those things. My 87 Ford 71 passenger with the 429 ran hot enough that I ran one of those fan motors on low and it heated the whole bus.

Forget the lighter ones. They are pointless.

Get into that dash to fix the blend door. It's the easiest believe it or not.

J. Everett · Jan 3, 2014

You might try flushing water down the crowling "inside of the vents" between the windshield and fire wall...might have some stuff around the outside of the heater core blocking off the air flow. This is on the outside of the truck by the windshield wippers. Lift the hood and remove the plastic grateing to gain access, and this should drain to the lower area infront of each door. But pick a warmer day than tomorrow. This sure helped my truck, 1996 3/4 T Dodge...186 K

T in NE · Jan 3, 2014

Don't know what year it started but blend doors are an issue on those trucks. Could also be a clogged heater core if it's not moving much air.
Some info

504 · Jan 3, 2014

If you can find one, the heater behind the drivers seat in a cab over Freightliner works great, the fans are mounted to the heater and they are small.

26Red · Jan 3, 2014

I pulled the dash on my "97 and replaced the heater core and AC exchanger. It was a two day job for weekend mechanic. Not hard but time consuming. You may want to try and flush the heater core first. Works well now.

26Red · Jan 3, 2014

Reverse flush on the core.

davpal · Jan 4, 2014

It's not that bad to pull the dash on a Dodge. The fords are a pita. I did mine in a few hours. I cheated a bit on the heater core change. Dodge wants you to pull the air conditioner evaporator on the firewall in the engine compartment to get the heater core out but I figured out how to change it quicker. The heater core lines go through the firewall. Cut them off with a hacksaw and lift the old heater core out. Now you can either cut the new heater core the same and use hose clamps to put the ends back through the firewall or do what I did. Auto zone sells an aluminum heater core that you can uncrimp the ends and they actually pull out of the core just like a quick connector. Pull them out, put the core in and put the ends back in the core. Recrimp the ends back on and check for leaks and put the dash back on. If you have to you can also change the blend door at that point. It took me a few hours to pull the dash, steering column and everything out of the way to get it ready to pull the core. Mine was leaking and not heating very well.

davpal · Jan 4, 2014

Actually I just remembered I cut the lines off with a Dremel tool and a cutoff wheel, not a hacksaw. They cut off like butter.

320B · Jan 4, 2014

The easiest way to drop the dash is to take out the drivers seat, remove kick panels and A piller covers, drop the steering column on to the floor, loosen the 2 pivot bolts, one on each end of the dash tucked up underneith. Undo the screws across the top and gently tilt away from the windshield. Have someone help you with that and then lift the dash off the pivot bolts and set it on the floor. It's even easier if you remove the passenger seat as well.

It's been awhile since I did one but I don't recall having to remove anything from the front of the dash to do this. When the dash is tilted back look behind it because I think the cable for the heater controls needs to be disconnected from the heater box. There might also be a couple of other things to unhook like the antenna wire.

To do the heater box there are bolts that go through the fire wall, one of them is behind the PCM. Make sure you get them all or you will break the heater box. I had to learn that the hard way. LOL

Keep in mind I'm telling you this from memory so I may have missed a few things. It's not to bad of a job. With air tools I can have the whole interior out in a little over an hour. Also if your upper door hinges need to be replaced, now is the time to do it.

super h man · Jan 4, 2014

our 96 ram wont warm up. so i blocked off radiator bout 70 percent, it gets bout 190 n has good heat. remove the "winterfront" n she will freeze ya. i dont haul with it like that. its a 360 gas.

the tractor vet · Jan 4, 2014

I have this to look forward to also . I liked my 88 Ford better for heater core removal , Remove glove box remove cover , remove hose clamps , pull rearward on heater core tip down and out then throw in trash can . Reverse removal process replace hoses add make up antifreeze total time less then 30 min. cost less the forty bucks with OEM core . And the Ford had a heater that would melt the soles on your boots.. My Dodge would make a Husky shiver .

