Im with Craby here. It sounds like your system is not circulating to the heater core properly. Probbably plugged. Good luck.

 

I would guess that you either have a stuck open thermostat, or no thermostat at all. Usually when you have air in the heater core you can hear sloshing when you hit the gas a little. Blockage sounds good too and could be an issue but since your car takes so long to warm up I am voting on the thermostat issue. Also if the wrong seal was used on the new thermostat you could have the same issue, make sure that there is the black "O" ring around the thermostat and that it is seated properly.


Massey

 

Wow! Thanks! Lots of good info here...I'm pretty confident in the new thermostat being installed correctly. It's a Murry, 180 degree thermostat, before it was installed the car did the same thing. So I'll try the squeeze trick and see how that goes...will definately need to do something...though the last couple days have been pleasant with AM temps in the upper 40's, lower 50's.

Thanks again!

 

Remember the car needs to have the O-ring type seal on this thermostat to work properly. I found out the hard way by using the gasket and no O-ring just like you would do on and old skool 350. Water was passing by the thermo and not letting the engine heat up properly. Murray T-stats are good quality I have had fewer combacks on those then the Stant T-stats I used to carry.

Massey

 

I reached in and felt the heater hose that goes into the firewall, it was warm but not that warm...tried to squeeze it, which was not easy since the car was hot from driving home, I did not get a good grip on it and I don't think it helped as the car was chilly this AM.

Since the thermostat was just changed, a Murray installed, by a common sense mechanic..I'm leaning towards a plugged up heater core. So what's the best way to unplug it??

 

unhook the heater core hoses at the water pump and hook up a garden hose to it and run water through both ways.

 

Isn't there a one way valve in one of those hoses craby? I think the lower one.

 

Sorry, it the lower hose. If it plugged the lower will be hotter and the upper hose cooler.

 

im showing a flow control valve on the core inlet(bottom)hose from the water pump.

 

OK so I'm really leaning towards a plugged heater core...so which hose do I need to undo and run water from the garden hose?? I really haven't done anything to this car myself, mechanic has, but I think I can handle this one...just need direction.
thanks a ton too!