My heater was luke warm at best. Local shop flushed the coolant system for me, but no real change to the heater temperature. The same local shop quoted me $700 to swap the core in my Cherokee. I flushed my heater core this morning, and it made a night and day difference. Great video, thanks!!
If flushing it doesn't fix your issue I'd imagine its the air blend door. Keep in mind that if anyone ever used stop leak in the system that will cause weak heat as well and will likely require more pressure than the average garden hose puts out. Honestly that stuff shouldn't be legal its useless.
@@1598hi I got it working! Core was nasty, but the return line was clogged near the water pump. Put the hose down in there and got the last clog out. Hot heat!
@@j_mars_cars good for you! In the spring you might want to try to flush the block and radiator as well. Sounds like you had some seriously substantial buildup
@@1598hi this Jeep is getting a full going through. It's got a bunch of small issues that need to be buttoned up. Don't worry, it'll get there. It's my mom's Jeep though, I own a 4runner that I gotta keep building
@@1598hi we shall see later on today! When you started your vehicle up, I got a little movement down below! Sounds good man. Hopefully I can get my new to me WJ sounding the same. Or close to it
@@hermit6208 I'm sure it will! Seafoam that thing and only run shell gas after that. Has the most detergents. I also have a flowmaster exhaust that I am pretty happy with
A couple things confuse me on the heater core/coolant flush. 1.) Seems like most people just use a garden hose. Would it be best to use a pump and set up a system that can flush using distilled water instead of tap water? 2.) some people recommended using a calcium and lime cleaner to really clear out the core. That seems like it would introduce undesirable minerals to the system. Am I worrying too much or does it stand to reason that you'd use distilled water and not use C+L cleaner?
They sell special cleaners specifically for your cooling system and then flush the system after a little while. I think a garden hose is fine providing most of the coolant is actual coolant since that has anti corrosive properties and does not freeze. I wouldn't worry about using distilled water.
Congrats! Actually this week my air blend door broke so I didn't have heat for my hour drive on the coldest day so far... Real feel was 3*F. Working on fixing that issue as we speak.
Great video. Do I have to drain the antifreeze before doing this? I recently changed my antifreeze but didn’t do this heater core flush and want to. Just don’t need to change the antifreeze since it’s fresh fluid
Nice video only issue is that you can flush the heater core no matter what setting the controls are at... If it's set on hot or cold it's all the same... Its doesn't stop coolant flow when you turn it to cold
Before bashing Auto Zone about their tools and equipment keep in mind they have no way to test everything when it comes back in and people won't tell when it is messed up. I bet they would be more then happy to swap it for you as they didn't know it wasn't working
@@karlaharrell9424 I have noticed a dramatic drop in quality regarding everything from parts stores over the years. It's gotten to the point where I only use them as a last resort. You're probably correct about the tool though
Yes, the blend knob just actuates the blend door to go between allowing air into the cabin after passing over the heater core or ac evaporator. On most older vehicles, this is vacuum-operated (which is why you hear a hiss sometimes) - on newer vehicles, it's usually a small electric motor called a blend-door actuator. They are ...interesting to replace if they go bad. If the engine is running, coolant is always flowing through the heater core no matter what the knob is set to.
Flushed my coolant and heater core on my new to me xj. The coolant was nasty and rusty. Tried bleeding the system for 30 mins and there were still bubbles and the heat was just lukewarm and not hot. After about 40 mins the coolant started pouring out so I shut it off. I did not use a funnel like you did. Any suggestions?
Did you park it on a slight incline? I would get a bottle of cooling system cleaner, add that, drain the coolant and replace it again. Sounds like you have some rusty sludge built up restricting flow
@@1598hi yes it was parked on the driveway with a slight incline. It already has cleaner in there with distilled water. Should I not burp it until I’m ready to fill back up with coolant? I wanted to leave the cleaner in there for a couple days that’s why I was trying to burp it.
@@deegaw11 It was a good idea to get the air out. You dont want air pockets. Hopefully that cleaner is good enough to get rid of any stop leak. That sounds like it could be your problem if its not just rust debris buildup. Once you decide to drain the cleaner try removing the heater core hoses and backflushing them as well.
ReNegaDe-SpitFire no not loosing any coolant or running hot, and when its up to temp I can switch it from hot to cold and the luke warm air turns noticably cooler. If that makes any sense lol. Any advice would be appreciated. But It does blow hot at very sparatic times.
@@halfassranch8363 I really think it's the climate control knob. You can order those from rock auto and autozone. I would make an account on maybe naxja to double check
ReNegaDe-SpitFire i cant seem to find the knob, seems like this limited grand Cherokee is tricky. Its starting to piss me off. I live in colorado and need the heater lol.
@@halfassranch8363 I feel you. Put your year, make, model, engine and transmission in the comments I'll try to find it after work tonight and get back to you around 11 to midnight
ABC If your engine is running way over temp or much colder you could have a thermostat issue. They are inexpensive and take very little time to replace. If you are having issues I'd start with a thermo and radiator cap rated at 16lb. I'd love to help you more if you give me some more information about what's going on!
