So after the water pump let go a few weeks ago, and the system got a nice flush and fill, I was again reminded of the lack of heating in the cab. Mostly just because it also got cold outside. I was the same the last winter as well. If I let it sit and idle for like 20 minutes, I can get it warm enough to be happy. But if I start it up and head out to drive,It will basically never get beyond a little warm even at full temp and recirculate with the econo mode on. It has a 180 thermostat, a new fan and clutch, and a 3 year old radiator. In fact, I think it has always struggled to get warm inside ever since that radiator a few years ago.
So, to answer you questions; no there is no waterfall sound. (I fill it by disconnecting the heater core hoses and filling one until it comes out the other) and I also idle on my very steep driveway to move any bubbles out.
The system has been bled a few times since the fill and also pressure tested with my kit I have.
As a side note, when I leave the house, I spend about 15 minutes driving at highway speeds down about 2000 feet of elevation to get in to town. I know that's not ideal for warming it up, but it generally runs the same coming back up the hill.
And it runs between 180 and a max of 200 on my analog gauge.

any thoughts? Do I just need to put a piece of cardboard in front of my radiator? (only kidding a little...)

It's cold out!!

 

sounds like your climate control flaps aren't functioning. coolant flows through the heater core continuously, so once the engine is up to temperature there should be plenty of heat to work with -- just a matter of directing it into the cabin.

 

It for sure makes a difference when the truck sits and idles what temperature I set it to, so I feel like they work.

 

the flaps don't necessarily make perfect seals, so i would expect that there would be some heat bleed-through even if they weren't working properly. maybe start with a climate control diagnostic/reset (there are instructions on how to do that on this forum if you search).

 

Mine is the exact opposite, it will fry you out of the cab at times because a flap isn't closing tightly... I haven't physically looked into it yet...I did do a reset on the climate control, not sure if that made a difference or not.

 

I will look in to that. I have my scanner and will check those codes again too, but never had any so far.

 

i don't think climate control issues show up via the obd2 port.

 

Mine does the same in Econ. When I put on Auto, the temp in the cabin is what my settings are.

 

Drop the glove box spring things out of their slot and the glove box will fold down, look to the left and you can see the air flap linkage. Confirm that it moves from one end to the other when going from cold to hot with engine running. Very unlikely the flaps are the issue, more likely you don't have all the air out of the heater core. With the engine cold remove both heater hoses from the pipes. Stick a funnel in one and pour coolant in till it comes out the other one. Stick a hose on your funnel and do the pipes also. Now put the hoses back on. That should do it, but if it does not swap them left to right, the coolant is supposed to go one direction through the core, maybe somebody got them reversed.

 

[QUOTE=Extinct;707564 With the engine cold remove both heater hoses from the pipes. Stick a funnel in one and pour coolant in till it comes out the other one. Stick a hose on your funnel and do the pipes also. Now put the hoses back on. That should do it, but if it does not swap them left to right, the coolant is supposed to go one direction through the core, maybe somebody got them reversed.[/QUOTE]

Sadly I already did that. That's how I fill up the coolant always.

I will check under the glove box

I have no codes via the FC check method