The anti-freeze was a little low. Discovered there was a very small leak in the radiator. Also realized that the clutch linkages are completely destroyed. I'm putting it in tomorrow to get fixed up and ready to go.

 

I know I'm going to get shot for this, but now when you turn the car on, the temperature needle goes up, but it's still cold air coming out. First I thought the warm air had to warm up the vents before it reached the interior of the car but after 15 mins of driving, it still never did warm up, so I tried putting the air circulator to internal air only, still didn't work. So I turned off the car and turned it back on and it worked.

So now if warm air doesn't come out, it seem like I have to almost trick the car to start working. Any suggustions?

Again, sorry for this

 

Have you checked the coolant level again? The heater not working is one of the early signs that it is low.

Assuming the coolant is full, make sure that the water valve on the firewall moves to open and close as you move the control on the dash from hot to cold. There is also an air door inside the car that diverts air either through or around the heater core depending on how hot you want it. Check that the core gets hot -- both hoses should be hot with the control on high and the engine warmed up.

If the control is OK, the heater core could be clogged up. To check that you will need to drain the coolant and disconnect the heater hoses. Hold a garden hose up to one of the heater hoses and see if water will flow through the core and valve.

 

If any of it was clogged and whatnot, the car turning off and turning back on wouldn't solve that. Coolant is fine. The water valve is fine because I tried putting the control to cold and then warm again, pre and post restart. The heater core sounds it could be the problem, if your right.

 

Yeah, had it out tonight a few times. Once the thermostat needle hits warm, you need to turn the car off and it back on as soon as you turn it off and warm air starts to come out. It don't matter how long you wait after the needle hits the warm mark, you need to shut it off and turn it back on before warm air comes out.

Any more ideas?

 

It really sounds like there's a bubble of air in the system. Did you check the level in the radiator itself? Park the car facing uphill if possible, so the radiator is the highest point. When the engine is completely cold, take off the radiator cap. If you have coolant in the plastic bottle but the radiator is not absolutely full, the radiator cap is probably the problem. Also there's a leak.

 

If by plastic bottle you mean the overflow resovior, than yeah, I already checked that with the original problem. I had to get the brakes done or something like that and got my mechanic to check the radiator for leaks and he fixed them, and replaced all the hoses and clamps etc etc except for the one coming from the radiator istelf to the resovior. I'll check the level again, but I'm almost 100% sure that there's no leak. Haven't seen anything in the snow underneith the car.

If the hose going to the resovior is clogged or somehow not allowing the coolant to run through it, could that cause it?

 

Just lookin at the radiator then. Took the cap off and it sounded like it was bone dry. Then I realized that the radiator was perfectly fine. The resovior cap is failing. There was a very fine layer of anti-freeze covering the plastic. Then looking down onto the front bumper and surrounding housing, to my dismay and horror, anti-freeze was everywhere.

Would the seal be failing or should I just get a new cap for it?

Just to clear the air, my mechanic checked the radiator over for leaks, and the way the anti-freeze covered the resovior it looked like it was fine, until you ran your finger across it, and then saw all of it. Unless you were looking for the anti-freeze on the bumper or anywhere else, you wouldn't have noticed it.