how good is your heat?

[gadget73]

Just wondering if the BMW diesel heat is a bit lacking. I've never had wonderful heat out of the Conti, especially since I replaced the old radiator. The heater core flows clean and I've flushed it several times. I added a restriction on the high idle kicker and that seems to have helped a bit. Idea is that its forcing some extra coolant out of the back of the head to the core vs having most of it flow out of the front of the head through the high idle. It has a stock 80C / 176F thermostat. I've had poor heat out of other cars that ran 180 t-stats so just wondering if this is as good as it gets.

[kingoftarmace2004]

i did have problems with my a/c flapper down not closing all the way causing cold outside air to come in. verified when I did the a/c delete. I would hit a bump and I think it would jar close. after that the heat was nice and toasty. I would inspect your vent system for vents that aren't closing all the way. especially the outside air vent. Oh by the way since you are a engineer. what kinda EGT temps are exceptable on our aluminum head engines? thanks! -Paul

[mike_e30]

No heat issues with stock 80 C thermostat, it can blow very hot air, but I have a E30, Im sure the heater core is far smaller. My coolant temp though is always on the notch below middle, it only creeps to the midpoint or slightly above in very hot weather esp when running the AC

[gadget73]

Not an engineer, I don't even have model trains. I just work around radioactive stuff for a living. This Lincoln is my first diesel thing, frankly I really don't know enough about them to have any guess on what the right EGT number is.

Pretty sure all the HVAC doors are working as they ought to be. The climate control is all electronic with servos and feedback sensors/switches. I don't get any faults for door position and I can verify they move like they should. If I set it to 90 it forces the blend door to full hot and opens the recirc door. The air is reasonably warm but I'm more used to the convection slow roast that I get from my other two Lincolns or my pickup truck. All of those have 195 T-stats. I used to have a 180 in the Towncar and the heat was OK, with a 195 it will run you right out of the car. Ford put pretty big heater cores in these things.

Possible related issue though, my fan clutch doesn't seem to de-clutch, or at least I've never noticed it slowing down when cold like I have on my truck. Might be its just over-cooling. Unfortunately Lincoln didn't see fit to install any instruments besides a speedometer and a fuel gauge. Unless the engine gets so hot that its about ready to melt I get no indication of anything.

[kingoftarmace2004]

ahhhh. you might be running at 110 and not even know it. -Paul

[gadget73]

entirely possible. I need some handy way of working out temperature without a permanant gauge. Wonder if I can tie a meter into the temp sender for the glow plug control and just translate ohms to degrees. That would at least give me a clue as to what its doing. Have to see if there is a chart in one of the manuals for testing that thing.

[Spaz!]

I use a temp gun at work to check for stuck thermostats, if you get it right on the water pump outlet it should give you a good idea of what your t-stat is. it also works for diagnosing plugged heater cores and dead cylinders!

[gadget73]

I have an IR gun and it was giving me about 175 anywhere I aimed it. Its a cheapie Harbor Freight one though, and the aim isn't quite dead on the money. It didn't show any problem at the heater core, both pipes were hot, one a few degrees cooler on the outlet. I backflushed it anyway.

The restrictor seems to have helped. I was driving around the other day when it was 28F outside, and I was comfortable in the car without my coat on. It just doesn't bake me out of the car like I'm used to from the rest of the fleet. I'm not real inclined to mess with it further though.

[Mike W.]

This may be redundant since it sounds like you've got it to acceptable, but I'll throw it out there anyway.

I was never impressed with the heat on my 535 E28. I know, different engine family, let alone gas not diesel. But it was not nearly what it's predecessor, an E12 with similar M30 engine did, even after I replaced the heater core with a brand new one in the E28, due to leakage. This of course may not apply to you at all, but I'm of the opinion that the heater valve itself in E28s at least is the limiting factor. The earlier chassis valve design would allow far more flow thru the core. So not knowing what mix of parts Ford used on yours all I can say is it's a possibility.

[gadget73]

yeah it gets the job done, just doesn't do the slow roast that I'm used to with my other cars. I've come to accept it for what it is and I'm not going to fuss about it any more. Anything else I might want to do probably involves changing the heater core and that is a huge pain in the ass that I don't want to deal with. There is no flow control valve on this so its getting all the water that it can possibly get. Temp control is by blend door in the dash. Not impossible the seals on that are less than perfect, but messing with that is nearly as much a pain in the ass as changing the heater core would be.