Innovative fix good for you!. I power flushed my 09 Liberty (3.7L) heater core reverse direction first using a harbor freight 110 volt Hammond pump, 50/50 CLR, and boiling distilled water and finally got heat after 6 years. Prior to this I flushed with a garden hose and got only minimal improvement. I flushed in both directions for about an hour then flushed with clear distilled water till it ran clear with no suds. When I was done, when I removed the hoses off the core, the brass was shiny clean. Lots of sediment and dirty water came out. I got 155 at the center outlet and now when I am driving I only need the temp on about 1/3 to sufficiently warm up the interior. I did notice something interesting...my engine temp gauge which normally was exactly at 1/2, now runs slightly less than 1/2 meaning that the heater core itself is dissipating heat! An added benefit!
I have a 2008 Jeep that uses the same system for the heater as the Nitro. I flushed the core using diluted CLR with water using a pump circulating the water through the core for an hour. Was able to get the heat to 120 -130 degrees. I then decided to use straight undiluted CLR a few weeks later. I used 2 four foot long 5/8 heater hose connected to the heater ports. I used a zip tie to suspend the hoses in an upward position. Flushed all coolant out of the core and then blew air through it to remove water. Pour the CLR into either hose and let it soak for about an hour. Flush CLR out using both ports. Remove the screw in plug where the upper radiator connects to the engine and then fill the radiator until coolant comes out of that hole. Car should be level or front end higher than rear. Reinstall screw plug. My heater is now blowing 140 to 160 degrees. I'm beginning to think the water pump doesn't supply enough pressure and coolant to the core to keep it clean and have wondered if an auxiliary pump like this would be a good idea.
A FIX READ... My Uncle (78) has both the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty and BOTH have same heater problems... he stops on the road and switches in/out lines on heater core and it works again for a time....... the BIG PROBLEM (I think 45 years Auto-Body) is the main ENGINE WATER PUMP.... same as a Jet Ski stops pumping at high RPMs... The main Engine Water Pump stops fully circulating high road RPMs and is wore out at 150,000km but still keeps the Engine Cool..... !!! FIX !!! a 12Volt Pump on the Heater lines (RV or transfer Pump from CANADIAN TIRE or PRINESS AUTO) or a NEW ENGINE WATER PUMP that seems to be working fine but isn't... Hope this Helps someone :)
Innovative fix good for you!. I power flushed my 09 Liberty (3.7L) heater core reverse direction first using a harbor freight 110 volt Hammond pump, 50/50 CLR, and boiling distilled water and finally got heat after 6 years. Prior to this I flushed with a garden hose and got only minimal improvement. I flushed in both directions for about an hour then flushed with clear distilled water till it ran clear with no suds. When I was done, when I removed the hoses off the core, the brass was shiny clean. Lots of sediment and dirty water came out. I got 155 at the center outlet and now when I am driving I only need the temp on about 1/3 to sufficiently warm up the interior.
I did notice something interesting...my engine temp gauge which normally was exactly at 1/2, now runs slightly less than 1/2 meaning that the heater core itself is dissipating heat! An added benefit!
I have a 2008 Jeep that uses the same system for the heater as the Nitro. I flushed the core using diluted CLR with water using a pump circulating the water through the core for an hour. Was able to get the heat to 120 -130 degrees. I then decided to use straight undiluted CLR a few weeks later. I used 2 four foot long 5/8 heater hose connected to the heater ports. I used a zip tie to suspend the hoses in an upward position. Flushed all coolant out of the core and then blew air through it to remove water. Pour the CLR into either hose and let it soak for about an hour. Flush CLR out using both ports. Remove the screw in plug where the upper radiator connects to the engine and then fill the radiator until coolant comes out of that hole. Car should be level or front end higher than rear. Reinstall screw plug. My heater is now blowing 140 to 160 degrees. I'm beginning to think the water pump doesn't supply enough pressure and coolant to the core to keep it clean and have wondered if an auxiliary pump like this would be a good idea.
A FIX READ... My Uncle (78) has both the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty and BOTH have same heater problems... he stops on the road and switches in/out lines on heater core and it works again for a time....... the BIG PROBLEM (I think 45 years Auto-Body) is the main ENGINE WATER PUMP.... same as a Jet Ski stops pumping at high RPMs... The main Engine Water Pump stops fully circulating high road RPMs and is wore out at 150,000km but still keeps the Engine Cool..... !!! FIX !!! a 12Volt Pump on the Heater lines (RV or transfer Pump from CANADIAN TIRE or PRINESS AUTO) or a NEW ENGINE WATER PUMP that seems to be working fine but isn't... Hope this Helps someone :)
Do you have a part number or could you tell me what year Prius so I can buy a pump?
Remember, this is the 4.0l , its the rare nitro compared to most nitros that have the 3.7l. I'm not sure if the 3.7l had any heating issues
They do to.
Yep all the same
Thank you.. owe you a cold beer!!!
No problem. I like to always try to fix things the right way but hey , sometimes you got to reengineer
So you manually activate the pump? No relay?
Did you find out why there was weak coolant circulation?
No, I never found the real problem. Car runs good with no overheating.