Do the heaters work in 308's?

I am trying to get some heat out of my '78 308 and frankly my results have been anemic. How well do these heaters work? What should I be shooting for as I work over my system?

Anything to check? I already took a long look at the main heater valve and it seams fine.

Do these need to be bled? Any ideas at all?

Thanks,

John
'78 308 GTS

 

Usually you can't get them to shut off. You should verify the lines are still connected.

 

if there is one thing that works...it`s the heaters

 

Because the AC sure $ucks.

 

Yep.

All 8 of them little furnaces firing makes PLENTY of heat.

Keeps the kidney area nice and toasty.

 

As others have said, heat is not normally an issue in a 308. Most of us have the opposite problem. We struggle to control the heat.

So what exactly are your symptoms? Airflow through the system, or are your heater boxes not heating up at all?

Here's a thread that may lead you to a result if your issue is with airflow...

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/319173-how-do-i-replace-heater-filters.html

 

This implies that you've already checked that the heater hoses are still connected (and not just bypassed in the engine bay ). If the problem is coolant-based (rather than airflow-based), you could have a kink/fold in one of the hoses (where they snake around the fuel tank or come in/out of the center tunnel). And, although corrosion is usually more trouble on the outside of this fitting than on the inside, you might check if this fitting is blocked with corrosion or maybe a silicone gasket sealer "worm" (and there might be a similar "splice" fitting in that hose above the LR wheel well if someone did a quicky repair and just replaced a short section of that hose near the cylinder head) -- just a thought...
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I don't have a problem with the system. As long as the heater valve is functioning and the fan works it should be OK. I don't need the fan while doing my fall drives . Then again with the heater off it get cold in the car . Make sure that the heater duct hoses are attached and not leaking.

 

If I have the heat on without socks my ankles get uncomfortable hot. You probably have but you may wan to check the valve. As others have noted, the heater is sometimes by passed although I am not sure why.

 

What is your coolant temp reading while it is running? A large air lock might cause this problem. I would try bleeding the system first then proceed with the suggestions noted above.

 

Has anyone ever held a geiger counter near a 308? i'm just curious....maybe were using the wrong material to insulate the cockpit.

 

+1

 

My controls were disconnected in the console when I bought the car. Get plenty of heat though.

 

Agree -- it will get so hot with heaters on high that it's unbearable !

 

Okay thanks for all the responses. I really appreciate it.

So the heaters should work very well and mine kinda don't do anything.

The fans blow and I get reasonable amount of air from the vents. The valve opens and closes and all the hoses look reasonably correct under the hood. The hose looks connected just fine and heads via the drivers side towards the front.

So how do I trouble shoot the system? My instinct is to start disconnecting hoses and looking for corrosion (there wasn't any on the front valve). And if that fails, to connect the front hose to a bucket and start the motor to see if there is any flow. Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

The hot coolant exits the engine at the fitting in the 1-4 cylinder head marked with the yellow arrow in the photo in post #7.

Over the LR wheel well, behind the LH fuel tank, up the door sill in the chassis -- see the figure on page 45-46 of your 150/78 OM. The return line from the heater cores "T"s back into the large radiator tube at the front.

 

Thanks Steve. I edited my last comment after reviewing your post a second time (that last picture didn't initially render).

So the system appears to be intact... just no heat. There is air flow.

 

Here in SoCal, most of the time I wish my heater didn't work.

 

+1

 

If you are getting air from the vents, you are probably not getting heat to the cores which is a symptom of air in the system.

I just refilled my car with coolant.
One of the steps in bleeding the system is turn on the heaters blah blah...
I did not get heat coming out of the vents until the air was out of the cooling system.

If its a perpetual problem, pressure test the cooling system and look for leaks that would allow air into the system.

Good luck.

 

Before you tear things apart, are you checking for heat from the heater vents?

When I first bought my 308 I had a similar issue. I was expecting the heat to come out of the same vents that the anemic a/c uses. That was wrong... At least on my QV the heat comes out of round vents hidden under the dash. Similar to the round ones visible on top of the dash, they can be completely closed off...

You may have already checked this, but I didn't see it in the above posts.

 

The line thru the cores is very hard to bleed. I disconected where the return to the radiater is until coolant flowed.

 

Mine do not work. Well, sometimes, barely. I bled and bled and bled. I can get some heat when I bleed when the car is cold. Then run it up to temp and bleed with engine running. Next day after cool, not much heat if any. I certainly suspect air. Gonna purchase a pressure tester and see what I can find. Checked the hoses at the heater cores and there's definitely fluid in there. I have a feeling this is gonna be a pain. Also the car runs nice and cool which is a good thing.

 

If you are not getting air from the fans through the heater matrex, check if the filter just in front of the heater matrex is blocked

 

In theory (I think) if there's so much air trapped in the system that it's preventing you from getting heat, it should affect circulation as well, preventing the car from running cool.

At least, that was my experience.

Def pressure test it.
But, that's something to think about too..

Maybe a super-pro can weigh in...


Sent from my iPhone
(Which means I am probably sitting by the car, confused.)