Heat (or lack of heat)

[civic939]

96 civic- when i get it to operating temp and turn the heat on the temp gauge drops really quick and the heater starts blowing colder air. It doesn't matter if it is running in the driveway or if i'm driving it down the highway. If i turn the heat off it takes a while for the gauge to show operating temp again. once it shows operating temp i crank the heat again and it stays warm for about 30 sec to a min and then does the same thing. Flush? T-stat? heater core? get a new car?

 

[civic939]

on the way back from the bar tonight (about 15 minute ride) the gauge never showed running temp. it actually didnt move from cold position. after about 5 minutes of driving i turned the heat on and it blew warm but eventually cooled down. it seems the higher i have the fan on the faster it cools down. when i left my house this afternoon i let the car get to running temp (on the gauge) before i turned on the heat. it took about 15 seconds for the gauge to get from running temp to dead cold and never went up for the rest of the ride even when i turned the heat off. It doesn't matter what setting i have the heat on (face/floor, defrost, floor) this problem is getting annoying and a little cold. let me know what you guys think.

 

[RonJ]

Replace the T-stat and then bleed the cooling system.

 

[XpL0d3r]

sounds like the T stat... go with RonJ's advice