heating

[chegutupaul]

The heater on my 89 transit popular petrol isnt working, any advise on why this might be and what to do???
Got to drive to scotland next week and it will be cold.

[FredTransit]

Welcome Paul! Basics first, is it blowing? If so is it blowing cold? If it's not blowing, first check the fuse. if it only blows cold, check you have water in the engine! I know it sounds silly, but that's a common complaint with our drivers! If it's niether of these, your heater matrix may be blocked.

[Luke]

if it is blocked try back flushing it with a hosepipe - its pritty much the same as a radiator inside!!

[jay]

does the engine get hot????if not the thermostat may be knacked..

[chegutupaul]

It was the water that caused the problem, thanks loads you probably saved me running the machine into the ground as i usually only check it when i leave on long journeys .

have a great christmas and thanks again.

[Luke]

It was the water that caused the problem, thanks loads you probably saved me running the machine into the ground as i usually only check it when i leave on long journeys .

have a great christmas and thanks again.

mate i'd check it each frequently untill you can be sure its ok or not!
its just you might have a problem there- it must have gone somewhere!!
check your filler cap is on tight if not the water wont pressureise and it will just boil away!!

[FredTransit]

Yup, as Luke says the water must have gone somewhere, reasons vary from serious (head gasket) to silly (hose leak). If the water part of the head gasket is gone, there might not be water in the oil (a common sign of blown head gasket, see if there is any creamy scum on the rad cap), check for white smoke (steam) from the exaust pipe. It's the same as the white smoke you get when the engine is cold on a cold day, but it doesn't pass when the engine warms up. less serious is a hole in a hose, favourite is the heater matrix hose at the back, or the long pipe that goes round the rocker cover. on the subject of heater matrix, this may also be a site of a leak. See if the mat under the heater in the cab is wet. Also if it's getting on a bit, it could even be the radiator cap. Take a good look at the engine and see if there is any water dripping off the engine, or the rad whilst it's running.