possible thermostat fault??

:laugh: according to the chassis number its the g13bb.......................but it does have a black cover down the front of the engine? the dip stick is to the front left aswell not sure if that helps? is there any pictures of the two different engines?? thanks for all your help so farB)

The g13bb has a cam belt under the plastic cover at the front, and a tin rocker cover. It will be the engine fitted to a soft top of that age.

The later engine has a timing chain and no cover at the front, and didn't appear in hard tops even until x reg.

the stat was knackered!!!! ....................now , the heater is much better than what it was .........but it still is'nt getting really hot!! everything else is working good so not sure on what next?? could it be a semi blocked heater matrix?? is it possible to rad flush it??

thanks again

Are the pipes to and from the matrix getting hot?
I have run water through on old cars i've had, its apparently not advised in case you disturb any debris that may be in there. Maybe worth a try and put some bars leaks in after, i usually drop some in when i drop the water on any older engine anyway.

I apologise if i'm stating the obvious here but whenever you've filled the system have you put the heater on beforehand? I've kicked myself when i've forgot the simplest thing!

You said earlier that the pipes to and from the heater are hot.

the heater is an air blender type: there are some flaps inside that direct air through the matrix. These are controlled by levers and cables, and sometimes get broken at the heater under the drivers side dash.

Otherwise you could have an air lock in the heater. the usual cure is to remove the outlet pipe with the engine running, (cold, not hot) and shove it back on as water comes out.

i think i'll try and see if theres an air lock in the matrix, does anyone know which is the inlet and which is the outlet or is it pretty obviouse when i look?

the linkage for the heater in the footwell all works accordingly, is there anything else i need to check?

could the matrix be physically blocked with particles restricting the water flow? its just the heater trys to get warm but its like the fan is cooling it down!!! the heater works a bit better if the fan is on low

cheers once again