Water pump heater connection

Those are the proper connections,

the coolant flows out of the block, through the heater core, and back to the water pump. There is a good possibility that one or both of the metal tubes that run through the console are plugged.

cowboy from hell

It may even be something simple. Some guys put a turn off valve in line to the heater core so they can shut water flow off while they are racing on a track. It may be that it has one of those valves and it is just turned off???

Well, I can't find any shutoff valves, so I may have a blockage. One of the copper tubes at the core has a nasty kink in it. Is this normal? I could see this spot clogging. Do I need to try to straighten this line? If there is a clog in the console pipes, do I drain all the coolant and use a snake?

Thanks!

-William

Run some bailing wire or heavy gage solid copper wire up the pipes to dislodge any pocket of rust that may be blocking the pipes, set the heater control valve wide open & flush with water. I wouldn't worry about the kink, and dont try to straighten it.

cowboy from hell

Sounds like you already checked, but generally the shutoffs are located in one or both heater lines below the electrical regulator mount on the passenger side of the firewall where the lines enter into the passenger compartment. Here they are easy to reach under the car, between the rear wheel and the firewall, without jacking the car up.
Mooso

Use my extra valve since you are into checking the lines etc.

Indy
Dave

That is not the stock heater control valve. Are you sure it opens when the cable pushes? Have someone operate the heat control lever while you watch the valve. I would bet that the cable just stretches.
Forest

Just to clarify, when I said "on the passenger side of the firewall" I didn't mean inside the passenger cabin, I meant inside the engine compartment over on the passenger side of the car.
Later, Mooso.

I have checked the heater valve and the actuator does move when the heater lever is operated.

-William

FWIW - the heater shut off valves are a good idea, regardless of whether the car is run on a track. The heater hoses run through the center console to the heater core and actually radiate a significant amount of heat. This is most noticeable in the Summertime. Ask me about the time I rode back from Las Vegas in Bob Benson's Winged Beast with no heater shut-off valves. I felt like a turkey in an oven. There's also a safety aspect to the shutoff valves. I've heard of at least one Pantera that had a heater hose burst in the passenger compartment spraying the occupants legs with 200-degree coolant.

Don't try to straighten out that "kink" or bend. The copper line will split.

Good luck!
Garth

Thanks Garth, I will be adding them.

-William

Garth, once it hits 200 degrees it is no longer coolant. It becomes hotant.

I might also suggest that the heater should be pressure flushed once a year and the shut-off valves in the engine compartment make this very easy to do since you can isolate (shut-off) the heater lines to the engine and install an extension hose to one line into a bucket then a garden hose to the other. The heater should be back flushed to remove the crap back through the supply line. I'll also mention a pair of plastic hose clamp pliars come in handy to keep the water from spraying all over the place when you disconnect the hoses from the valves!

Steve in VA