Acid Flush heater core

mike.elmes · #1 (**permalink**) 11-20-2003, 01:21 PM

Just dropped off my Tundra at the mechanic. Very POOR heating. They are changing the thermistat, and doing a routine flush and refill of the rad fluid. I have had it there before and actually trust these guys. They only work on Honda and Toyota. There is just so little heat. I pulled the main fuse on the A/C, to eliminate the a/c from cycling while on defrost.Last night I pulled the dash apart and there was different wiring than the picture showed in the garage section here so I put it all back together and pulled the 15 amp fuse under the hood that controls the A/C. The mechanic said the Camry's gum up the heater core's and require an acid flush to really improve the efficiency of the heater core so for 50.00 it will hopefully help. Combined with the new thermistat,engine coolant, I hope to have heat....and a lot of it. It was -17C here last night and the truck warmed up quickly and showed the water temp at it's usual mid point, so thats why the mechanic suggested the acid flush.Anybody had that done before?

mike

DevinSixtySeven · #2 (**permalink**) 11-20-2003, 01:29 PM

i have not, but i have read that the process is recommended by a few manufacturers of "alternative" coolants when switching coolant chemistries or flushing the system...usually it's just vinegar (acetic acid, i think?) and water, pretty mild, strong enough to scour but soluble and won't damage the internals.

-sean

akauth · #3 (**permalink**) 11-21-2003, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike.elmes

Just dropped off my Tundra at the mechanic. Very POOR heating. They are changing the thermistat, and doing a routine flush and refill of the rad fluid. I have had it there before and actually trust these guys. They only work on Honda and Toyota. There is just so little heat. I pulled the main fuse on the A/C, to eliminate the a/c from cycling while on defrost.Last night I pulled the dash apart and there was different wiring than the picture showed in the garage section here so I put it all back together and pulled the 15 amp fuse under the hood that controls the A/C. The mechanic said the Camry's gum up the heater core's and require an acid flush to really improve the efficiency of the heater core so for 50.00 it will hopefully help. Combined with the new thermistat,engine coolant, I hope to have heat....and a lot of it. It was -17C here last night and the truck warmed up quickly and showed the water temp at it's usual mid point, so thats why the mechanic suggested the acid flush.Anybody had that done before?

mike

Visually check to make sure the heater valve is fully opening. It might need a little tweak because it doesn't quite fully open.

I disconnected my AC from the defrosters too. I'm so much happier. You only occasionally need to pop the AC on for a minute or two to break the moisture on the inside when pure defrost doesn't quite remove the moisture.

Once in a while under humid conditions I need the heat and AC, but usually not, and the vehicle warms up so much faster inside. Still, I'm thinking of putting in electric heater as an aux for instant heat during startup. I'm looking to combine that with remote start.

Alan