smallercrawler · Jan 4, 2014

Supper99-Might want to consider auxilliary heat as opposed to dropping dash due to well known problems resulting in cracked/broken Dodge dashes. My 2000 360 gasser had a perfect dash with no cracking at all, until I LOOSENED (manually) first bolt in 1 of 4 brackets at base of windshield to drop dash for heater recore. Dash literally exploded into pieces small enough that the whole thing now fits in a large shoe box. Substrate also brittle to the point that switch mountings etc. are mostly gone. Substrate only available as part of complete dash assembly, not available aftermarket. Not worth fixing, as any at salvage yards are same or worse. Now have truck that runs very well, with only 116k miles on it, but is worth 0. Went from a viable truck to a pile of junk over a $100 replacement part. Dodge is very aware of the problems with the plastic in these truck dashes, but chooses to ignore them. Sorry for long post, but had I been aware of the potential repercussions of this fix, I would have lived with it. YMMV.

mj · Jan 4, 2014

(quoted from post at 19:44:06 01/03/14) The heater in my 97 Dodge Ram barely keeps the windows clean. Cooling system has been drained and flushed a couple of times. It has a good hot thermostat, motor warms right up to 210°. I bought a repair manual for it and have narrowed it down to the switch that changes from inside to outside air. As I read it, the entire dash has to come out to get to the switch and is going to be an expensive fix for an old rust bucket. I'm wondering about trying to find one of the small box type heaters that came in aftermarket TRACTOR and combine cabs, run hoses to it and see if it will get the cab above freezing. What do you think, will it work or am I just wasting my time? Chris

T in NE, davpal and 320B gave good advice - forget the 'auxiliary' heater plan, you won't need it - get 'er fixed, be happy and go on down the road

mj · Jan 4, 2014

(quoted from post at 20:23:04 01/03/14) Those are not worth having, had a couple.

Ya wanna hear about the problems I've had with GM & Ford? EVERY brand has good & bad; just the way it is but you're NOT helping in this situation, bud :roll:

HydroTek · Jan 4, 2014

Once the plastic parts of the dash start "rotting" there is little a person can do besides replace the dash.

davpal · Jan 4, 2014

I agree tractor vet. I had an 88 ford I also did. Was right back there behind the glovebox like you said. Was almost enjoyable compared to the new ones. Whole job was less than an hour. Now doing a 1999 or newer style ford is a different story!

T in NE · Jan 4, 2014

Nope. Once the dash cracks, it's cracked, new ones are no longer available.

Now, the pieces -under- the dash are another story.

So be careful with that dashboard.

Leroy · Jan 4, 2014

Those heaters and you should be able to tell who the post was too.

Leroy · Jan 4, 2014

I have had those plug in lighter socket heaters and you can barley feel any heat from them and my truck is a 2000 Dodge.

smallercrawler · Jan 4, 2014

T in NE- just for info if it may help anyone, LMC Truck did have replacement dash covers and instrument bezels available, unfortunately my problem lies deeper and as you say new dashes are NLA. See pages 95 & 97 at catalog link below:
LMC Truck

Anonymous-0 · Jan 4, 2014

Get ready to spend some money. Napa sells heaters like your talking not cheep. But neither is putting in a new heater core, might as well do it the right way.

Mark - IN. · Jan 4, 2014

First, after the engine has warmed up, feel both heater hoses going in and out of the heater from the engine. They should both be hot. If they are, its not the heater core because antifreeze would be going through it at that point, so the issue would most likely be the blend door stuck.

IF one of your heater hoses is hot from the engine, cold or cool from the heater core, most likely a clogged heater core. As someone else pointed out, try reversing the heater hoses at the firewall going in and out of your heater, and THEN flush the system. That will help blow the clog back out the end of the heater core where it probably is. Heater core are not polarized. Fluid doesn't care which end it goes in or out of, just so long as it flows. Been there, done that in my '96, worked like a champ.

Good luck.

Mark

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