first of all, i have to say this forum is ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE !!! i have a 14yr old 1990 YJ, 4.2L, I6 that has been coming out of the mothballs this past year, and forum members' collective responses to prior questions from me and many others has been great. i am not really much of a mechanic but am trying my best at figuring stuff out, as i wouldn't know how to find a good, trustworthy mechanic for this 14yr old baby. in fact, i have so many questions, i really don't know where to begin, but i'll have to try somewhere, here goes:
my heat works OK, in that i get heat flow through the vents at my feet, but as you all know, a 1990 YJ doesn't have the best heating capability anyway. in an effort to try to improve it let me pose these questions:
in cold weather, when i have the heater on i get cold air coming through that vent duct on the passenger side underneath the glove compartment. it's the square vent with black, diagonal plastic slats. is this normal, or should no air be coming into the car through here when the heater is on? last winter, i just put duct tape over it to keep air from freezing my kids' feet off, any problems with this solution?
next, how long should it take for my temp gauge to reach its maximum reading at normal operating conditions in 65 degree weather (current)? it seems my temp gauge is slow to get to its max, and it appears it doesn't get much higher than 160 degrees, though the car runs like a charm, and the heat does work when it's colder out, but as i said above, not great. i know possibilities for my temp gauge readings are: themostat partially or totally stuck open; bad temp sending unit; or bad gauge. all hoses and connections are fine. is there a good way to test any of these possible causes, or should i simply start with the simplest and replace, say the sending unit and see what happens, OR should i just leave everything well enough alone? the real reason for this concern is that somehow i think if my temp goes higher my heat will work or blow harder in the cold weather, but i am not sure how much of a difference it will make. btw, the heater core and all that stuff are fine. of course, if it's just the gauge (YJ gauges aren't the most reliable) this all may not matter. any thougths????
thanks
my heat works OK, in that i get heat flow through the vents at my feet, but as you all know, a 1990 YJ doesn't have the best heating capability anyway. in an effort to try to improve it let me pose these questions:
in cold weather, when i have the heater on i get cold air coming through that vent duct on the passenger side underneath the glove compartment. it's the square vent with black, diagonal plastic slats. is this normal, or should no air be coming into the car through here when the heater is on? last winter, i just put duct tape over it to keep air from freezing my kids' feet off, any problems with this solution?
next, how long should it take for my temp gauge to reach its maximum reading at normal operating conditions in 65 degree weather (current)? it seems my temp gauge is slow to get to its max, and it appears it doesn't get much higher than 160 degrees, though the car runs like a charm, and the heat does work when it's colder out, but as i said above, not great. i know possibilities for my temp gauge readings are: themostat partially or totally stuck open; bad temp sending unit; or bad gauge. all hoses and connections are fine. is there a good way to test any of these possible causes, or should i simply start with the simplest and replace, say the sending unit and see what happens, OR should i just leave everything well enough alone? the real reason for this concern is that somehow i think if my temp goes higher my heat will work or blow harder in the cold weather, but i am not sure how much of a difference it will make. btw, the heater core and all that stuff are fine. of course, if it's just the gauge (YJ gauges aren't the most reliable) this all may not matter. any thougths????
thanks