I used to own a '00 DII, and looking to come back into the fold again. There is one for sale near me that has the following issue, and I would appreciate everyone's thoughts on whether or not this problem would prevent you from purchasing. The headgasket on this particular car was just replaced last year and had the radiator flushed out last month. This is from the owner:


As of right now the car does not blow heat, and it doesn't seem like coolant is cycling all the way through the system (my guess is heater core)

If his diagnosis is correct, what would be approx. cost to fix? Also, is there a chance that the HG job was never done correctly in the first place? Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

 

if there is water in the system and full you should have water in the heatercore. There is no heater valve on a dII so water should running thru the heater core at all times.

Could be the system needs to be bleed the heatercore is the highest point on the system, so air tends to get trappped there.

Could the head gaskets have been done wrong? of course they could.

I would spend 20 minutes and bleed the system correctly, then check and see it you have heat in and out of the heatercore.

The water for the heater core does right off the t-stat, so the t-stat could be blocked.

 

My guess would be he tried to use some kind of sealer before doing the head gaskets. The sealer has clogged up the heater core which is common when using those. Depending on where the clog is (if not too far upstream), replacing the heater core may fix it.

 

Like drow said there's always a chance HG can be done wrong, but I'm leaning toward MC04's thoughts on sealer clogging the heater core. I think they flushed the radiator in hopes of cleaning out the rest of the sealer.

If it was mine I'd replace the the heater core and radiator. I had a similar issue with sealer clogging my radiator and heater core. The heater core actually busted and when I cut into it it was sealed shut(wish I woulda taken a pic). I bought a euro spare heater core for like $110 and it took an entire Saturday(not a fun job).

I replaced the radiator with a genesis radiator which was only like $130. Not everyone will agree with a cheap radiator, but it has worked just fine for me. Replacing radiator is much easier and faster than heater core. But for around $250 and a weekend of labor you've almost got a new cooling system minus hoses,water pump, and thermostat. Which while Youre doing the radiator you might as well throw in a new thermostat.

I wouldn't tell him you could fix it for $250 though. I would really stress cost of heater core replacement at around $1200, and that that may not even fix it.

 

Very helpful info Madlands, thank you.