Heater not hot... How does it work ?

[maccavvy]

Hi everyone .got an issue with my 2014 mk8 van

Regardless of heater dial position it's always cold air. Vans getting up to temp ok. Water is hot. Matrix isn't blocked.is there a heater valve or some other regulator.
Looking for I do before ripping it to pieces before winter sets in

[metalworker0]

well a click click click would indicate a poorly stepper motor ..if you have one that controls hot /cold air mix... if it is clicking its a case of putting arm and hand under dash to feel where its coming from, and then finding out if its possible to reach up there and replace it without taking the entire dash out.

you can wade through this lot ..if you can find the part that's causing it

https://www.catcar.info/ford/?lang=en&l ... OCsxMzU%3D

or you can

watch "rainman rays" videos ..there are quite a few where he repairs under dash faults on AC systems ..including a few videos where he takes the whole dash out and ac box - he goes into great detail on how to fix faults .
https://www.youtube.com/@RainmanRaysRepairs/videos

to find these videos only look for videos over 40 mins

he recently (in the last 2 months) took a whole system out ..but i cant find it

think it was a ford f150 that may be close enough to transit to ..be able to gain some idea whats involved

all the best.mark

[Altransit]

If you have aircon, it's likely to be the 'Blend Door Actuator' that's faulty.

[maccavvy]

Thanks for the replies.
I'll get watching said videos
There's is no clicking ,no noises or anything
I do have Aircon. I'll see if I can find info on the blend door .hoping dash hasn't got to come out

[maccavvy]

Right . Think I've got the heater sorted.. but it's definitely losing water .
I've checked it but not topped it up for years.
Now I'm putting in a litre or so every 4/5 days mileage dependant.
I've not seen anything on the floor.
Hope it's not head gasket. Worth changing egr cooler 1st or anything else it could possible be that's a simpler cheaper fix before going big

[metalworker0]

well the cheapest solution is to add a liquid called K-SEAL...this will find the leaks and block them ..it may only be temporary though or could last a while..
Other stuff you will be doing is checking all hoses for leaks ........best way to do this is buy a coolant system pressure tester --- this is a device that screws on in place of your header tank cap ..and allows you to pump some air pressure into the system which will show up any leaks.

search ebay with words

cooling system pressure tester

all the best.mark

[maccavvy]

I can't find any visual leaks whether I der pressure or not.
I wonder if it's something like the EGR cooler or similar.

[metalworker0]

If when pumped up with a the coolant system pressure tester, if it then t looses pressure ..meaning with test started at 15 psi and goes to zero within say one min ..then there is an internal leak somewhere ..that's if if you cannot see external ones.

Possible places for hidden leaks are
1. Head gasket --- can go strait into combustion chamber and out the exhaust or into engine oil , engine oil will take on a different colour from milky white to dark mustard brown... and there will be cream mayonnaise in the rocker cover oil filler area.
2. EGR cooler
3. Oil cooler - usually leaks oil into the coolant though, but pipes to it may leak.
4. Heater core - right inside the dash ..will be noticed by wet carpets ..steamed up windows or sweet smell of antifreeze inside car.
5. Water pump weep hole
6. Coreplug rotted, hidden behind the bell housing - my last car had this ..note i don't know if a transit has such a core plug hidden away. (just checked it does not ..but check other core plugs)

if the cooling system pressure tester does not loose pressure..then there is no leak...on the static test ..and the vans own pressure cap should be checked.

if that's ok ..move onto engine running pressure test with cold engine.

other notes ..a slow weep of coolant can often be seen as a build of crusty salts at the leak point, often the same colour as the antifreeze.

all the best.mark