My 2000 x reg 1388cc zetec fiesta went cold with previous owner so they fitted a new cheapo replacement unit( from well known on-line auction) and after I had driven it for 2000 miles it suddenly blew nothing but hot.That`s what can happen when you buy cheapo non original parts....120,000 on original,2,000 on cheap pattern part which only cost a few quid less than OE part!

If you have fitted correct OE part have you connected your hoses in original positions....easy to get it wrong.

....now where can I get a pair of 355mm rear flexi brake hoses for mine?

Your heater motor`s spinning but its fan blade is loose on shaft or has fallen off?

You have a squirrel/rat/mouse/hedgehog nesting in your blower pipes?

Give up and install a lorry heater?

Fair enough,I wont get my mate to fix you up with one of his portable lorry heaters then.

In my garage I have a complete Reliant Robin heater unit which has a manual cable-controlled flow valve.

You`ve tried everything else,chuck your HCV ,connect your pipes up with a manual set-up and away you go,nice and toasty for the winter...who needs modern technology?!

If you removed the HCV and connected the pipes together with free-flow you will get very hot even with the blower off.That is in effect where I was with mine,due to faulty HCV,when it was last on its wheels.I was driving around with my windows down it was so hot,not much fun at night in the wind&rain even though at the time it was still summer.Will be nice and toasty this winter though!

In the olden days when auto chokes used to play up a lot,you could get a kit to change back to manual and save fuel,improve starting/running etc....maybe if you don`t mind drilling a hole in your bulkhead and dash you could do the same with your HCV?

Still stuck with my brakes,pair 355mm rear flexi hoses not turned up yet.Will probably buy some earlier Fiesta 425mm ones with the securing nut instead of the clip and be done with it.May have to put plastic coil around them to prevent pipes` contact with rear shock leg where they come out of the wheel cylinders,what with them being longer.

As for the steel ones I was lazy and bought front&rear cupro-nickel pipes already made up(£23 incl p&p) from very helpful bloke off that well known on-line auction site....going there now for a gander to see what flexis are listed.

Can`t wait to get out there under the car on the driveway in that cold wind again;still at least the sun`s out every so often

When I`ve finished the brakes then there`s the rot at rear of o/s outer sill at the join to sort out....before it can have its medical!

No wheels yet so I`m faced with using public transport tomorrow for the first time since I caught the No 9 bus when I lived up north in Oldham donkey`s years ago.

Maybe you`re onto something with your water-pump.Thermal expansion of coolant alone may allow some circulation but not enough to create flow through matrix if pump is dodgy.If temp gauge remains stable then water must be rising through your rad and being drawn back around the engine.

Must be a Ford mechanic out there with the answer.....probably on one of those pay-for-advice sites.

Chickened out;the thought of sitting on a bus an hour each way didn`t appeal so cancelled my appointment, rescheduled to next week by which time I have to be on the road.Weather had better improve as I`ll be out in the elements bleeding the brakes if I can find some rear hoses.

Should have got the planning permission in for the garage build last year.

Thought I`d struck gold when found pair of Goodridges listed by private seller on e**y,but ended up being 340mm not the 355mm I need...Grrrrrrrrr!

Hope your new pump was a good price and does the trick for you on wednesday.

You know,it`s funny you should mention the joiner,excellent suggestion,I had toyed with the idea of fitting a small union into the wheel cylinder to extend length.Just waiting to hear back about some 350mm length flexis but I reckon that I should save my money and find a couple of unions.I will try Goodridge as you suggested.Am I tight or what?

I was hoping to put in for a double garage but don`t want to fork out nearly £300 just to be told only a single is permitted within the restrictions that apply.I will have to try and find out before I part with the money I don`t have! Unfortunately I don`t have "connections"........

You`ll need the heating working after a blast on the surfboard!Must be a tough lot where you come from?Last time I went in the sea during Sept was years ago in Devon.Saw just one person in the sea,a chap in his eighties happily swimming to&fro,so told the crowd I was with that it can`t be that bad,I`ll go for a dip.Difficult to act cool when your teeth are chattering.....was colder than the icy plunge-pool at Center Parcs and that`s manned in case anyone gets into "difficulties".

Job done,or are you still throwing spanners around the garage?What are those w/pumps like to get at on the td Fiesta?Remember someone removing the engine to get at the w/pump on a 1990 Escort diesel van...not sure if they had to or just did it for fun?!

What does your temperature gauge show?

Edited by Trox on 17/11/2010 at 02:56

the car works perfectly apart from the heater blowing cold air, I constantly check the temp guage as I have had head gasket failures failures before, so I really dont think it is that, it would be nice to know that it is likeley the HCV as I presume that is a relatively cheap job.

Cheers :)

A 1994 should have the old type air-blend heater,not a water valve type.

I might have found what was the problem in my case. My model is 1994 and has no hot water control valve. Mine simply blends hot/cold air inside the car itself.

Some time back a mechanic was stupid enough to replace my faulty thermostat (was getting stuck therefore engine heating up) with a petrol version.

the 1.8 diesel thermostat should be rated 85-89 deg start opening, fully open at 102.

Since for petrol rating is lower, the thermostat that was installed was opening much before the 85deg and therefore water kept circulating around the radiator and engine was not heating enough, plus since the thermostat is open much of the pump pressure was being dissipated inside the radiator pipe and not much left for the inside heater unit.

I am having it replaced now with a proper ORIGINAL one that I bought myslef. I'll reply back if it does/doesn't do the trick.

thermostat was wrong type, now replaced with original to spec one. But still problem not solved.

Finally resorted to remove heater matrixand investigated (some acrobatics here) the inside of the matrix housing.

i found out that there are places at the top round the edges where air can leak out from when under pressure, therefore reducing the air flow through the matrix. Sealed as best as I could with self adhesuive tape. But I doubt this was it.

When putting the matirx back, I tried to seal off the edges of the matrix as best as I could so as not to let air go around the edges of the matrix. I suspect that originally there was some form of insulator here, as the matrix actually sits on two sort of small stands that create a gap of about 2mm between matrix and bottom housing. This offers an easy path for the air when compared with the restricted path through the matrix. This could explain why initially air comes hot but after a few econds it cools off to just lukewarm.

Also when ressembling everything, I took the opportunity to switch the inlet with the outlet, putting the incoming at the bottom.

I know this is unconvensional, but I reasoned that this is a good way to remove any possible air lock, since air goes up, I am this way all the time helping it out of the matrix.

But at least now I have improved it a lot.