Q&A

 Rookie

I checked the heater core again and it needed flushing again. I went ahead and flushed the whole cooling system and the heater works great now. After all, the temp dropped down below 70 here in fla so I was desperate. Thanks for your response bretb.

 Master

Good to hear you got the issue resolved. Was there a lot of stuff in the cooling system? How many miles do you have on your Tacoma? Do you think this was from lack of maintenance or something else?

 Rookie

Actually it wasn't bad at all.I probably just did a hurry up job on the heater core. I've got 198k on it and had the radiator flushed at a shop ($$$) at 164k 2 years ago. I seriously doubt that they flushed the core too. I'm retired (not completely voluntary) and been delivering papers for 4 years. That calls for 50 miles a night 7 days a week, lots a stop and goes, and even more turn arounds and cul de sacs. Only significant repairs have been a rear axle seal, new power steering unit, brake pads and tires once a year. Gotta luv this truck. Oh yea, it hic ups sometimes when I'm idling and in gear but yet doesn't miss when driving. That"s got to be one of the many sensors they equipted it with.

 Rookie

My problem was cured the 2nd time I flushed out the core. I get lots of hot air but it comes out all the vents at once no matter which position (lower, upper or defrost) it's on, although the volume shifts somewhat between vents. I figure there might be some blockage (leaves, maybe) in the vents around the flapper(?). As long as I have heat, I can live with that. Some kind of blockage might be your problem too. Good luck!