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2008 Edge, heating strangeness


elricfate

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So my wife has described this to me and I never believed it until I drove the truck last night.

 

The truck heats up just fine, doesn't overheat, doesn't have any engine issues.

 

The weird thing is that when you come to rest at a stop light, the blower stops blowing hot air. When you're moving again, it blows hot air again. The blower itself still goes, but the heat cools off. Same as when you're parked.

 

Anyone got any idea what would cause this?

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To expand on that, I happened to have a bottle of universal 50/50 mix stuff from autozone on hand anyway. I opened the reservoir in the edge and there was nothing in it. I filled it to the cold fill line and it took 3/4 of the gallon. So I know it was very low, I just wonder if that's what's been doing it. I guess I'll find out.

Edited by elricfate
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That coolant is going somewhere. Then again how long has it been since it was flushed and refilled? Could there have been air in the system from a flush and then it burped and emptied the reserve tank? If not you may have to be checking for leaks. I would fill it and monitor the level for awhile and if no further level changes then no problem.

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That coolant is going somewhere. Then again how long has it been since it was flushed and refilled? Could there have been air in the system from a flush and then it burped and emptied the reserve tank? If not you may have to be checking for leaks. I would fill it and monitor the level for awhile and if no further level changes then no problem.

 

I haven't done any maintenance on it since we bought it, two years ago. She's been taking it in for maintenance but god knows what they're actually doing. I haven't, however, seen a leak under the vehicle in the garage so I'm pretty sure it's been low for awhile.

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If you don't see any leaks/smell any coolant/coolant doesn't look contaminated, I'd keep an eye on it for now. It may have been low for a while and finally just got to a point where it made you notice. Heater cores used to leak onto the passenger side carpet in the olden days. Hoses can develop pinhole leaks too. Check to make sure they are pliable and not too soft or hard when the engine is cooled down. Finally, you could replace the degas bottle cap, may not be holding pressure. Cheap enough to replace.

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If you don't see any leaks/smell any coolant/coolant doesn't look contaminated, I'd keep an eye on it for now. It may have been low for a while and finally just got to a point where it made you notice. Heater cores used to leak onto the passenger side carpet in the olden days. Hoses can develop pinhole leaks too. Check to make sure they are pliable and not too soft or hard when the engine is cooled down. Finally, you could replace the degas bottle cap, may not be holding pressure. Cheap enough to replace.

 

lol, checking the hoses now wouldn't be worth the struggle considering the weather, even in the garage since it's only about 20* warmer than outside.

 

I ran it tonight and sitting still it stayed warm, so I think it was just the low coolant. So now to watch and see if there was actually a problem or it was just a low coolant situation the entire time.

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If i persists and you can not find an external leak. I would recommend the engine oil analysis to rule out head gasket leakage. The test is 25 dollars and would let you know if there is coolant in your oil. IF not then you would rule that out and have to look at other factors. For now as already recommended just monitor the level.

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Had a similar issue recently, last time I "flushed" my coolant I took out a lot more than I put back in. Wasn't used to these new pressurized systems, so when I had thought I was "full" I was really at least a gallon low. Lost heat one morning going to work, and the car started overheating. Thought for sure it was the water pump, since I wasn't properly getting the air out of the system.

 

Make sure you fill the bottle to the cold fill mark, run it til its at normal temp, then check the bottle again. If low, let it completely cool down, then add and start it again with the heater on full blast. (I was skimping out on that second part of letting it cool, so the bottle was still showing there was plenty)

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