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Slow warm up/Heater hose Mod

4K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  gearhead291 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone. Names Scotty I'm 20 yrs old and very mechanically inclined with cars.

I own a 98 ES intrepid with the 3.2L. Mine is an early 98, so it was made in 97 for the 98 model year

Car runs great except it seems to take forever to warm up even in this mild weather up in omaha lately.

Coolant is fine and bled properly, it does reach full temp eventually at about 200 degrees.

I want to tackle the heater hose modification TSB... I have fully read it but I don't understand what is supposed to be changed in the heater hose.

Could somebody clear this up for me?
Thanks
 
#3 ·
I haven't observed any driveability problems or other issues. Temp gauge always ends up going to a little below the halfway mark on the temp gauge, but it just seems to take awhile.

Then again maybe I'm just used to my other ford contour i used to have, it warmed up very quick.

My work is about 7 miles away and its basically 3/4's interstate and 1/4 stop and go and takes about 12 mins. We've only had one really cold day so far and it took about halfway there to get some decent heat output
 
#7 ·
Its a TSB saying that a complaint of poor heater performance/slow engine warm up may be caused by incorrectly routed heater hoses... Its says to reroute them but the bulletin is very unclear as to how to reroute them.

This just came to my mind. On the BACK and bottom of the coolant reservoir there is a coolant hose going from it to the engine. I just noticed that this hose is kinked shut.. Its not the hose on the front but on the bottom left back of the bottle. Could this cause my problem??

Its like completely twisted, theres no way anything could flow thru that. I'll see if i can post a pic tomorrow
 
#8 ·
I'd pressure check the cooling system and check the cap also. Many auto parts stores will lend a pressure tester.

A short term "fix" for the slow warmup is to partially block the radiator, but verify that the fans are working properly first.
 
#10 ·
Do you have the number of that TSB?

My 3.2 was slow to warm up after I had an aftermarket t-stat put in with a timing belt water punp change. I recently replaced the t-stat with one from the dealer - warms up normally now. Always test a new t-stat on the stove with a pan of water and thermometer before installing.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Alright guys..thanks for the info. I do plan on changing the water pump and timing belt together soon.

So far after owning this car for a year I absolutely love it. It has given me no problems at all. My OEM front struts failed when i bought it so I replaced them with Monroe's quick struts (I heard they have problems afterwards tho oops.) Only other thing i did was I replaced the rack & pinion due to excessive play in the steering wheel. I heard that this is a common issue with LH vehicles tho.

And for being a 98, the interior quality puts other 98 cars to shame...when I first looked inside I was like there's no way this is a 98

The TSB # is 24-14-98
 
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