ReNegaDe-SpitFire. Boom.... exactly what i thought also. Shes running cool. No problem, replaced many over the years. Appreciate you brother. Thank you for such a speedy response!
do i have to disconnect the hoses at the engine block? can i disconnect the mat the firewall and do it there? and if i can disconnect at the firewall, do i have to burp the system at the end?
It is much easier to take the hoses off where I took them off. At least in my experience they don't like to come off at the firewall. You will likely need to burp the system or you risk not having very strong heat.
@@1598hi yea i flushed the system but i dont think i did that great of a job of flushin it or burping it. The heat is still not hot. im gonna try again tommorrow
If you can get a little more pressure into the heater core that's great. Just make sure it's not too much. But assuming nobody ever used stop leak the reverse flush usually does a good job
Those are for the block, not for the heater core. I put the engine in about a year prior along with new hoses and radiator. Heated core was all that was left of the original system and was the only thing that required a flush. If you need a tutorial on flushing your engine block there are other tutorials online, I have not filmed that. Stay healthy
My heater was luke warm at best. Local shop flushed the coolant system for me, but no real change to the heater temperature. The same local shop quoted me $700 to swap the core in my Cherokee. I flushed my heater core this morning, and it made a night and day difference. Great video, thanks!!
Jarrod McCarty no problem! Never heard of a shop that didn't scam it's customers and do bad work at best. Glad I could help :)
Yes! The man always trying to take advantage of our lack of knowledge about vehicles! You win.
@@hermit6208 Not so much taking advantage of our ignorance. Replacing the heater core is an absolute nightmare that requires removing the dash.
THANK YOU for creating this demo! winter is here and I was stressing about the heat. This thing is sweating me out now.
Let me just say thank you. This was simple and quick and I freaking loved it thank you lol
Anytime!
I'm about to attempt this in February in wyoming. Bought a Jeep Cherokee in Jackson, drove 3 hours with no heat 🥶 let's pray this works!
If flushing it doesn't fix your issue I'd imagine its the air blend door. Keep in mind that if anyone ever used stop leak in the system that will cause weak heat as well and will likely require more pressure than the average garden hose puts out. Honestly that stuff shouldn't be legal its useless.
@@1598hi I got it working! Core was nasty, but the return line was clogged near the water pump. Put the hose down in there and got the last clog out. Hot heat!
@@j_mars_cars good for you! In the spring you might want to try to flush the block and radiator as well. Sounds like you had some seriously substantial buildup
@@1598hi this Jeep is getting a full going through. It's got a bunch of small issues that need to be buttoned up. Don't worry, it'll get there. It's my mom's Jeep though, I own a 4runner that I gotta keep building
Thanks ReNegaDe-SpitFire - it worked for me as well.
Thank you- that worked like a charm on our ‘new to us’ 1999 XJ.
Awesome.
Glad I could help!
Thanks man. That's the cleanest 187000 mile vehicle I have ever seen
Still just as clean now with 210,000 miles. Thanks for commenting I hope this helped you!
@@1598hi we shall see later on today! When you started your vehicle up, I got a little movement down below! Sounds good man. Hopefully I can get my new to me WJ sounding the same. Or close to it
@@hermit6208 I'm sure it will! Seafoam that thing and only run shell gas after that. Has the most detergents. I also have a flowmaster exhaust that I am pretty happy with
totally forgot to burp the system, was wondering why my heat was still cold lol, great video, i have heat again
Michael Garcia Glad I could help :)
A couple things confuse me on the heater core/coolant flush.
1.) Seems like most people just use a garden hose. Would it be best to use a pump and set up a system that can flush using distilled water instead of tap water?
2.) some people recommended using a calcium and lime cleaner to really clear out the core. That seems like it would introduce undesirable minerals to the system.
Am I worrying too much or does it stand to reason that you'd use distilled water and not use C+L cleaner?
They sell special cleaners specifically for your cooling system and then flush the system after a little while. I think a garden hose is fine providing most of the coolant is actual coolant since that has anti corrosive properties and does not freeze. I wouldn't worry about using distilled water.
Just did mine and chocolate milk came out. Now I have heat!
Congrats! Actually this week my air blend door broke so I didn't have heat for my hour drive on the coldest day so far... Real feel was 3*F. Working on fixing that issue as we speak.
Did u get that blend door fixed? Needing to do that to my 2000xj now
300k miles? Nice. About to hit 200k on my 98 XJ. Already hit 240k on my 88MJ :)
Weaponized Memes impressive!
Great video. Do I have to drain the antifreeze before doing this? I recently changed my antifreeze but didn’t do this heater core flush and want to. Just don’t need to change the antifreeze since it’s fresh fluid
Nope! Everything you need to do is in the video!
Nice video only issue is that you can flush the heater core no matter what setting the controls are at... If it's set on hot or cold it's all the same... Its doesn't stop coolant flow when you turn it to cold
Thank you for this constructive comment. I appreciate the correction
Before bashing Auto Zone about their tools and equipment keep in mind they have no way to test everything when it comes back in and people won't tell when it is messed up. I bet they would be more then happy to swap it for you as they didn't know it wasn't working
@@karlaharrell9424 I have noticed a dramatic drop in quality regarding everything from parts stores over the years. It's gotten to the point where I only use them as a last resort. You're probably correct about the tool though
Yes, the blend knob just actuates the blend door to go between allowing air into the cabin after passing over the heater core or ac evaporator. On most older vehicles, this is vacuum-operated (which is why you hear a hiss sometimes) - on newer vehicles, it's usually a small electric motor called a blend-door actuator. They are ...interesting to replace if they go bad. If the engine is running, coolant is always flowing through the heater core no matter what the knob is set to.
Should I flush it both directions... and I'll do it at a car wash since I live in an apartment and have no access to a hose
Yes absolutely flush both directions!
Off subject, exhaust sounded pretty good. What is the setup?
Flowmaster Super 44. It's okay, only real complaint is that the muffler was brown in 6 months.
Flushed my coolant and heater core on my new to me xj. The coolant was nasty and rusty. Tried bleeding the system for 30 mins and there were still bubbles and the heat was just lukewarm and not hot. After about 40 mins the coolant started pouring out so I shut it off. I did not use a funnel like you did. Any suggestions?
Did you park it on a slight incline? I would get a bottle of cooling system cleaner, add that, drain the coolant and replace it again. Sounds like you have some rusty sludge built up restricting flow
@@1598hi yes it was parked on the driveway with a slight incline. It already has cleaner in there with distilled water. Should I not burp it until I’m ready to fill back up with coolant? I wanted to leave the cleaner in there for a couple days that’s why I was trying to burp it.
@@deegaw11 It was a good idea to get the air out. You dont want air pockets. Hopefully that cleaner is good enough to get rid of any stop leak. That sounds like it could be your problem if its not just rust debris buildup. Once you decide to drain the cleaner try removing the heater core hoses and backflushing them as well.
Good vid flushed the zj today, still no good heat, bummer, going to throw a new thermostat in next we shall see i really hope its not electrical.
Not losing any coolant or running hot? It might be the actual climate control knob itself
ReNegaDe-SpitFire no not loosing any coolant or running hot, and when its up to temp I can switch it from hot to cold and the luke warm air turns noticably cooler. If that makes any sense lol. Any advice would be appreciated. But It does blow hot at very sparatic times.
@@halfassranch8363 I really think it's the climate control knob. You can order those from rock auto and autozone. I would make an account on maybe naxja to double check
ReNegaDe-SpitFire i cant seem to find the knob, seems like this limited grand Cherokee is tricky. Its starting to piss me off. I live in colorado and need the heater lol.
@@halfassranch8363 I feel you. Put your year, make, model, engine and transmission in the comments I'll try to find it after work tonight and get back to you around 11 to midnight
Thank you!
ABC Sure! 😊
ReNegaDe-SpitFire . Great! Then take me all the way..... any tips on how to check the thermostat for proper function without removing it?
ABC If your engine is running way over temp or much colder you could have a thermostat issue. They are inexpensive and take very little time to replace. If you are having issues I'd start with a thermo and radiator cap rated at 16lb. I'd love to help you more if you give me some more information about what's going on!
ReNegaDe-SpitFire. Boom.... exactly what i thought also. Shes running cool. No problem, replaced many over the years. Appreciate you brother. Thank you for such a speedy response!
ABC Anytime
this shit woooorked!!! yes!!!!!
tee ny Glad to be of service :) stay warm this winter!
do i have to disconnect the hoses at the engine block? can i disconnect the mat the firewall and do it there? and if i can disconnect at the firewall, do i have to burp the system at the end?
It is much easier to take the hoses off where I took them off. At least in my experience they don't like to come off at the firewall. You will likely need to burp the system or you risk not having very strong heat.
@@1598hi yea i flushed the system but i dont think i did that great of a job of flushin it or burping it. The heat is still not hot. im gonna try again tommorrow
@@Dibran9mm once you do it again, if you're still having issues remember it could be the air blend door
There is no valve that opens the core it simply turns the fan on
Yes I am aware. Take it up with google for removing annotations so I cant correct it.
Someone said in another video to blow out any extra liquid with an air hose
If you can get a little more pressure into the heater core that's great. Just make sure it's not too much. But assuming nobody ever used stop leak the reverse flush usually does a good job
OOO FACE REVEAL
You forgot to flush the bigger pipes to
Those are for the block, not for the heater core. I put the engine in about a year prior along with new hoses and radiator. Heated core was all that was left of the original system and was the only thing that required a flush. If you need a tutorial on flushing your engine block there are other tutorials online, I have not filmed that. Stay healthy
Fuckin auto zone lol
I've since started using rock auto more lol but honestly every parts supplier is a pain
ReNegaDe-SpitFire for sure just did the harmonic balancer on my zj a couple weeks ago and the rental puller from oreillys was missing parts.
R
Dterlee